University of Iowa "alternative spring break" teams fanned out across the United States to address issues of importance.

Organizing toys and making crafts with the patients at a children’s hospital in Little Rock. Working with an Atlanta organization that focuses on providing services for LGBTQ+ youth who are experiencing homelessness. Donning gloves and aprons with Kids Against Hunger in Tulsa to pack more than 300 meals for kids all over the world. And taking some time to appreciate the cultures and traditions in cities all across the United States.

All of the above tasks were performed over spring break by University of Iowa students participating in one of 16 Hawkeye Service Teams. Commonly referred to as “alternative spring break,” the UI program promotes service learning, social justice, and community building.

Click the pins on the map below to see where the teams went, and then click the city name to read more about their work, in the students’ own words. (Or just keep scrolling down to see their stories—your call.)

 

 

Atlanta, Georgia

University of Iowa students working on a house project in Atlanta Georgia for Alternative Spring Break
The Alternative Spring Break team in Atlanta focused on LGBTQ+ issues. We partnered with several nonprofit organizations throughout the week with emphasis on LGBTQ+ homelessness, HIV/AIDS treatment and awareness, and transgender rights: Lost’N’Found Youth, Positive Impact Health Center, and the Jerusalem House. In the photo, team members Natalie, Will, and Julia are working on building a raised garden for Jerusalem House, which provides services for people with HIV or terminal illnesses. In addition, we visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, CNN Center, and World of Coke. We were able to learn about issues the LGBTQ+ community is facing and what people can do to care for each other.

Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Ashley Berta (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Natalie Betz (Hoffman Estates, Illinois), Julia DiGiacomo (Marion, Iowa), Roman Ebert (River Forest, Illinois), Will Garrison (Lorimor, Iowa), Alex Kramer (Earling, Iowa), Zach Lively (DeWitt, Iowa), Josie Marchant (Mahtomedi, Minnesota), Annie McIllhon (Des Moines, Iowa), Anne McLaughlin-Smith (Des Moines, Iowa), Kody Meyer (Toledo, Iowa), Bo Peng (Hunan, China), Darian Thompson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Sami Wiezorek (Dubuque, Iowa), Eriq Wolfe (Sidney, Iowa)

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Biloxi, Mississippi

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Biloxi
The Biloxi Alternative Spring Break team focused on youth health education. While in Biloxi, we worked with the Moore Community House, United Way of South Mississippi, the Bethel Free Health Clinic, and the compassionate people of the Mental Health Association of South Mississippi—that’s us together in the photo. We also explored the culture of Mississippi by visiting the Biloxi Lighthouse, O’Keefe Museum of Art, and the city of New Orleans. We also enjoyed time in the white sand and salty waves on the beautiful Gulf Coast beach. Our team was composed of a variety of different majors, backgrounds, and identities—and we had a wonderful time learning about one another and the Biloxi community.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Nikki Beechy (New Lenox, Illinois), Gongheng Hu (China), Ashley Joseph (Gurnee, Illinois), Benjamin Linden (Sioux City, Iowa), Yanran Lu (Kunming, China), Christopher Ohrt (Iowa City, Iowa), Charity Pettit (Urbana, Iowa), Avri Ruffcorn (Independence, Iowa), Kyle Scheer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Amanda Silverstein (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin), Alexis Soukup (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Bella Swan (Rockford, Illinois), Harli Thompson (Warrenville, Illinois), Jiawen Wang (Baoding, China)

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Buffalo, New York

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Buffalo
Our team traveled to Buffalo to learn about urban development within communities. During our trip, we worked with a variety of amazing community partners. We volunteered with Teacher’s Desk—in the photo, we’re packaging pens so that Teacher’s Desk can provide them to teachers in the Buffalo community. We also volunteered with University Heights Tool Library, Matt Urban Hope Center, Friends of Night People, and Massachusetts Avenue Project. The group completed a total of 21 service hours, with some fun cultural activities mixed in. We also went on a tour of Buffalo City Hall to learn more about local government and the impact it has on the community, and took a fun trip to Niagara Falls and toured the city of Buffalo to learn more about urban development within their community. We enjoyed our week together.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Sarah Behrens (West Des Moines, Iowa), Lily Burns (Columbia, Missouri), Jenna Gardner (Stoughton, Wisconsin), Hallee Haygood (Temecula, California), Safiya Knighten (Charles City, Iowa), Sydney Lyddon (Grimes, Iowa), Rebecca Lyons (St. Louis, Missouri), Alex Martinez (South El Monte, California), A.C. McKenzie (Des Moines, Iowa), Jamie Porter (Iowa City, Iowa), Alyssa Schaeffer (Nevada, Iowa), Gustave Stewart (Iowa City, Iowa), Mimi Stubbs (Chicago, Illinois)

