Established in 2022, CIRCLE of Friends (CoF) is a space for international undergraduates as well as students interested in different cultures, to hangout, make friends, share, learn, and get support. Every Tue and Fri from 6:00-8:00 p.m., you can stop by HUB141 to join CoF teams for all kinds of fun activities, helpful presentations, meaningful discussions, free snacks, and many more.
CIRCLE calendar. A long list of amazing CoF events is coming up soon for Spring quarter.
Chat 1:1 with Dan, Executive Director of CIRCLE:
CoF Program Goals:
- Provide a welcoming space where international undergraduates can hang out, make friends and find a community where they belong. (Connection & Community)
- Create a safe space where international undergraduates can share their stories, voice their concerns, and support one another (Safe space)
- Connect international undergraduates with campus resources to support their academic and professional growth. (Resources and support)
- Create fun activities to enhance cultural understanding, as well as social aspects of being a college student in the U.S. (Social life)
- Build a casual environment for students to reach their full potential. (Leadership)
Meet the CoF Team
CoF Leadership
Dan Zhu (朱老師) (she/her) | CoF Program Founder
From: Jiangxi & Beijing, China
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese, Hakka and English
Major: I did my undergraduate in BNU (北师大) and finished my PhD in English composition at UW a while ago.
Fun fact: I have two lovely mixed boys: Miles and Sebastian.
Xinyue Yu | CoF Program Manager
From: China
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and English
Major: Linguistics
Hobbies: Skiing, skating, golfing, hiking, swimming, and traveling around the world!
Celia Malone (she/her) | Program Manager
Languages spoken: English
Favorite place to eat in Seattle: Retreat in Greenlake
Fun Fact: at age 9 I memorized over 200 digits of pi, but now I can only remember around 80.
Sangey Rinchen (he/him) | CIRCLE of Friends Peer Advisor (PA)
Languages spoken: English, Dzongkha, a little German
About me: I enjoy long hikes, writing stories, and spending time with my family!
Yung-Ching Lin | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Chinese and English
Major: Engineering undeclared
About me: I am the only child. I like listening to music, drawing and reading!
Adhiman Jagota | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: English, Hindi, and Punjabi
Major: Pre-Sciences
About me: Breaking bad is one of my favorite shows; I like traveling, and making new friends.
Da Wei | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Chinese and English
Major: Pre-social science
About me: I like playing basketball, listening to music, and exploring new experiences
Anh Nguyen | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Vietnamese, English, and some Spanish
Major: Marketing
About me: I love listening to music, watching movies, and traveling!
Xiaoxuan (Catherine) Tang | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Chinese and English
Intended Major: Computer Science
About me: Love forcing ChatGPT to give me responses with a bunch of cute emojis.
Xiangying (Jenny) Wang | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Major: Marketing
About me: I like to find new music to listen to. Almost 3000 songs in my playlist.
Aditi Manjunath | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Kannada and English
Major: Electrical & Computer Engineering
About me: Love singing!
Melody Wu | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Major: Pre-social science
About me: I have a twin sister!
Patrissa Gunawan | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Indonesian and English
Intended Major: Business Administration
About me: I love playing sports and eating noodles.
Alaa Albuaijan | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Arabic and English
Major: Political Science
About me: I love film, music and photobooth!
Niece Theppithuck | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Thai and English
Intended Major: Economics
About me: I love playing golf and pilates.
Raynah Silprasert | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Thai and English
Major: Biology (Physiology)
About me: I like playing badminton and pool
Xiangcheng Ji | CIRCLE Ambassador
Jessy Zhao (she/her) | CIRCLE of Friends Peer Advisor (PA)
Languages spoken: English, Mandarin, and a little bit Japanese
I love writing song lyrics, singing, and reading novels with my friends!
Mingle Liang | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, and English
Major: Economics & Environmental Science
About me:
Selbi Orayeva | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: English, Russian, Turkmen, Turkish, and some German
Major: Educational Leadership and Policy
About me: I used to play table tennis quite regularly and I am planning to join the table tennis club at UW. I also love reading, traveling and spending time outdoors. I can’t swim yet but I enjoy all types of water activities (as long as I have a life jacket 🙂
Yihong (Rena) Yin | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Intended Major: Statistics
About me:
Miyu Kodama | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Japanese and English
Major: Medical Anthropology and Global Health
About me: I love shopping, traveling, makeup, and listening to any kind of pop music
Zhongyu (Andy) Wang | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Intended Major: Business Administration
About me: I play table tennis and I love music.
