The heartbeat of the Speaking Center is the student staff. Through their roles as
consultants, senior consultants and program assistants, these students provide campus-wide
support to help peers prepare for, practice and polish their public speaking. Learn
more about the Speaking Center student team here!
The Speaking Center recruits and trains selected undergraduate students to serve as
peer consultants in the center every fall and spring semester. Consultants hold regular
office hours staffing the Speaking Center and take part in a weekly seminar class
on public speaking, communication skills development, facilitation and consulting.
Speaking Center consultants receive academic internship credit for their time commitment.
Applications for the Spring '26 semester will open later in the Fall.
Details and a link to the application are posted on the Internship Opportunity webpage.
We welcome inquiries about the position! Talk with a current consultant or send an
email if you have any questions.
Senior Consultants
Senior Consultants are undergraduates who serve in a variety of roles that incorporate
oral communication skills development. They support first-semester consultants and
help staff the Speaking Center while also providing outreach to the campus community.
When available, senior consultants facilitate workshops about oral communication and
presentation skills to a variety of audiences including student organizations, student
leader groups, classrooms and others.
The Speaking Center senior consultants have all served at least one semester as a
consultant and have successfully completed the Speaking Center consultant seminar.
Program Assistants
Students who have successfully completed both the consultant and senior consultant
roles have the opportunity to serve as Speaking Center program assistants. These students
support senior consultants and also facilitate a variety of outreach and programming
initiatives to assist in the Speaking Center's support of students' public speaking
success.
Meet the Spring 2025 Speaking Center student staff team!
Consultants:
Andrew Gold, Consultant
Andrew Gold
Consultant
Year: Sophomore
Major(s)/minor(s): Business Administration
Hometown: Westfield, New Jersey
Why are you working as a consultant? I had the privilege of taking public speaking classes from 6th grade all the way
to 10th, I believe I have a unique set of experiences that make be insightful for
other Bing students.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? It's always best to practice presenting in different environments (whether it's physical
location or with different audiences), so all students should consider using this
helpful resource whenever possible to get the most out of their pre-presentation preparation.
Public speaking advice: Don't be afraid to pause during your presentation, it will sound more natural than
repeating filler words.
Brikena Kukaj, Consultant
Brikena Kukaj
Consultant
Year: Sophomore
Major(s)/minor(s): Integrative Neuroscience
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Why are you working as a consultant? I wanted to be a Speaking Center Consultant because, through the First-Year Research
Immersion program, I鈥檝e realized that you can conduct all the research you want, but
if you can鈥檛 effectively communicate your research to others, then it loses much of
its impact. I want to help people become the most confident versions of themselves
when communicating a presentation
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? Students should visit the Speaking Center because public speaking is like a muscle,
you have to keep training it to improve. The Speaking Center helps you strengthen
that skill through practice, opportunities to build confidence, and constructive feedback.
Public speaking advice: One tip coming into the Speaking Center is one of the best things to keep in mind
is that it鈥檚 a completely judgment-free space. You don鈥檛 have to worry about being
perfect and it鈥檚 all about growth! The environment is built around constructive feedback,
where every comment is meant to help you improve and feel more confident.
Emily Habrylo, Consultant
Emily Habrylo
Consultant
Year: Sophomore
Major(s)/minor(s): Biology
Hometown: Queens, New York
Why are you working as a consultant? I wanted to be a Speaking Center Consultant because I empathize with those who struggle
with speaking in front of crowds, and I want to ensure students get the proper feedback
they need in order to flourish.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? Students should visit the center because it is a free resource on campus that serves
as a safe space for students to work closely with the consultants in order to improve
their communication.
Public speaking advice: Practice makes perfect! Preparing an outline of your speech beforehand and practicing
with that structure can ease your nerves, and help you understand the material better.
Madelyn Fried, Consultant
Madelyn Fried
Consultant
Year: Junior
Major(s)/minor(s): Global Public Health
Hometown: Oradell, New Jersey
Why are you working as a consultant? I wanted to be a speaking center consultant because I know how hard it is to give
a presentation confidently. I wanted to help people prepare themselves for public
speaking in class while also preparing them to speak in the professional world.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? Even if you feel confident in your public speaking, it is still a great idea to visit
the speaking center to gain a consultant's point of view on your presentation
Public speaking advice: Fake it till you make it!
