NU Barkada

Welcome! NU Barkada is Northeastern University's Filipino culture organization. Barkada is the Tagalog word for "group of friends." Our mission statement is to promote diversity and fellowship by advocating the richness of the Filipino heritage through member and community engagement in cultural, educational, and social activities.

[liannakristine]

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Tehehe

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April BIGGIEsmalls Spotlight

BIGGIE: Melissa de Leon, Alumni (Class of 2018), Psychology

smalls: Sam Tan, 5th Year, Finance and Acounting

Family: D.C. Fam

Describe your relationship with your BIGGIE/smalls!

M: I love my Smalls because I can tell her anything without judgement LOL and she can cook the yummiest food

S: What I love about my Biggie is that she's there for me in the big and small moments of my life, and has been since she first picked me up as her smalls. She's my sounding board, my running-errands companions, and someone who I don't see frequently now, but who I'm always able to pick up right where we left off without missing a beat. MelDel always makes time for me and is constantly a positive person in my life; she tells it to me like it is when I need it, and always keeps it real.

What’s something you’ve learned from your BIGGIE/smalls?

M: How to be an amazing leader in the NU APIDA community! She also showed me how to protect my backpack from the snow with a backpack cover

S: To me, MelDel is someone who embodies the "you do you" mentality. She does this thing where she has a crazy/weird idea, asks you if it's crazy/weird, but then does it anyway cause she really doesn't care about what other people think of her. She's taught me to own who I am and not be afraid to be different (it's just more fun that way!).

What’s one of your favorite moments with your BIGGIE/smalls?

M: When we went for a run on the esplanade and then immediately bought a rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods and ate it with our hands because we’re Filipina like that

S: I honestly think there are too many to count. Really every time I see her? But if you want tangible moments: the time we went for a nighttime run to the Charles together and ended up getting a rotisserie chicken from Wholefoods after as a treat; the time we went to Copley for MelDel's first time at Dig Inn; every cheek-to-cheek moment!!

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March Members of the Month!

Name: (Sovan)Neary Hok Hometown: Phnom Penh, Cambodia Major: Biochemistry College: College of Science Year of Graduation: 2022 Hobbies: Going on walks, eating, cooking, graphic design??, laying, going down the YouTube rabbit hole, being sofft with friends Favorite Filipino Food: Turon !! Current Favorite Song: Maybe IDK by Jon Bellion / comethru by Jeremy Zucker Favorite Thing About Barkada: The p e o p l e. If it weren't for Barkada, I may not have met all these amazing people who are now some of my best friends. Other Extracurricular Activities: uhhhhh does being signed up for biochem club emails count as being part of biochem club? Fun Fact: For a theatre class in high school, I fell backwards off a box 10 foot above the ground into 3 people's arms.

Name: Denis Jered McInerney Hometown: Harrison, NY Major: It was computer science and physics at my undergrad, now I'm a graduate student in computer science. College: Johns Hopkins for my undergrad, Northeastern KCCIS for my grad! Year of Graduation: 2023, or 2024, or 20-infinity Hobbies: Violin, tennis, singing, climbing and dancing! Favorite Filipino Food: I am embarrassed to I have not had much Filipino food YET, but I am excited to try it all! Current Favorite Song: Weathered by Jack Garratt Favorite Thing About Barkada: There's a place for everyone, and we all have an incredible amount of fun together. Other Extracurricular Activities: Still feeling Boston out. Fun Fact: I was the music director of a Jewish a Capella group as an undergrad called Ketzev, look us up!

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March BIGGIEsmalls Spotlight

BIGGIE: Melanie Chu, Alumni (Class of 2017), Marketing and Interactive Media

smalls: Connor Jew, 5th Year, Marketing and MIS

Family: Beast Farm

Describe your relationship with your BIGGIE/smalls!

M: Connor could tell I wanted him as my smallz since the beginning just because one time I asked to get lunch with just him at the dining hall and that's how I knew we were IN SYNC. From then to now we've evolved into just two awkward humans trying to be adults...but like the cool, fun adults that people still want to talk to and get brunch with on the weekends. Our check-ins with each other, although may not happen often, are often full of all the random details and updates from our lives. I respect his perspective and appreciate how much we are still able to care about and help each other despite how much time has passed. Our relationship goes beyond Barkada, Northeastern, and Boston - Connor has become part of my actual family. No really, he texts my mom without telling me and let my family use his employee discount at L'Oreal. The first time he came to my house he hung out in the kitchen with my parents to talk about tropical vacations and he's been the favorite ever since. (Sorry James, you're a close second.)

C: I love my BIGGIE! Even though she graduated 2 years ago, I still get the time and chance to see her. We love to obsess over our shared passion for food and our love for dogs, and she helped me out so much with my classes. As we both study marketing, she gave me so many tips on how to do well and even helped me get some coops. When we're both home, we hang out like time away from each other never passed and obviously eat like there's no tomorrow! She paved a path for me and I look up to her so much because of it. I'm excited to graduate and begin working in NYC with her very soon!

What’s something you’ve learned from your BIGGIE/smalls?

M: Connor has taught me what hard work and dedication looks like. His ambition and drive is truly amazing and being able to watch him achieve his goals is so inspiring to me. Connor taught me to believe in myself and pick myself up when things might not be going as planned. He's also taught me the best places to get ice cream in Princeton, how to make IG stories look cool, but and how to find major deals.

C: Literally everything!! Whether it's for classes or coop, she gave me all the resources to succeed. I wouldn't be here, doing and loving what I do, if it wasn't for her. One important life lesson she taught me is to be proud of who I am: my identity. Mel rocks who she is and always encouraged me to be who I want to be and feel empowered doing it.

What’s one of your favorite moments with your BIGGIE/smalls?