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Columbus, Ohio

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Columbus
The trip to Columbus focused on the criminal justice system. We worked with community organizations that address needs of at-hope students who walk the fine line between incarceration and school suspensions. We created authentic relationships where we began to unpack hegemonic messages of incarcerated and at-hope youth, and the criminal justice system as a whole. We worked with the YMCA Positive Alternative Learning for Students (PALS), Juvenile Justice Coalition, and Huckleberry House. The majority of meals during spring break were prepared as a team (see photo) at St. Philip Episcopal Church, where we stayed throughout the week. We also visited the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio State House, and Ohio State University. All our team members were required to go through a background check in order to work with the community partners, which can be intimidating, but attested to our commitment for serving with the various communities.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Michael Aragon-Jacques (West Liberty, Iowa), Christina Behrens (West Des Moines, Iowa), Belen Castaneda (Sioux City, Iowa), Kalli Christensen (Maple Grove, Minnesota), Savannah DeGroot (Johnston, Iowa), Mystic Henningsen (Sibley, Iowa), Jacqueline Medrano (Chicago, Illinois), Aida Mengistu (Sioux City, Iowa), Rylie Niebuhr (Davenport, Iowa), Lilián Sánchez (Des Moines, Iowa), Heath Schintler (Kalona, Iowa), Kamryn Smith (Central City, Iowa), Griffin Trout (West Des Moines, Iowa)

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Dallas, Texas

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Dallas
Our Hawkeye Service Team group enjoyed spring break in Dallas, where we focused on public health as our community work and social justice topic. We worked with Divinekinship, an urban gardening organization; Aids Interfaith Network, a health care organization for at-risk populations; Crossroads Community Services, an educational and assistive community center; and North Texas Food Bank, a top-ranked food pantry for the surrounding area. We found time for a group photo after our last volunteer shift. When we weren’t serving with the community, we explored various cultural opportunities, such as the Dallas Farmers Market, the notable Reunion Tower, and authentic Tex-Mex cuisine.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Maya Altemeier (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Addison Armstrong (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Alda Dansou (Muscatine, Iowa), Vijay Kamalumpundi (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Clara Lyden (West Des Moines, Iowa), Alison Monroe (Hills, Iowa), Michael Niles (Huntley, Illinois), Danny O’Halloran (Des Moines, Iowa), Hannah Page (St. Louis, Missouri), Apoorva Raikwar (Iowa City, Iowa), Hope Ritter (Frankfort, Illinois), Jesus Sanchez (Davenport, Iowa), Erika Velasco (West Liberty, Iowa), Sreeja Vepa (Urbandale, Iowa), Tyler Wills (Marion, Iowa)

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Denver, Colorado

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Denver
We traveled from Iowa City to the Mile High City as the Denver team. Our team, which was sponsored by Residence Education, spent spring break focused on immigration in Denver. Throughout our trip, we served with community partners that work directly with members of the immigrant community in Denver and the community as a whole, including Habitat for Humanity (as seen at right from the selfie perspective) and the Food Bank of the Rockies. Our team enjoyed the opportunity to serve with the Denver community, and also had the chance to visit Red Rocks, explore the Denver Zoo, and catch a Denver Nuggets game.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Jessica Arteaga (Chicago, Illinois), Jade Bullock (Davenport, Iowa), Isabella Dietrich (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Marina Gibbs (Chandler, Arizona), Alison Hershley (West Des Moines, Iowa), Hannah Jwaied (Iowa City, Iowa), Alexa Maakestad (Osage, Iowa), Michael Meyer (Independence, Iowa), Elizabeth Retikis (Council Bluffs, Iowa), Alexia Sanchez (Des Moines, Iowa), Jon Seedorff (Independence, Iowa), Sevanah Thomas (Fertile, Iowa)

