Christina Hu is a junior at the University of California, Berkeley, double-majoring in Psychology and Gender & Women’s Studies. Since she has a unique cross-cultural background, she is interested in how culture, language, and social hierarchies shape mental health and interpersonal dynamics through an intersectional lens, attending to the ways gender/sexuality, bilingual experience, immigration contexts, and socioeconomic position intersect with stigma. On campus, Christina serves as an Associate in the ASUC International Affairs Department, where she supports international-student advocacy and campus programming, like drafting brief policy memos, coordinating events, assisting cross-campus partnerships, and helping with communications and outreach. In her free time, she likes reading, cooking, enjoying music, and practicing the Japanese tea ceremony.

Maria Castaneda (she/they) is a senior at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in  Psychology with a minor in Chicanx Latinx Studies. She is particularly interested in exploring how the intersection of multiple group identities—such as race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status—impacts access to valuable resources and opportunities, resulting in disparities in mental health, well-being, and education. Additionally, she seeks to understand how societal perceptions of these individuals further influence their life experiences and opportunities. Through her academic pursuits, she aims to understand and address the systemic barriers and biases that impact these individuals.

Delaney Roehrs (she/her) is a senior at UC Berkeley, double majoring in Psychology and Political Science. A Miller Scholar, she conducted a yearlong independent project on disability access in U.S. higher education, presenting at the 2025 Miller Colloquium. She also serves on the UC Berkeley Student Leadership and Engagement (SLE) Advisory Board, advising on identity-conscious and culturally responsive practices. In summer 2025, she studied international law and politics at University of Oxford- Exeter College as a U.S. State Department Gilman Scholar.

At the HIGHER Lab, Delaney explores disability, perception, and equity to inform more inclusive institutional policies. As a disabled and neurodivergent student, she is committed to advancing disability rights in higher education and plans to pursue graduate study in education policy and disability advocacy.

I am a second-year student at the University of California, Berkeley, where I am studying Cognitive Science and Data Science. My interests lie at the intersection of human interaction as well as with technology. I am so excited to be a part of HIGHER lab, relating to its use of quantitative methods in studying social organizational hierarchies. I am also involved in a social impact consulting organization on campus, where I develop my high-level problem-solving skills with actionable recommendations. I also play volleyball on the club volleyball team here at Berkeley, as well as crochet and knit in my free time. Lately, I have been listening to albums instead of playlists, and my favorite places to do so around campus are the benches near the campanile, the glade around 5 pm, and any other places where I can relax and observe the world while listening to some great music!

Inderpal Singh is a fourth-year student studying Political Economy with a concentration in U.S. inequality. He grew up with a strong background in community service and grassroots advocacy, upholding the principle of seva, or selfless service. While his early work was rooted in Punjabi Sikh organizations, he began to recognize the limitations within those spaces and has since transitioned toward a more intersectional understanding of service. At the HIGHER Lab, he hopes to explore intersectionality and the complexities of navigating multiple identities in the social sphere. He is currently interning at AAPI Data at UC Berkeley, where he serves as a policy intern. There, he researches policy and creates briefs on concerns affecting AAPI communities. Inderpal is passionate about this work not only because it resonates with his identity, but because he hopes to carry the values of community-informed research and intersectionality into his future understanding of law, one grounded in the principle that law is meant to serve the people.

Hi everyone, I'm Zhuoya! As a sophomore student, I double major in Psychology and Statistics, with a great love for Art History. My major research interest is the various emotions in organizations, why we have them and how they shape us. I particularly love positive emotions and prosocial interactions — even simply hearing words like “empathy” makes me smile. I therefore focus on empathy research in our lab. Outside academics, I love graphic design as the Marketing Director in one ASUC senator’s office. This semester, I also joined the ASUC Mental Health Commission to make mental health resources more accessible to every student. Moreover, I love baking cookies for my friends during weekends. My proudest achievement ever is that I managed to see 2024's total eclipse with solar prominence in cloudy Austin!

Rebecca Ding is a senior majoring in Business Administration and Psychology, with a minor in Journalism. Rebecca is a passionate storyteller, and is captivated by the complexities of human relationships and behaviour. Research-wise, Rebecca is interested in researching and developing ways to improve mental health access for underrepresented communities through accessible tools. She sees communication as a powerful tool to foster understanding and cultivate connections among communities. Professionally, Rebecca is interested in working in marketing or consulting. Outside of HIGHER, Rebecca loves travelling (she just got back from her semester abroad in London to which she visited more than 10 places), exploring different cultures, and meeting people from different walks of life.

Ansel Yi is a third-year student at the University of California, Berkeley, studying Data Science and Psychology. He is interested in studying identity, and particularly how American cultural identity and politics relates to moralized discourse on social media. He aims to apply his skills into data-driven roles, with an emphasis on scientific communication. He’s a Research Assistant at the Consumer Behavior Lab at Santa Clara University, where he’s studying offline licensing of online (im)moral behavior. He’s leading a project on Moral Foundations Theory as the Social Psychology Committee Director in his student org, B PsychEd. He also works as a Peer Adviser at the College of Letters and Science, so come by and ask him some questions about L&S policies! In his free time, he enjoys drawing, writing creative nonfiction, and keeping an aquarium.

Chantel White is a third-year student from San Jose, CA, double majoring in Economics and Political Economy with a minor in Data Science. At HIGHER Lab, she researches the social psychology behind hierarchy and intersectionality, with a passion for applying these insights to workplace dynamics and market structures. As Vice President of Community Development for UC Berkeley’s Panhellenic Council, she oversees DEI initiatives across 13 sorority chapters, representing 2,000 members. Additionally, as Treasurer of the University Housing Rights Organization, she leverages data analysis and strategic communication to advocate for equitable student housing. Driven by an interest in bias within corporate environments, she seeks to bridge social psychology and economics in her pursuit of a legal career. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, attending concerts, walking her dog, and spending time at the beach.

Leah Gutierrez (they/them) is interested in analyzing inequalities, examining their structural foundations, and exploring mitigating forces to ultimately enact revolutionary change. Over the Summer, Leah earned the opportunity to exercise their critical thinking skills while interning for the City of Oakland in the Department of Race and Equity, in which they assisted in designing a racial equity curriculum. Presently, Leah works for the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment in which they bridge language barriers to increase accessibility while surveying the conditions of ECE workers in both English and Spanish. During their first semester with HIGHER lab, Leah aided in running a study that inquired on how stereotype threat and gender atypicality impact young women’s performance. Leah is very excited to extend their insights of stereotype threat into their research on queer health stereotypes and stigma faced by gay men, with the hopes of also exploring how health stereotypes impact lesbians and trans individuals.