Behind the scenes of Tiger Challenge

The summer cohort of Tiger Challenge teams (Hard History, Sustainable Reusables, Maker-not-Taker, Racist Everyday Technologies) are just a part of what makes Tiger Challenge tick. Meet the amazing and dedicated students who serve as support staff for the Tiger Challenge summer immersive design thinking program.

Tola Banjoko is a rising junior majoring in Politics and pursuing a certificate in Entrepreneurship. He was introduced to design thinking in Keller's course ERG 200 - Creativity, Innovation and Design during his first year “That course was such a change of pace from what I was used to and I really loved the dynamic way the class was structured,” Banjoko states. After freshman year he dove into building his design thinking skillset and is happy to bring his knowhow to help the teams meet their goals in this fast-paced, immersive program.

Niki Farfel is pursuing her masters of Architecture where she hopes to continue to explore the relationship between feminism, architecture and technology and deepen her commitment to the field of design. Niki is excited to bring her expertise to this year’s cohort and support their efforts to tackle complex societal issues through critical conversation and design thinking while promoting experimentation.

Ainil Norazman is a rising senior in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering pursuing certificates in Robotics & Intelligent Systems and Entrepreneurship. Her passion for good design blossomed when she was first introduced to design thinking through her involvement with the Tiger Challenge program during her first year. “For me the idea of designing with empathy has culminated in a design mindset and design experience that fosters and empowers positive impacts,” said Norazman She is excited to see the impact that the cohort will make with the innovative designs they are building this summer.

Courtney Tseng ‘21 has been calling into Tiger Challenge from Southern California these past few weeks. She majored in Politics and earned certificates in Ethnographic Studies and Entrepreneurship. She was also first introduced to design thinking when she took Keller’s EGR 200 - Creativity, Innovation and Design course. “The content so different from the theoretical research Princeton often emphasizes in classes, and really got me interested in human complexities and social innovation,” Tseng says. So far, she is enjoying seeing her cohort’s smiling faces on Zoom and is excited to see the projects they produce by the end of the summer!

Diane Yang is a rising junior studying Electrical and Computer Engineering and pursuing certificates in Entrepreneurship and Applications of Computing. She was also a student of the popular course EGR 200 - Creativity, Innovation and Design, “Unexpectedly, immersing myself in design thinking has manifested immensely in my growth as an engineer. Beyond all else, I’ve grown to value environments that not only welcome collaborative innovation, but truly incite it,” says Yang. She is using her innovative skills to both adapt and enhance the program's remote environment but she can’t wait to ‘re-meet’ everyone in-person this fall.