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Detroit, Michigan

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Detroit
For Alternative Spring Break 2018, the Detroit team had a new focus area: the arts. The team served with four community partners that are paving the way for the arts in the community: the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art environment created by Tyree Guyton in response to poverty, rampant drug use, and violence (that’s us in front of the house with Tyree); Beyond Basics, a literacy program serving the Detroit public schools; Arts & Scraps, creating art kits out of recycled materials for kids to create art projects; and Mosaic Youth Theatre, founded to address gaps in arts education. In addition to serving with community partners, we explored the Detroit Institute of Art, Hitsville USA, and visited with Rachel Zuckerman, a University of Iowa alumna and Detroit native, who gave us a guided tour of Detroit highlighting the unique history, culture, and emerging arts scene of Detroit.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Kate Alexander (Durant, Iowa), Rebecca Cisneros (Villa Park, Illinois), Anagha Inamdar (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Katherine Kaliban (Waterloo, Iowa), Vivian Le (Des Moines, Iowa), Rachel Miller (Bettendorf, Iowa), Loreena Peragine (Davenport, Iowa), Sara Piccoli (Tampa, Florida), Jackson Skiles (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Javon Stovall (Iowa City, Iowa), Zoe Swinton (Des Moines, Iowa), Pearl Tate (Des Moines, Iowa), Ben Wolfe (Sidney, Iowa)

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Indianapolis, Indiana

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Indianapolis
The Fraternity and Sorority Life–sponsored Hawkeye Service Team headed to Indianapolis. We engaged in service activities focused around food justice, addressing food insecurity concerns and distribution of food. Some of our community partners in the area included Midwest Food Panty, Wheeler Mission, and Gleaners Food Pantry. We got a team photo by the colorful wall outside of Fletcher Place, which is a local community center offering preschool, thrift store, and food pantry resources. We were also able to tour Lucas Oil Stadium, participate in a scavenger hunt downtown, and meet with a group from Iowa State University who were on a similar Alternative Spring Break trip. We learned more about service and active citizenship, and explored the values that Greek life has to offer.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Alina Andino (Chicago, Illinois), Abbie Berryhill (Ames, Iowa), Emily Bui (Sioux City, Iowa), Jazmine Davis (Bloomingdale, Illinois), Peter Fassnacht (Wheaton, Illinois), Claire Fenney (Bettendorf, Iowa), Nicole Koenigsman (Bellevue, Nebraska), Sarah Lopez (Kenosha, Wisconsin), Jenna McCoy (Estherville, Iowa), Juan Morales (Storm Lake, Iowa), Dylan O’Conner (Columbus, Ohio), Skylar Romasanta (Elgin, Illinois), Lindsay Tvedt (Hudson, Wisconsin), Bella Volfson (Davenport, Iowa)

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Kansas City, Missouri

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Kansas City
With a huge thanks to the UI Center for Advancement, our team traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, where we focused on youth education. During our time in Kansas City, we served with the YMCA Head Start Program, Avenue of Life, and Literacy KC. We also had an opportunity to meet and spend time with the Kansas City IOWA Club board members. Additionally, we visited the Brown v. Board of Education Museum, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and the American Jazz Museum (where we struck a pose). Our team shared a goal of delving into the history of youth education in Kansas City, and learned more about how social justice issues and needs of the community are currently being addressed.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Liz Burns (Bay Village, Ohio), Kaydee Ecker (Stockton, California), Margaret Good (Oak Forest, Illinois), Julia Hughes (LaGrange Park, Illinois), Ruibo Liu (China), Brianna Morgan (Albia, Iowa), Kaiwal Patel (Clive, Iowa), Izzy Regalado (Bartlett, Illinois), Kat Schaaf (Chesapeake, Virginia), Madison Schulte (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Maddy Wagner (Dubuque, Iowa), Lexy Winecke (Altoona, Iowa)

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Little Rock, Arkansas

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Little Rock
Our team headed to Little Rock and focused on children’s health, as our trip was sponsored by the University of Iowa’s Dance Marathon. We worked with Arkansas Children’s Hospital, focusing on the well-being of youth; Women & Children First and OurHouse Shelter, addressing important issues like domestic violence and welfare need and how they affect children; University of Arkansas in Little Rock’s Children International Program, learning about efforts in the Little Rock community; and Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), analyzing the roots of child health policy and related advocacy in cities like Little Rock. The photo shows Jadie Knobbe making music with the preschoolers at OurHouse, which gives priority to homeless or low-income children. Along the way, we experienced the culture and livelihood of Arkansas with a trip to the Clinton Presidential Library, dinner with UI alumni at a historic eatery, a walk down the Big Dam Bridge, and plenty more.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Courtney Becker (Maquoketa, Iowa), Sarah Harding (Troy, Illinois), Cora Hulten (LaGrange Park, Illinois), Jadie Knobbe (Carroll, Iowa), Sre Kotla (Urbandale, Iowa), Carolyn Lo (Des Moines, Iowa), Colton Musser (Williamsburg, Iowa), Abbey Schaefer (Dixon, Illinois), Ashley Sitzman (Ames, Iowa), Nathan Spitz (Osage, Iowa), Allie Stutting (Princeton, Iowa), Jill Tang (Des Moines, Iowa), Anita Thammavongsa (Albertville, Minnesota), Nicole VanErsvelde (North Liberty, Iowa), Jesse Weiss (Glen Rock, New Jersey)