Victoria Melendez, Consultant
Victoria Melendez
Consultant
Year: Sophomore
Major(s)/minor(s): Human Development with a minor in Speaking and Hearing Sciences
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Why are you working as a consultant? As someone who wants to pursue speech pathology, I felt that becoming a speaking center
consultant would allow me to catch a glimpse of what a future in that career path
might look like. Additionally, I have wanted to get more involved in 嫩田研究院官网's
community and felt this was a perfect way to both help others and learn new things!
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? Students should visit the speaking center if they want constructive feedback on their
public speaking abilities and wish to practice and perfect their presentations before
the time comes to present in class.
Public speaking advice: If you struggle with making eye contact, try looking towards the back of the room
or people's ears!
Yakir Hirsch, Consultant
Yakir Hirsch
Consultant
Year: Sophomore
Major(s)/minor(s): Political Science
Hometown: Riverdale, New York
Why are you working as a consultant? I wanted to improve my own speaking skills while also helping others get over the
anxiety that often surrounds public speaking
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? Students should visit the speaking center to maximize their chances of having a strong
presentation that earns a good grade and leaves the audience impressed
Public speaking advice: Speak slowly
Senior Consultants:
Alysha Kuhn , Senior ConsultantAlysha Kuhn
Senior Consultant
Year: Senior
Major(s)/minor(s): History and Anthropology
Hometown: Marion, NY
Why are you working as a senior consultant? I wanted to be a Speaking Center Consultant because I have always enjoyed public
speaking. I want to make a bigger impact on the 嫩田研究院官网 community and help them
enjoy public speaking as much as I do!
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? Students should visit the Speaking Center because no matter what your level of public
speaking is, consultants will always be able to offer advice. It is a great way to
critically think about your own public speaking skills and learn how to become the
best public speaker you can be!
Public speaking advice: One public speaking tip that I would like to share with others is to have confidence!
It is important to first and foremost, be confident in what you are talking about.
People are more likely to trust you if you trust yourself!
Brandon Levy, Senior Consultant
Brandon Levy
Senior Consultant
Year: Junior
Major(s)/minor(s): Financial Economics with a minor in Digital and Data Studies
Hometown: Manhattan, NY
Why are you working as a senior consultant? I want to help other students' get over some fears and flaws with their public speaking
skills while also improving my own public speaking skills.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center?
Public speaking advice: Take a deep breath, speak at a comfortable pace and project your voice
Cara Jewel, Senior Consultant
Cara Jewels
Senior Consultant
Year: Junior
Major(s)/minor(s): Statistics and Environmental Science
Hometown: Babylon, NY
Why are you working as a senior consultant? I like public speaking and have had a lifelong journey with it; I used to shy away
from speaking to people, especially in front of crowds, but I have found that public
speaking is a powerful tool in life and I am happy to develop it further as a consultant.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? The Speaking Center is a free resource that can help students with any public speaking
projects that they have coming up. If you feel you want to improve your public speaking
skills, either for a class or just for your life, you should book an appointment!
In my opinion, it can only help and can't hurt.
Public speaking advice: When preparing for public speaking, I'd suggest finding something about your topic
that you are particularly interested in and hone in on that. I always find that I
am better at communicating with others when I am engaging in the task in earnest,
rather than doing it out of necessity. If you see public speaking as an obligation,
it's not as fun.
Sam Levine, Senior ConsultantSamuel Levine
Senior Consultant
Year: Junior
Major(s)/minor(s): Psychology with minors in HWS Studies & Linguistics
Hometown: Manahattan, NY
Why are you working as a senior consultant? I want to help other students' get over some fears and flaws with their public speaking
skills while also improving my own public speaking skills.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? Students can obtain a judgement free environment in which they can get feedback on
not only a presentation for class but select areas they would like to improve on.
Public Speaking Advice? Keep your audience engaged with organization and connection of slides, non-distracting
gestures and maintained eye contact.
