Meet the Peer Mentors

Year: Sophomore

Bio: Sierra/Izumi Brown is a sophomore majoring in Software Engineering and minoring in Music Technology from West Des Moines, IA. She enjoys playing video games, listening to music, hanging out with friends, and exercising with most of my workouts being active in the Martial Arts Club. Sierra/Izumi is looking forward to meeting the incoming freshmen joining the SE community, and being able to help answer or find answers to their questions.

Year: Junior

Bio: Kayley Clark is a junior in Software Engineering with a minor in Cyber Security. From the small town of Tipton, IA, Kayley is most likely to be spotted on campus in any of the engineering buildings unless she is in front of the Carlos Quesadilla stand. While involved with IASG and the Engineering Career Fair Executive team, Kayley spends plenty of time with her friends outside of the classroom. Kayley is so excited to meet the new students this year and help them find their paths as a Cyclone.

Year: Senior

Bio: Nathan Frank is a software engineering senior with a data science minor. He is from Olivia, MN and has been active at Iowa State as an academic tutor and in Greek Life. Some of his favorite activities include ultimate frisbee, board games, and coding. He is incredibly excited to be a peer mentor this academic year and to get to know all of the freshmen!

Year: Junior

Bio: Nayma Garcia is a junior majoring in Software Engineering from Spencer, IA. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts, hanging out with friends, and skating around campus. Nayma is looking forward to working with all of the incoming students and helping them navigate life at Iowa State.

Year: Senior

Bio: Lydia McCleary is a senior in Software Engineering from Des Moines, IA. When she’s not coding, you can find her running, going to concerts, hanging out with friends, and spending time with her geriatric, one-eyed cat, Binx. Outside of peer mentoring, she actively serves as Digital Women’s President. Digital Women is a student organization on campus supporting women in technology related majors, but is open to everyone. Lydia is passionate about creating a more inclusive environment in tech and fostering a sense of community for all students. She can’t wait to meet all of the incoming students and hopes to have a positive impact on their first year at Iowa State!

Year: Sophomore

Bio: Eli Newland is a sophomore studying Software Engineering from Norwalk, IA. When not doing school work, Eli enjoys making music on the piano or guitar, spending time outside, or cracking jokes with his friends. He is a member of Grandma Mojos Improv Comedy troop and also plays in the Iowa State Organ studio. He is excited to help incoming freshmen fall in love with Iowa State.

Year: Senior

Bio: Sergio Perez-Valentin is a senior majoring in Software Engineering and minoring in Cyber Security from Grinnell, IA. When he isn’t doing schoolwork, Sergio enjoys spending time with friends, binge-watching shows, and exercising – whether rock climbing or playing soccer. He is excited to meet new students and share what he has learned. He hopes to inspire the same passion he has for programming into his learning community students and make their time at Iowa State the best it can be.

Year: Junior

Bio: Justin Soberano is a junior in Software Engineering from Spencer, IA. Outside of class, he loves to listen to music—favorites being SZA and Mac Miller, hanging out with friends, skateboarding, cruising around campus, and drinking Diet Coke. On campus, you’ll probably see him missing the bus for the third time in a row. Justin has had an absolute blast these past couple of years and is excited to be part of all incoming students’ first experiences at Iowa State.