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Louisville, Kentucky

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Louisville
We headed to Louisville with a focus on public health. Our team goal was to learn about different issues that people in Louisville struggle with and internalize. During our time in Louisville, we volunteered at the Lord’s Kitchen, serving food and working at a food pantry; House of Ruth (where some of our team members can be seen in the photo), completing yard work, preparing gardens, and laying mulch; and Our Place, working with individuals and families who struggle with tobacco and alcohol use. Some of our cultural activities throughout the week included going to the Big Four Bridge, Louisville Slugger Museum, and Fourth Street.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Jeff Banker (Fulton, Illinois), Christina Bordenet (Barrington, Illinois), Shelby Christensen (LeClaire, Iowa), Gabi Eis (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Harrison Freund (West Des Moines), Chandler Hohbach (Marcus, Iowa), Judith Leon (Dubuque, Iowa), Hector Martinez Jr. (West Liberty, Iowa), Olivia McGovern (Central City, Iowa), Amam Nasir (Keokuk, Iowa), Katie Rasmuson (Garner, Iowa), Ajla Smajlovic (Brookfield, Illinois), Gracie Torres (Chicago, Illinois), Austin Wu (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Christian Zvokel (Bondurant, Iowa)

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Memphis, Tennessee

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Memphis
We traveled to Memphis with the Being Black at Iowa Project and Residence Education–sponsored Hawkeye Service Team. This year, our team’s focus was racial justice. Our team was unique, made up of 16 minority students at the University of Iowa involved in the Young, Gifted, and Black LLC, Hubbard Scholars, and Sista Speak. In Memphis, we served with the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, Boys and Girls Club, and Food Justice Ministry (the last the setting for the photo at right). During our service trip, we were also excited to visit the Slave Haven Museum and the Civil Rights Museum. Through Hawkeye Service Teams, our team built a community with others around the world who experience the same struggles we do. We were able to broaden our understandings about the injustices happening in America and helped contribute to the solution.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Janell Bell (Bolingbrook, Illinois), Robbi Boggess (Des Moines, Iowa), Myran Brewer (Matteson, Illinois), Jacey Carr (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Fred Cherry (Chicago, Illinois), Asjah Coleman (Chicago, Illinois), Dilon Goncalves (Chicago, Illinois), Naia Goodman (Rockwell City, Iowa), Micah Jacks (Bettendorf, Iowa), Da’Yona Johnson (Mason City, Iowa), Patrick Karanja (Thika, Kenya), Samuel Osaro (Clinton, Iowa), Charity Ratcliff (Chicago, Illinois), Nate Robinson (Plainfield, Iowa), Tiana Warner (Des Moines, Iowa), Kristen Young (Chicago, Illinois)

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Milwaukee, Wisconsin

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Milwaukee
Our trip, sponsored by the Fundraising and Philanthropy Communication Certificate, traveled to Milwaukee. While there, we focused on social issues involving housing. A lot of our community partners work extremely hard to fight the housing inequities that occur in Milwaukee, and we were able to learn so much from them. Our community partners included Guest House of Milwaukee, ACTS Housing, House of Peace, and Revitalize Milwaukee. One activity involved packaging gift baskets for new home owners at ACTS Housing. ACTS assists diverse families in purchasing foreclosure homes while saving hundreds on their monthly housing costs. Each of these service-learning sites provided us with the pieces to Milwaukee’s puzzle. It was great to learn about how these organizations work together to implement change. In addition to our service, we visited one of Milwaukee’s infamous comedy clubs, and of course, made a pit stop at the Jelly Belly factory!


