Languages: Spanish, Hindi Ishaan is an undergraduate student pursuing a BA in Spanish at Virginia Commonwealth University. Upon noticing the lack of foreign language opportunities for students, he joined Legato Lingua to increase accessibility in language education. As a student in the Guaranteed Admissions Program for Medicine (BA/MD) at his university and a future physician, he hopes to take his experiences in language-learning to connect with patients of different backgrounds. His other hobbies include writing, traveling, and conducting research on improving clinician education and health disparities.
Anvee Bhutani Board of Advisors, Co-Founder
Languages: Spanish, French, Hindi Anvee is an undergraduate student at the University of Oxford studying Human Sciences. Having grown up multilingual, she soon realized the uniqueness of her experience and how much unlocking potential simply knowing another language offered her. She founded Legato Lingua on that very idea: a way of spreading passion for language learning. She truly believes that knowing another language changes your perspective of the world, and enjoys sharing that. Beyond languages, Anvee is an avid entrepreneur and life-long learner.
Samara Shabon Outreach Director
Languages: French, Farsi Samara is an undergraduate student studying Chemistry and Biology in the Honors College at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her interests vary from the hard sciences to philosophy to English to linguistics, and she is ultimately interested in the examination of the human condition. Her passion for language has driven her to expand on the mission of Legato Lingua by co-founding the east coast branch of the team. Trilingual herself, Samara aims to bring exposure to a number of languages to the young learners of the Richmond community.
Nikita Kalje Chief Operating Officer
Languages: Spanish, Hindi Nikita Kalje is an undergraduate student at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA, currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science. In college, she is passionate in her roles as Co-President of the Women in STEM club and as Treasurer for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). Legato Lingua has been a wonderful experience for her. She personally knows Spanish, Hindi, and Marathi along with English, and is always excited to bring these skills to Legato Lingua. Some of her personal hobbies include listening to music, playing piano, and baking.
Matthew Beymer Communications
Language: Spanish Matthew is a student at Archbishop Mitty High School who has always had a strong interest in speaking Spanish since elementary school. He hopes to continue studying Spanish and begin to learn other languages at the collegiate level. Aside from language learning, Matthew loves performing in theatre, writing articles, composing poetry, singing, and hosting portrait sessions with his friends.
Morgan Johnson Lead Instructor
Language: Spanish Morgan is a recent graduate of Archbishop Mitty High School. A six-month trip to Mexico while in middle school sparked her interest in languages and traveling, and she has been studying Spanish since then. She will be majoring in bioengineering with a minor in Spanish at UC Davis this fall. Her hobbies include rock climbing, backpacking, and gardening.
