Our Members

Taylor Duarte

Social Co-Chair | Mezzo | Anthropology | 2022

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Audition song: She Used To Be Mine – Sara Bareilles
Interests: Alpacas, juicy drop pops, funky home decor, babies, Disney Channel original movies, cool hats, Grey’s Anatomy, fluffy cows, ice skating, hiking, glitter, Trolls World Tour
Fun fact: She has watched Trolls World Tour over 20 times.
Favorite thing about Awaken:  “I always look forward to rehearsals every Tuesday night to hear everyone’s angelic voices and see everyone’s beautiful faces :3”

Karima Karkori

President | Mezzo | Communication and Sociology with Theater minor | 2022

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Audition song: She Used To Be Mine – Sara Bareilles
Interests: Funky earrings, ice cream, overbooking herself, disco balls, pumpkin bread, Original Broadway Cast Recordings, sushi, picnics, disposables, Draco Malfoy, having 15 tabs open on her laptop at all times, a nice wall collage, making jewelry, turtles, tote bags, and a night out at the theatre
Fun fact: She’s very good at sorting people into their Hogwarts Houses. (“proud Ravenclaw here <3″)
Favorite Awaken memory: Performing with Awaken at Acapalooza surrounded by the rest of the UCLA a cappella community & ACA PARTYYYY!!!!
Leadership roles: Social Co-Chair (2020-Present)

Amy Lyn Williams

Mezzo | Musical Theater | 2022

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Loomis, CA
Audition song: Life of the Party (The Wild Party)
Interests: Saturday nights at the theatre, John Mulaney, a funky platform heel, big fluffy dogs, SNL’s Laser Cat sketches, songs that line up with your footsteps when you walk, that part in finding Nemo when Nemo can’t pronounce anemone
Fun fact: She once caught her friend’s hair on fire in math class.
Favorite Awaken memory: Acapalooza 2019! “The energy in a room full of the UCLA a cappella community is electric and freshman me just couldn’t believe how lucky I was to get to sing for them with my lovely little Awaken family :)”

Toby Echeverria

Music Co-Director | Tenor/VP | Musical Theater | 2023

Pronouns: He/him/his
Hometown: Richmond, CA
Audition song: I’m Not the Only One – Sam Smith
Interests: Cooking and eating together, watching one TV show for a couple of years, playing basketball at night, chapels, snow, fall, picnics, waterfalls
Fun fact: He has guessed the number of jellybeans in a jar before!
Favorite Awaken memory: Hiking in Joshua Tree on retreat 🙂 
Leadership roles: Music Co-Director (2020-Present)
 

Zev Marx-Kahn

Music Co-Director | Bass | Environmental Science | 2023

Pronouns: He/him/his
Hometown: Berkeley, CA (Ohlone Territory)
Audition song: Who’s Loving You – Jackson 5
Interests: Being outdoors in general, hiking, meditation, playing his flute and saxophone
Fun fact: He shares a birthday with Obama, the Sprouse twins, Megan Markle, and Louis Armstrong!
Favorite Awaken memory: Joshua Tree retreat :’)
Leadership roles: Music Co-Director (2020-Present)

Ellyzha Astudillo

Mezzo | Psychobiology | 2022

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Brentwood, CA
Audition song: Honeymoon Avenue – Ariana Grande
Interests: running, vlogging, spending time with family + loved ones, solo time, video editing, ice skating, skateboarding, picnics, hiking, cows, cooking, baking, collecting + listening to vinyls, playing the guitar/piano/cello, musical theatre, reading, writing, sunsets + sunrises, going to the beach, listening to classical + jazz music, thrifting, day trips, driving around familiar places
Fun fact: She is an early bird! She absolutely LOVES waking up early!
Favorite Awaken memory: 

Vanessa Viyar

Business Manager | Mezzo | Psychobiology | 2023

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Glendora, CA
Audition song: Quiet – Natalie Weiss
Interests: Studying at cute coffee shops, early morning beach trips, philz coffee, dancing (hip hop and TikTok LOL), binge-watching New Girl on Netflix
Fun fact: She used to have a Disney pass and ran a Disney food blog account on Instagram with her best friends!
Favorite Awaken memory: Fall retreat to Joshua Tree her first year!
Leadership roles: Financial Chair (2020-2021)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yeremiya Wright

Fundraising Manager | Tenor | Ethnomusicology | 2023

Pronouns: He/him/his
Hometown: Clifton, NJ
Audition song: There Will Never Be Another You – Chet Baker
Interests: Tabletop games, Pokémon, NBA, In n Out
Fun fact: He apparently met Beyoncé when he was 2 (or 3)!
Favorite thing about Awaken:Love the vibes – no one takes themselves too seriously and everyone is so sweet :)”

Gavin Leahy

Social Co-chair | Tenor | Musical Theater | 2024

Pronouns: He/him/his
Hometown: Glenview, IL
Audition song: River – Joni Mitchell
Interests: Theatre, reading, iced coffee, film
Fun fact: He’s a huge dog person and has two rescue mutts!
Favorite Awaken memory: Movie night in McGowan
 

Isabel Folkers

Alto | Ethnomusicology | 2025

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Fairfax, CA
Audition song: Lay it Down – Allen Stone
Interests: Gymnastics, drinking midnight tea, songwriting, and a small obsession with animals
Fun fact: She trains guide dogs!
 
 

Eishan Naik

Baritone | Pre-Business Economics | 2025

Pronouns: He/him/his
Hometown: Houston, TX
Audition song: 
Interests: Playing guitar, making beats, playing tennis or really any sport for fun, exploring the city wherever I’m at, collecting CDs, watching anime/Netflix, doing pull-ups in any location possible, hitting up a waterpark in the summer, & always sleeping though breakfast
Fun fact: He has a black belt in karate and has a signed copy of Darth Paper Strikes Back!
 
 
 

Robyn Morales

Soprano | Musical Theater | 2025

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Murrieta, CA
Audition song: Almost is Never Enough – Ariana Grande
Interests: Rewatching movies and tv shows she loves, memorizing entire albums, ASMR, cooking videos, horseback riding, house sitting
Fun fact: She has some episodes of SpongeBob committed to memory!
 
 

Jack Zager

Baritone | Music Industry & History | 2023

Pronouns: He/him/his
Hometown: West Hollywood, CA
Audition song: 
Interests: Making music!
Fun fact: He has two “award winning” dogs, Oscar and Emmy 😉
 
 

Mairead Staunton

Soprano | Ethnomusicology | 2022

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Ivins, UT
Audition song: 
Interests: Singing along to musical albums, listening to podcasts, embroidery, doing pilates like a middle aged soccer mommy, riling herself up to go on rants
Fun fact: She loves KCRW!
 
 

Nina Williams

Alto | Psychology | 2023

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Glendora, CA
Audition song: Rich Girl – Daryl Hall & John Oates
Interests: Rainy days, romcoms, planetarium shows, early morning road trips, breakfast for dinner, Nick Miller, Trader Joe’s frozen food, continuously rewatching Twilight, and the acoustic versions of songs
Fun fact: She once lost her debit card by having it fly off the roof of the Empire State building 
 
 

Katie Harding

Soprano | Chemical Engineering | 2023

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Hometown: Danville, CA
Audition song: 
Interests: Eating lots of noodles in one sitting, doing Pilates YouTube vids with no equipment, listening to Spotify so much I’m one full volume blast away from literal tinnitus, trying to be funny in interest columns and just coming off as super weird
Fun fact: My tooth broke off once but they glued it back on and it fused by itself to the rest of my tooth
 
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