Alexandra Hill is a fourth-year textiles & apparel design major at the University of Texas. She was born in Indiana and grew up throughout the Midwest and Texas. She has always enjoyed making food, even from a young age; she learned to cook from her mom and has fond memories of baking snickerdoodle cookies with her grandma. In addition to cooking, she enjoys sewing and playing tennis. After graduation she hopes to work as a clothing designer for a commercial brand in New York. hillalexandra94@gmail.com
Christina Bardwell is a sophomore majoring in Rhetoric and Writing and minoring in Biology at the University of Texas. She was born in Huffman, Texas and made her way to Austin on a softball scholarship, being an athlete food and nutrition are a huge part of her life. She loves trying new foods and learning about different cultures around the world. After graduating she plans on attending tech school to become an anesthesiologist assistant. Christina.bardwell@gmail.com
Claire Weber is a second year Communication Studies student at the University of Texas at Austin, although she grew up in small town La Vernia, Texas. Claire’s relationship with food started with learning to cook at a young age and continued through nine years of cooking competitions. After she graduates from UT, Claire dreams of going back to school for her MBA and working in business consulting – as well as owning an industrial sized kitchen. claireweber@utexas.edu
Courtney Runn is currently a senior at the University of Texas where she is studying journalism and Italian. She is originally from Austin but adopted Italy as a second home after spending all of middle school and part of high school in Florence. You can find her sipping a chai latte with a book in her hands and a camera in her purse. Say hi @courtney_t_runn
David Mendez is a 3rd year, first-generation college student, studying Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. With a burning passion for discovery and adventure, this has allowed him to understand the American culture and adapt to it. He spends most of his days balancing a healthy lifestyle in the food he cooks and eats. From an early age, he remembers eating a home-cooked meal every single day for dinner. His mother not only fed him well but inspired him to explore the art that is cooking to compliment his personality and his own personal interests. He hopes to one day work in film production in either LA or NYC but in the meantime, he’s still cooking meals and taking every day one step at a time.
Elisabeth (Lizzie) Toma is a sophomore studying Advertising and business at the University of Texas. Lizzie was born and raised on the East Coast in Mendham, NJ where her family currently resides. Some of Lizzie’s favorite memories from the Northeast include the colorful “changing of the seasons” from warm summer weather to brisk fall air. After her four years at UT, she plans on going to law school and eventually living in New York City.
Elise Wang is a senior Biology major at the University of Texas. She was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She currently owns a boxer-lab tripod who follows her everywhere and is obsessed with feet. She has an older sister who recently graduated from McCombs and is taking a spontaneous 6 month-1 year trip in New Zealand. She enjoys the outdoors, playing intramural sports like flag football, and is slightly obsessed with Portugal the Man. After graduation, she plans on applying to veterinary school.
Ellen Mei is a senior nutrition major at the University of Texas at Austin. She was born in Edison, New Jersey and spent the first three years of her life in Taiwan before moving to Plano, TX. Since her childhood dream of being a pastry chef, Ellen’s plans have flipped and she now plans to enter the nonprofit sector, focusing on the intersection of nutrition, public health, and public policy. While not thinking and stressing out about her future, Ellen likes to cook, read, and look at all of the dogs that she wants to adopt.
Erika Herod is a senior at The University of Texas at Austin studying math. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, her love of food began when she was fifteen and became vegetarian. She hopes to pursue a job in data analytics after she graduates. erikaherod@gmail.com
Hannah Edelman is a second year student at the University of Texas at Austin studying film, photojournalism, and business. She was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her twin brother Ian, little sister Marley, and two dogs Fergie and Bella. Growing up with Italian as well as Jewish grandparents, food and food culture has always been an important part of her life. Some of Hannah’s earliest memories are watching her mother and grandmother cook together on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Jeremy Steinberger is a junior majoring in Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. He was born in Los Angeles, California as the youngest in a family of two sets of twins. His love for food was born in a household that lived on Italian food as the mother of the Steinberger family lived in Italy for 10 years. He hopes to travel the globe and eat one thing from every continent in the world. Follow his journey on Instagram: @mrejerm
Katherine Cantu is a senior BSA biology major with a McCombs Business Foundations Certificate at the University of Texas-Austin. She is from Palacios, a small one stoplight town on the coast. Katherine is 1 out of 5 siblings and an aunt to the 3 cutest little girls in the world. She likes to keep things simple when it comes to cooking for herself but adventurous when it comes to trying out different restaurants and cuisines.
