We are pleased to announce the 2025 cohort of telos leadership foundation emerging leader fellows. Each fellow went through a multi-step selection process to be chosen for this program. They each bring unique gifts and talents to the cohort, and we are incredibly proud of them.
Patricia Peña is an alumna of The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in Aviation. She is a certified aircraft dispatcher and student pilot, currently working as a College Success Advisor at Esperanza Inc. Patricia is passionate about making aviation more diverse and is working toward a professional career in the field.
Proudest Moment: Learning to fly an airplane all by myself.
Joyce Tagne is an international student from Cameroon. Joyce is a student at Tri-C to earn an Associate of Arts and Sciences. She is passionate about human behavior and would love to be a psychiatrist someday. During her free time, Joyce enjoys reading books and grooving to the vibrant rhythm of her motherland’s music.
Proudest Moment: Maintaining a 4.0 GPA while having three jobs on campus and being involved in various clubs and organizations.
Lauren Iagnemma is a rising senior at Case Western Reserve University where she is studying psychology and Spanish. In her free time, she loves to run for CWRU’s cross country and track and field teams as well as act with the university’s improv troupe.
Proudest Moment: Becoming a two-time All-American NCAA DIII Cross Country runner.
Hasan Aldoori is a software engineering student at Cuyahoga Community College who sees bugs as puzzles and software as a craft. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in software engineering, with a focus on quality assurance and automation. Hasan believes great software should feel invisible—flawless, smooth, and trusted. After completing an intensive bootcamp, he sharpened his skills in debugging, testing, and delivering clean, reliable code under pressure.
Proudest Moment: Moving to four different countries, adapting to each culture, and learning the language.
Harry is a college sophomore majoring in anthropology. Harry will be transferring from Tri-c to Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) to study medical anthropology and bio ethics. Upon graduating, Harry plans to join the peace corp. In their spare time, Harry enjoys nature and hiking with their dog.
Proudest Moment: Completing my EMS training and being licensed as an EMT. I studied while still in high school and it was a mentally and physically difficult class.
Sebastián (He/Him/Él) was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and is a graduate from Cleveland State University, with degrees in Political Science and Spanish. Sebastián works at Esperanza Inc., a non-profit organization that centers their work around supporting Latinx students through their journey in higher education. When Sebastián is not working you can find him reading a book, taking a walk at Lakewood Park or Edgewater, or listening to music. Excitedly, Sebastián was recently accepted into Case Western Reserve University’s Master of Social Work Program, where he will begin his training, this fall!
Joshua White is a trilingual legal, business and education professional with global experience in international business, law, public policy, and workforce development. A graduate of Hawaii Pacific University (cum laude, BSBA in International Business & Spanish), Joshua has studied across three continents, including academic fellowships in Spain and Taiwan, where he became fluent in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
Currently, Joshua serves as a College Success Advisor at Esperanza, Inc., where he founded Advancing Talento, a nationwide virtual workforce development program for Latinx students. He also taught English in Taiwan and has served as a Spanish interpreter and American Scholar and artist for Taiwanese agencies.
A professional West African dancer and global arts advocate, Joshua blends policy, culture, and education to build equity across communities. He aspires to advance international development law
Proudest Moment: Following the disruptions of COVID-19, Josh became the first American Indian (Black) scholar admitted to Taiwan to complete a Huayu postgraduate fellowship.
Sahil Angdembe recently graduated with his Master of Science in Regenerative Medicine and Entrepreneurship from Case Western Reserve University. He is currently in his second year of his Master of Business Administration at the Weatherhead School of Management at CWRU. He works at the Cleveland Clinic, where he performs and interprets clinical chemistry, coagulation, urinalysis, and hematology tests. Sahil has held numerous leadership roles in his undergraduate institution as a resident assistant, summer scholar’s counselor, research assistant, undergraduate teaching associate, tutor-mentor for TRIO; and in his graduate studies as a project manager, graduate assistant, and graduate teaching assistant.
Proudest moment: Sahil’s proudest moment was earning his B.S. as a first-generation college student.
Alma is a graduate of Cleveland State University who studies Political Science & Africana Studies. She proudly resides in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood & currently is the Civic Education Coordinator at the Young Latino Network.
Proudest Moment: During my last semester of Tri-C I was taking 7 classes, two of them being honors courses. I was asked to interview Mayor Bibb for a leadership event, and I was extremely intimidated by this opportunity because it was a few weeks before finals and I wasn’t sure if I was going to do a good job – however with the help of mentors, the interview went very well & I was very proud of myself.
Lennon Ousa is a Nursing student at Cuyahoga Community College. He is passionate about the arts, especially storytelling through various media, and creating a positive impact in the lives of people he meets.
Proudest Moment: Successfully completing a year of college as a full-time student, with part-time work while maintaining sanity and stable mental health.
Edwin is a computer engineering student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
He spent much of high school exploring open-source software and writing programs He is eager to deepen his understanding of low-level design principles and become more involved with new and developing software communities.
Outside of his academic pursuits, Edwin enjoys working on do-it-yourself speaker projects, spending time spent with his family and listening to EDM music.
Proudest Moment: Graduating High School and getting involved in open-source
Benjamin is a Mandel Scholar at Tri-C pursuing an associate of science. Benjamin will be transferring to Cleveland State University where his degree will be Civil Engineering. This summer, Benjamin is looking forward to working in a lab and developing his professional networks.
Proudest Moment: Moving to a different country and getting all A’s in the challenging field of engineering.
Stefanie Wims is currently pursuing her associate of arts degree at Cuyahoga Community College. Stefanie is passionate about mental health advocacy and currently works as a peer influencer through Help is Here. Help is Here is a program that provides mental health and suicide prevention resources for students, employees and the community at Tri-C. Stefanie aspires to attain a PHD in psychology and to become a clinical psychologist
Proudest Moment: Persevering through school to attain my GED while grieving the loss of my mother and grandmother