Why are you working as a senior consultant? Before college I was always nervous when having to perform any presentations. I felt
as if this was something that I could never improve on, and that some people are just
born with extroverted talent to do these presentations. However, through FRI I've
been forced to give so many presentations to the point where it's almost second nature
to me now. It was daunting at first, but it showed me that anyone can become comfortable
at public speaking. While I had to learn all this through my own trial and error,
I knew if I had someone helping me along the way I could've gotten confident much
quicker. Thus, I hope to be this support structure for students who were in a similar
or worse position than me.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? To get practice, become comfortable with talking in front of strangers professionally,
and receive advice from consultants who have had numerous public speaking opportunities
underneath their belt. It's always helpful to learn from someone who has more experience
than you, no matter how confident you may think you are at a certain skill
Public speaking advice: Practice it so much to the point where you feel confident just being able to "wing"
any future presentation with baseline knowledge. This doesn't mean not to prepare,
but after a certain amount of practice it'll feel like second nature. You can give
someone as many tips as possible, but if they don't practice it consistently, then
it's useless.
Program Assistants:
Elise Harshbarger, Program Assistant
Elise Harshbarger
Program Assistant
Year: Junior
Major(s)/minor(s): English with a minor in Biology
Hometown: Syracuse, New York
Why are you working as a program assistant? Communication is a fundamental skill, one that I am looking forward to improving
myself, as well as helping others.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? The Speaking Center is a resource to help students build confidence and each meeting
can be tailored to fit a student's needs.
Public speaking advice: A good presentation isn't a memorized one. Sometimes it's best to leave room for
spontaneity.
Brooke Burke, Program Assistant
Brooke Burke
Program Assistant
Year: Senior
Major(s)/minor(s): Integrative Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Why are you working as a program assistant? I want to help students at 嫩田研究院官网 feel more confident about their public speaking
and oral communication skills, as well as promote the Speaking Center's resources
as it can be of extreme help to students of any major!
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? The Speaking Center provides personalized advice on anything from a presentation for
a class to your overall public speaking skills. Almost every career path and major
involves some form of oral communication, and the Speaking Center can supply the tools
necessary to improve upon yourself regardless of the experience you have with presenting.
Public speaking advice: Confidence is key: Even if you aren't feeling too confident in your abilities to
present to an audience or are feeling nervous, acting as if you are sure of your self
will cultivate real confidence and allow you to connect with your audience!
Irene Cui, Program Assistant
Irene Cui
Program Assistant
Year: Junior
Major(s)/minor(s): Business Administration
Hometown: Queens, NY
Why are you working as a program assistant? I want about helping others overcome challenges in public speaking.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? The Speaking Center is a great way to prepare beforehand for a presentation and improve
your own public speaking skills.
Public speaking advice: Trust yourself and be sure to practice your speech beforehand.
Rachel Hodorov, Program Assistant
Rachel Hodrov
Program Assistant
Year: Junior
Major(s)/minor(s): Philosophy, Politics, and Law
Hometown: Manhattan, New York
Why are you working as a program assistant? I want to have a positive impact on my community, and help myself and others improve
oral communication, visual presentation, and overall speech-giving presence in a supportive
environment.
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? The Speaking Center is like your secret weapon for nailing presentations. Here, you
can practice and polish your skills in a relaxed setting. Plus, you'll get helpful
feedback from your peers to boost your confidence and make your presentations even
better!
Public speaking advice: Don't forget to take a deep breath before you start speaking. It's a simple trick,
but it really helps you stay calm and focused. And remember, we're all here to cheer
each other on!
Santiago Perez, Program Assistant
Santiago Perez
Program Assistant
Year: Junior
Major(s)/minor(s): Business Administration
Hometown: 嫩田研究院官网, New York
Why are you working as a program assistant? Communication skills are some of the most important skills in every day life and it
seems like a great opportunity to improve my own, and help others with their skill
as well!
Why should students visit the Speaking Center? Students should visit the speaking center because it's a valuable tool for feedback
and help with presenting which is something practically everyone has to do.
Public speaking advice:
Practice can help make you more comfortable once you start presenting, making you
appear more confident and knowledgeable. Some good hype up music is also crucial prior
to any big presentation.
