They're also here to mediate disputes (hopefully you won't have any) between you and a roommate or neighbor. And, most importantly, they can be a good confidant if your job, classes, friends, or family get you down.

Your SA is here to help you with any emergency. You are invited to email, call or visit with your SA whenever you need assistance. you are invited to call or stop by and visit your SA whenever you need assistance. Please leave a message if you do call or visit and the SA is not available. They'll be certain to get back to you! Additionally, there is always an SA on duty between 5 PM and 9 AM weekdays and 24 hours on the weekends and holidays. The SA on duty can be contacted through the Information The SA on duty is responsible for responding to emergencies, complaints, and disturbances whenever the University Offices are closed.

Sansom Advisors - 2009-2010

Sansom Place East

Sansom Place West

Graduate Associate

My name is Sandy Barbut and I am a Sansom Advisor! I am currently a post baccalaureate pre-med student here at the University of Pennsylvania and will be graduating in May. I am originally from Los Angeles, California where I play beach volleyball and cook with my parents. I am bilingual in both French and English and enjoy traveling and reading on my spare time. My favorite food is French Fries!

My name is Adriana Carolina Castellanos. I was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela and I moved to the United States the summer of 1992. I was raised in Miami, FL in a Latino community. I grew up speaking Spanish at home and being surrounded by other immigrants from Latin American countries. I will always treasure the memories!

I attended the University of Florida and majored in Political Science and minored in French. I took classes in all sorts of languages, including French, Italian, and Chinese. I ask that you do not ask me to speak with you in Chinese, as I have sadly forgotten most of it.

I am currently a 2nd year student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. I am still undecided about what kind of law I will ultimately practice. I must admit that I very much enjoyed doing corporate law in the biopharmaceutical industry this past summer but litigation very much interests me as well. I will keep you posted on where my career path leads me.

I enjoy meeting new people and going on adventures. I enjoy traveling and I definitely enjoy eating international foods. My favorite thing in the world is taking long walks and getting lost in new cities, but going to the beach in the wee hours of the morning comes a close second. I like all kinds of music and I am always open to new recommendations. I like museums, watching college football, especially the Gators, and I enjoy reading Paulo Coelho books and National Geographic. Soccer is probably my favorite sport to watch and basketball is my favorite sport to play, but I also like rock climbing. I think I was actually born to be a teacher but life has led me in another direction…maybe I will pick it up later in life. My life philosophy is to make someone else’s day a little better by the end of the day.

Paige grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and is currently studying Politics, Philosophy, and Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences and Legal Studies at Wharton. She is changing careers after enjoying appearing in ten shows on Broadway as an actor, singer, and dancer. She enjoys all things political, teaching musical theatre, playing tennis, running, and Bikram Yoga.

Hello, my name is Philip Ernst, and I am very excited and honored to be a Sansom Advisor this year. I hail from New York, NY, and am a second year Ph.D. student in the Department of Statistics at Wharton. My interests and hobbies include statistics, running, reading, travelling, photography, watching sports games, foreign languages (in particular Hebrew and Chinese), and the beautiful city of San Francisco!

Please come by anytime to room 1603 in Sansom West to introduce yourself! I look forward to making you all feel at home here at Sansom!

I am Diksha Gupta, Sansom Advisor for the floors 1-5. I hail from Delhi popularly known as the city of hearts and loves being called as a Delhiite. I am a second year Masters student of Biotechnology at School of Engineering and Applied Science. I am a professional Kathak Dancer. I like networking and making friends from different cultural backgrounds. I am dedicated, love to paint and sleep, listen to all kinds of music, adventurous and love being pampered. My friends refer to me as a livewire due to my amicable disposition. My most attractive feature is my smile and I am always high on happiness. I wish to be an entrepreneur. I am a person who just doesn’t build castles in the air but likes to turn dreams into reality. My phone no. is 215-417-4892 and my email id is diksha_AT_seas.upenn.edu.