Brian Yuan | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Major: Informatics (Junior)
About me: Like playing badminton, tennis, hiking, skiing, traveling, and ping pong.
Michelle Yu | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Major: Biochemistry
About me: Love music and traveling
Qianyi (Linda) Jiang | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Major: Pre-science (intended biochemistry)
About me: I love cooking and hiking.
Sinuo (Angela) Sun | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Major: Mathematics, Computational Finance and Risk Management
About me: I am good at playing FPS games.
Jason Kariadi | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Chinese, English, and Indonesian
Major: Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering
About me: I play soccer and love travelling.
Jessie Chang | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Chinese and English
Major: Biochemistry
Erich Ang (she/her) | CIRCLE of Friends Peer Advisor (PA)
Languages spoken: English and Tagalog
I love singing, musical theater, watching TV shows (FRIENDS, Modern Family, and Grey’s Anatomy), and hanging out with friends!
Nadiah Sheldon | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: English, Indonesian, and some Japanese
Major: Biology
Minor: Russian
About me: I love sports! I play soccer, volleyball, and snowboard.
Grace Zhang | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Major: Human Centered Design Engineering
About me: I love traveling and fencing.
Qiyu (Gracia) Wang | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages Spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Major: Applied Math
About me: Love cats love music 🙂
Meichen Liu | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Intended Major: Psychology/Accounting
Hobbies: I’m Evangelical Christian and I play the piano and the cello…also homeschooled for eight years:)
Lujia (Luna) Cao | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Intended Major: Applied Math / Mechanical Engineering
About me: I love trying new things~
Niece Theppithuck | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: English and Thai
Intended Major: Economics
About me: I love playing golf and pilates
Samriddhi Sivakumar | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken:
Intended Major:
About me:
Sofila Song | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Mandarin Chinese and English
Intended Major: Informatics
Fun Fact: I take out contacts with my knuckles.
Sara Allami | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Arabic, English, and Some Turkish
Major: Law
About me: My favorite seasons are fall and winter.
Raynah Silprasert | CIRCLE Ambassador
Languages spoken: Thai and English
Major: Biology (Physiology)
About me: I like playing badminton and pool
CIRCLE of Friends Winter Quarter Events Overview
(All dates are tentative!)
| Date | Event Name | Time | Location |
| 1/10 (Fri) | Study Abroad Session (with Ice Skate tickets sale) | 5:00-6:00 p.m. | HUB 141 |
| 1/14 (Tue) | Merit Scholarships (with Ice Skate tickets sale) | 5:00-6:00 p.m. | Schmitz Hall 250 |
| 1/17 (Fri) | Off-Campus Job & OPT |
6:00-7:00 p.m. |
HUB 141 |
| 1/21 (Tue) | Game Show Night | 6:00-7:00 p.m. | HUB 141 |
| 1/25 (Sat) | CIRCLE Goes Ice Skating | 3:30-7:00 p.m. | Schmitz Hall 250 & Kraken Iceplex |
| 1/28 (Tue) | 6:00-7:00 p.m. | Zoom | |
| 1/31 (Fri) | Lunar New Year Celebration | TBD | TBD |
| 2/4 (Tue) | Biology Major Application | 6:00-7:00 p.m. | Zoom |
| 2/8 (Sat) | 6:00-9:00 p.m. | HUB 141 & Alaska Airline Arena | |
| 2/11 (Tue) | 6:00-8:00 p.m. | HUB 141 | |
| 2/14 (Fri) | Valentine’s Day | 5:00-8:00 p.m. | Schmitz Hall |
| 2/18 (Tue) | 6:00-7:00 p.m. | HUB 141 | |
| 2/21 (Fri) | Yoodli Demo: AI for Presentation & Interviews | 6:00-7:00 p.m. | HUB 141 |
| 2/25 (Tue) | |||
| 2/28 (Fri) | Off-Campus Housing with Student Panelists | 6:00-7:00 p.m. | HUB 141 & 145 |
| 3/4 (Tue) | |||
| 3/7 (Fri) | 6:00-8:00 p.m. | HUB 141 | |
| 3/11 (Tue) | 6:00-8:00 p.m. | HUB 141 | |
| 3/14 (Fri) | Meal Before Finals | 6:00-8:00 p.m. | HUB 141 |
The CIRCLE of Friends is proudly funded by the Services and Activities Fee (SAF), a student-levied fund designed to enhance the out-of-class experience for students at the University of Washington. SAF supports a wide range of programs and services that promote students’ cultural, emotional, intellectual, physical, and social well-being. Through this funding, we’re able to offer ongoing support and create a space where all students can thrive and feel at home.