Madison Bunner is a third-year communication studies major at The University of Texas at Austin. She has lived in Austin, Texas her entire life, which means she was raised on Tex-Mex and BBQ. Queso is still one of her favorites, but her love for food has rendered her one of the most adventurous eaters amongst her family and friends. She plans to travel, experience new cuisines, and continue to write in the years to come.
Mackenzie Frazier is a third year Advertising major at the University of Texas. She first learned to cook with her grandfather around the age of eight. The first meal she learned to cook was candied baby carrots, and her love for food has grown exponentially ever since. Mackenzie is specifically interested in healthy, sustainable means of cooking and eating. Her deep passion for environmental conservatism drives this interest both inside and outside of the kitchen as she works to spread awareness and to inspire others in regards to sustainable and environmentally conscious living.
Michelle Biancardi is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Business Honors, Marketing, and English. She is pursuing a career in the food industry and has corporate work experience with Texas-based H-E-B Grocery Co. and with the Texas-operating non-profit Brighter Bites. Michelle’s favorite meal of the day is breakfast, which she will gladly eat at any time of day. In her free time, Michelle enjoys distance running and cooking with her friends.
Ryan keeps the food fresh and the t-shirts tropical as a 3rd year Advertising student also pursuing a Business Foundations Certificate at the University of Texas. Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Ryan spent much of his childhood in and around the kitchen helping his parents cook during the holidays. His parents eventually passed the proverbial spatula down to Ryan as the main chef in the family. Now, Ryan’s in charge of the turkey on Thanksgiving and the lobsters on New Years. When not in the kitchen, Ryan can be found yelling at the TV while watching the Longhorns or Falcons, or out exploring Austin with his buddies. He loves exploring new places, new dishes, and new experiences. www.optimizeatx.com
Samantha Lion is a second year RTF and Advertising major in the Moody School of Communications at the University of Texas at Austin. Before moving to Austin to attend UT, she resided in Long Island, New York where she lived with her parents, brother, and dog, Charlie. Her love for writing was born at an early age and she hasn’t stopped exploring her creativity since. One of Sam’s earliest memories is baking rainbow cake with her mom for multiple birthdays and celebrations. In addition to having a passion for creativity, Sam is also a big time hockey fan. She hopes to one day be involved in the film of television industry. samlion@utexas.edu
Taylor Hernandez is a senior Public Relations major at the University of Texas at Austin. She was born in Florida but has since moved around the country eight times. Her family now resides in Ohio, Columbus where they plan to stay. Some of Taylor’s earliest memories include family times around the dinner table, bonding over homemade recipes such as spaghetti and meatballs and chili. Taylor has both an older and younger sister who she considers her best friends, as well as a grumpy Shih Tzu who she couldn’t live without. She plans to move closer to her parents after graduation where she will pursue a career in sales.
Vanessa Hernandez is a senior majoring in Early Childhood Development at the University of Texas. Born in Monterrey, Mexico she immigrated to the lone star state at the age of 7, where she attended school and graduated from Lehman High School. She is true to her Austin roots, as she spends her time hiking, riding her bike, or exploring new places to hang her hammock at. She is currently employed as a babysitter and personal trainer, and hopes that in the future she can find a way to combine these skills to further fund her love of festivals and traveling.
Winnie Chen is a senior Biology major at The University of Texas. She hopes to attend Physician Assistant school after she graduates and to go on to do volunteer medical missionary work. She is from Cypress, a suburb in Houston, Texas. She loves traveling and trying new foods all over the World. She especially loves exploring new restaurants and food trucks in Austin. In her spare time she also loves to volunteer with kids, watch movies, and have jam sessions with her friends.