Mahmud Hussain started to bring “chemistry” to Sansom Community Services (SCS) since his role as Sansom Advisor in 2006. Mahmud is an international student from Bangladesh. He graduated with a BA in Chemistry from Bard College, New York, in 2005. He is currently a 5th year doctoral student in the Chemistry Department at U of Pennsylvania in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. His natural chemistry synthetic skill directly transfers to his love in cooking and tasting food from all over the world. Mahmud hopes to see residents in his upcoming “kitchen chemistry” socials.

My name is Solomon Joshua and I am a graduate student in the nursing program at Penn. I have been in the Philadelphia region for over 3 years now. Prior to coming to Penn I have worked as a tech in Albert Einstein Healthcare Network In Philadelphia and as a Chaplian in Africa. I like meeting people, travelling, sports, music and poetry. Look forward to have a great school year.

My name is Tiffany Li and I am very excited to be your Sansom Adviser for the year! I am originally from Los Angeles, California and I’m in my second year studying architecture at the School of Design. Before coming to Penn, I studied architecture and business at MIT for undergrad. I enjoy hearing about people’s passions and learning about the innovative, fun things students are studying and creating in school. I have a strong passion for design and innovation, and it is my dream to make beautiful and lasting architecture one day.

Some of my hobbies include singing, running, and cooking. I used to be part of an a cappella group in college and I always get excited to hear a cappella groups perform.

Although I am new to the sport, I also really like playing tennis and cheering for tennis heroes, such as Federer and Nadal. When I have nothing to do, I love baking cookies! Even though I always end up eating most of the cookies I bake, I enjoy sharing baked foods too! If you ever feel yourself getting a sweet tooth, feel free to stop by my room in 712 East, and I'll offer you a cookie!

My name is Megan Nelson and I am an accelerated 2nd degree BSN/MSN nursing student. I did my undergraduate at Washington and Lee University, graduating in 2008 with a BS in Business Administration. My junior year of college I decided that what I really wanted to pursue was nursing, so I decided to apply to Penn’s accelerated program and got accepted! I just started last fall and will finish up with my BSN in December of 2010. At that point I will have to make the decision whether to continue with my Masters or work for a year or two. Ultimately, I would like to be a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. Besides nursing, I am a huge sports fan, particularly football. I also love to cook and am constantly thinking of new recipes to try out. This is my second semester as a Sansom Advisor and I look forward to the exciting year we have ahead!

Loni Rogers is a senior in the School of Arts and Sciences from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Loni transferred to Penn from the Program for the Exceptionally Gifted at Mary Baldwin College. Loni is majoring in the Biological Basis of Behavior and is double minoring in Chemistry and Classical Studies. Loni wants to be a Neurosurgeon. Loni is an avid thrill-seeker and likes trying new things. Loni is energetic and loves to eat many different types of food. Loni's favorite sports are basketball and tennis and you will always find her television tuned to a sports channel.

My name is Sounak Sarkar, I am the Sansom (Resident) Advisor for the floors 12 and 13, Sansom Place West. I am originally from Kolkata, India and currently I am doing my PhD here in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.

In my personal life, I am a quiet, friendly person who appreciates and enjoys nice company of friends of all ages, especially those who possess a sharp sense of humor and self respect. My favorite hobbies include reading a lot of books, photography, and of course music. Music in any form is my passion, and I cannot live without it for a day. I love to go places and of particular interest are those far away from busy hassle of city life, deeply embedded in the calm serenity of a sea shore or a mountain side. I love swimming, table tennis and biking. Cooking is sometimes an extremely refreshing break for me and being a chemist by profession, I find cooking new recipes an interesting pass time.

I am from the small town of Mercer in western Pennsylvania. I am a senior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science studying Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, specifically robotics. I am very passionate about cooking, and I love to try new and exciting foods. Please feel free to come and talk with me anytime in room 517.