Counselor Bios 2024

Taylor is SCOA’s head counselor this summer. She was a SCOA senior counselor last summer. She is a senior and was a goalie on UCSB’s women’s water polo team. She was named Big West Academic All-Conference in 2022. She was named defensive player of the year four times for her high school water polo team and was All-Area Athlete of the Year. She was also on her high school volleyball and swim teams. She was a swim instructor for pre-school to 11^th graders for three summers and was an assistant coach for a high school water polo team. She is a liaison on UCSB’s athletic department’s zero waste committee and is a volunteer tutor teaching elementary students about the environment.

Brooklyn was a SCOA senior counselor last summer and is a graduating senior.  She is a  member of USC’s women’s water polo team that won the 2021 national championship. She was female athlete of the year for her high school and MVP of the water polo team and voted most spirited by fellow students. She was a swim instructor for elementary kids for four summers and a counselor for Junior Lifeguards for elementary and junior high kids. She was a volunteer at her local Boys & Girls Club.

Makenna is a third-year student at UC Davis. Growing up, she played competitive basketball for 12 years. In high school, she was on the girl’s basketball team and was a member of Japanese National Honor Society.
Makenna just finished her third season working for the UC Davis women’s basketball team. She has also been a youth basketball camp coach for the past three summers.

Kunle is a senior majoring in Japanese who transferred from the University of Oklahoma.. He is a triple jumper on Washington’s track team. In high school, he was 2^nd in the nation in the triple jump and was his high school’s athlete of the year. He was also a wide receiver on his school’s football team. Kunle was a summer camp counselor for three summers for K-9^th graders in his hometown.  He is president of his college fraternity. Kunle enjoys making YouTube videos and watching Japanese shows.

Maiki is a senior on Arizona’s beach volleyball team. She was named academic student-athlete of the month. She was on her high school’s indoor volleyball team. She has been a beach volleyball coach for 2^nd to 8^th graders for three years. Maki is a volunteer for the Southern Arizona Children’s Advocacy Center where she supervises children who have experienced or witnessed trauma and for the Special Olympics.

Ja’Bryan graduated last year and is planning on going to graduate school in public affairs. He was a member of Florida International’s cheerleading team that won the NCA college national championship. He was captain of his high school cheerleading team and also played on his high school baseball team. Ja’Bryan is a coach for a high school cheer team.

Federica throws the javelin on UCLA’s track team and came in 1^st place at the PAC 12 conference tournament in the javelin and was 7^th in the nation.   She was named first team All-American in track for the outdoor season.  In high school, she was national champion in Italy in the javelin several times. She also played volleyball in high school. She has been a summer camp counselor for six years.

Lincoln is a sophomore and competes in the 400-meter hurdles on USC’s track team. In high school, he was league champion in the 300-meter and 400-meter hurdles and was named track athlete of the year.   Lincoln played football and soccer growing up. He was a teacher assistant for three years for preschool and grade classes.

Logan is a junior and a member of Central Florida’s cheerleading team that placed 5^th in the nation. His high school cheerleading team was the 2021 cheerleading world champions.  He has been coaching kindergarteners to 6^th graders for the past two years. Logan has taken several classes in sign language.

Elliot is a freshman at the University of Iowa. He was on his high school swim team. He was in his high school orchestra and choir and also performed in musicals while in high school. He plays the violin and guitar and does improv. Elliot has been a lifeguard for the last three years and has volunteered in a classroom of non-English speaking 3^rd graders.

Clare graduated last year from Yale and is currently in grad school at USC getting her master’s in entrepreneurship and innovation.   She is on USC’s rowing team and competed in the U23 world championship in the USA quad in 2021 while at Yale. In high school, she was on the U.S. national team. She also played basketball and track in high school.  She coached 4^th to 8^th graders in rowing. She was in her high school’s fall play every year and she enjoys horseback riding and scuba diving.

Janice will be a welcome addition to SCOA this summer as she will be contributing her skills as medical personnel to provide the best health care at camp, while also assisting as a counselor.  She did her undergraduate studies at the University of Washington and went on to get her master’s in athletic training at the University of Arkansas. She did a fellowship at the University of California, Davis before joining UCLA’s athletic department as an athletic trainer. Janice volunteered at a spots  summer camp similar to SCOA in Portugal for the Christian Sports Medicine Alliance. She played soccer and tennis in high school. Janice will be at sessions 1 to 5.

Megan was a SCOA senior counselor last summer and she will be joining the summer camp for the first two sessions.  She was on UCSB’s volleyball team. She received the District Academic Excellence Award in 2022 and was also a three-year varsity letter winner. She was captain of her high school volleyball team and was named Southern California Outstanding Player and League MVP, as well as High School's Top Athlete of the Year. He coached summer volleyball for 7 years and was the head coach of the children's basketball team at the Venice Japanese Community Center.

Kailee was a SCOA senior counselor last summer and is a graduating senior who has been accepted to the JET program for the next school year. She was on the Davis swim team and earned four-time all-conference honors.  She was captain and MVP of her high school swim team. She was also on the volleyball team and did ballet for four years prior to focusing on swimming and was in a choir for four years. Kailee created the Asian American and Pacific Islander Student Athlete Resource Group at Davis to provide student athletes a safe space to bond with others about Asian American news and events. She also volunteers for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. She plays six instruments and will hopefully get to showcase her talent at camp! Kailee is joining for the 6^th and  7^th sessions.