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Bailey Carroll (Bettendorf, Iowa), Jordan Hansen (Spencer, Iowa), Tori Herber (Ames, Iowa), Nawfal Kulam (Naperville, Illinois), Emily Lohman (Davenport, Iowa), Allison Luntz (Davenport, Iowa), Rumbi Majee (Chesterfield, Missouri), Benjamin Nelson (Burlington, Iowa), Sara Ramirez (Cherokee, Iowa), Abby Rummelhart (Iowa City, Iowa), Tina Tran (Davenport, Iowa), Sai Nikita Tummala (Naperville, Illinois), Isabelle Webber (Marion, Iowa), Zhiqian Zhuang (China)

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St. Louis, Missouri

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in St Louis
The St. Louis team was sponsored by University of Iowa’s Center for Diversity and Enrichment, and focused on education equity. We worked with three elementary schools in the St. Louis area and a nonprofit that promotes early childhood literacy called Ready Readers (the top of this page shows us outside the facility). Our team also attended a St. Louis school board meeting. We had the opportunity to attend St. Louis Soulard Farmer’s Market, various museums, and the notable Gateway Arch. All of our team members came from an underrepresented demographic in educational institutions. This added an extra layer to our service, because not only have members of the team been directly impacted by inequity in education, but we were able to service communities we identify with ourselves. We enjoyed exploring the education system in St. Louis and spending time with fierce educators and amazing kiddos.


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
T.K. Al-Amin (Matteson, Illinois), Camryn Carpenter (Des Moines, Iowa), Nick Coon (Naperville, Illinois), Dania Echeveste (Osceola, Iowa), Celine Fender (North Liberty, Iowa), Nina Gatilao (Addison, Illinois), Anne Hao (Westside, Iowa), KayLynn Harris (Chicago, Illinois), Russel Martin (West Branch, Iowa), Mo Omar (Des Moines, Iowa), Stacy Ramirez (Washington, Iowa), Zaira Ramirez (Sioux City, Iowa), Mariah Santellan (Storm Lake, Iowa), Ashton Thompson (Sioux City, Iowa)

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Tulsa, Oklahoma

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Tulsa
As part of 2018 Hawkeye Service Teams, our team served with Tulsa. Our team focused on food justice, with sub-concentrations on structural disadvantages, food inequity, and local governmental policy. Through our work, we served with the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and Iron Gate. We gardened, sorted food donations, and set up a community lunch. A few exciting cultural events that our team explored were the downtown arts districts, as well as visiting several museums including both the Gilcrease and Philbrook Museums. A memorable moment for our team was washing vans for Table to Table during our pre-trip service event in Iowa City while it was snowing, which made for amusing memories and incredible pictures!


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
Travis Carter (Sycamore, Illinois), Ashlei Cashen (Independence, Iowa), Sylvia Dean (Iowa City, Iowa), Paige Hall (Epworth, Iowa), Jacob Hammitt (Fairbank, Iowa), Alex Marti (Waukon, Iowa), Rebecca Nyangufi (Iowa City, Iowa), Jenna Pancratz (Dubuque, Iowa), Peter Reilly (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Armando Revelez (West Liberty, Iowa), Genna Salmon (Sioux City, Iowa), Nizamuddin Samsuri (Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia), Sarah Stortz (Waterloo, Iowa)

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Washington, D.C.

University of Iowa students participate in an Alternative Spring Break project in Washington DC
The Washington, D.C., team was sponsored by the UI Tippie College of Business, and focused on economic disparity. We stayed at the Center for Creative Nonviolence, and served with A Wider Circle, Words Beats & Life Inc., and Bread for the City throughout the week. Our team—all business majors—explored business concepts learned in the classroom through a community-building lens by serving with and learning from nonprofits in the nation’s capital. We were also able to visit the National Mall and Smithsonian Museums, as well as enjoy much of the wonderful, local food in the area. We had the longest drive and lucked out with the weather!


Team members (hometowns in parentheses):
James Akinleye (Champaign, Illinois), Shati Cooper ( Iowa City, Iowa), Adam Goedken (Independence, IA), Amber Leisinger (Sumner, Iowa), Juan Malagon (West Liberty), Arielle Matus (Addison, IL), Jasmine Montgomery (Bettendorf, Iowa), Yara Moustafa (Iowa City, Iowa), Hira Mustafa (West Des Moines, Iowa), Aviral Pandey (Eden Prairie, Minnesota), Marisa Powers (Washington, Iowa), Favi Santana (Sioux City, Iowa), Sudarsh Sekhar (Marion, Iowa), Diana Wang (Algona, Iowa), Yuke Zhang (China)

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