M: One time we napped in West G while he let me do laundry there. One time I renewed my driver's license and then we ate ramen. The other day we over ordered at hot pot.  One time we were both upset but all I had to offer was a movie and boxed wine. I bet he's going to mention this gingerbread mansion we decorated once. I also escorted him to get his flu shot at Target that day. #JustJerseyThingz

C:  We went to see Cirque du Soleil! We trekked all the way to Suffolk Downs but the show was so incredible. This is a random story, but one time I was sad and literally cried on her shoulder and then we drank wine and watched the weirdest movie ever...it's called Home and has Jim Parsons (an alien) and Rihanna (a human girl), whose character is named Gratuity.

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Your February Members of the Month

Name: Maya Cacanindin Hometown: Cortlandt Manor, NY Major: combined major of marketing and design College: D'amore McKim School of Business Year of Graduation: 2022 Hobbies: drawing, singing, laughing, eating, wandering in bookstores Favorite Filipino Food: afritada Current Favorite Song: sophie so by hippo campus & anything lorde Favorite Thing About Barkada: being surrounded by all the lovely people I can call my family :)) Other Extracurricular Activities: I’m an underclassmen representative for district one woo!! & NU stage (come see me perform hehe) Fun Fact: I went to Alaska over the summer and have developed a fear of bears and love for sunlight as a result.

Name: Isabelle Joy Carrillo Hometown: Washington Township, New Jersey Major: Linguistics and Psychology College: Northeastern? Year of Graduation: 2021 Hobbies: making TikToks (follow me pls), pennyboarding, screaming into the void, being bald, drinking coffee, journaling, cooking/baking, and volunteering! Favorite Filipino Food: Pinakbet Current Favorite Song: Robbery by Juice Wrld Favorite Thing About Barkada: The energy Other Extracurricular Activities: FIND, Inc., NU Speech and Hearing Club, NU Muay Thai, being a Resident Assistant for Northeastern University Fun Fact: sometimes I eat spicy food and hiccup

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February BIGGIEsmalls Spotlight

BIGGIE: Irina Ahn, Alumni, Behavioral Neuroscience

smalls: Alexa Juvan, recent Alum!, Finance/Marketing

Family: Sexy Fam

Describe your relationship with your BIGGIE/smalls!

I:  Alexa is like my independent first born. She is always taking on the world and doing the most while also being fierce, unwavering and beautiful all at the same time, but she makes me so proud to be her biggie. She's always got my back and I can talk to her about anything at any time and she'll always be there for me. We've seen the best and the worst of each other and it only makes me love her more. Every time we find a time to meet again (we both always so busy) it feels like no time has passed and we're just picking up where we left off. There's not many friends or people that make me feel this way but she's definitely been a backbone in my life that i don't know what I would do without. Sometimes it's like our roles are reversed and i should be calling her biggie, but if she ever needed me i would drop anything for her. <3

A:  I’ve known Irina since the first week of college and I feel like from the start we just clicked. We have the same snarky sense of humor, love sharing music, fangirling over dance videos, enjoying good food and bevs, and unapologetically speak our minds. We can communicate with just looks and are usually on the same page. Even if we haven’t seen each other in a while, we can always pick up like nothing has changed. She’s one of the closest friends I made in college, and always took care of me when I needed support. Most importantly we can be weirdos together and there is never any judgement! I love my fat mama kitty :*

What’s something you’ve learned from your BIGGIE/smalls?

I:  Alexa is a queen and is respected by (i can probably say safely) everyone who meets her. She's got a charismatic aura around her that makes people feel safe and loved and she genuinely sees the best in everyone she meets. She's fierce but still has the sweetest heart and this is one of the things i love most about her. She will time and time again teach me how to be optimistic about others, how to be genuine with people, and most importantly how to prioritize self-love and care. I respect her and look up to my smallsie!!!

A:  Throughout the years my biggie has helped me gain self confidence and believe in myself regardless of how difficult things might seem in the moment. She’s led so much by example, and her presence as a strong, female leader in the community always inspired me. Seeing her initiate and navigate different friendships encouraged me to branch out and be more outgoing - especially when meeting people for the first time. Also seeing how she managed to balance work and play helped me learn how to handle responsibility but also take care of myself and still have a good time.

What’s one of your favorite moments with your BIGGIE/smalls?

I:  THERE ARE TOO MANY. LEGIT TOO MANY. We are such dweebs when we're together and will do anything from just sitting silently while doing work together to being outrageously, but proudly, obnoxious by twerking it out and strutting down the streets. She makes me feel confident about myself and brings out the best in me and i confidently proclaim that EVERY MOMENT IS MY FAVORITE MOMENT. IDK IF YALL THINK THAT'S CLICHE BUT ITS REAL AND I LOVE ANY TIME I CAN SPEND WITH HER (whether it's over boba... we probably have drank gallons of boba combined... or through facetime!) in all honestly though... this is so hypocritical LOL but if i had to pick one i think my favorite would have to be when I found out she was going to be my smalls. She didn't know it at the time, but we had already met and bonded through mutual friends. What's crazy to me though, is that we both applied for random pairings and I still got her as my smallsie!! (truly meant to be T.T my life was forever changed for the better)

A:  Honestly there are too many so I can’t pick just one! Late night study sessions at the AAC, boba runs, tons of memorable performances, our photoshoot during KASA banquet, creating our iconic Whine Up dance (brownie points if you can find it)... all are great moments amongst others I love thinking back on.

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Meet your December/January Members of the Month!

Name: Joshua Rollins

Hometown: Newcastle, Washington

Major: Electrical Engineering + Applied Computational Math Sciences -> Computational Biology

College: University of Washington -> Harvard Med School

Year of Graduation: 2017 Undergrad -> 2022 PhD?

Hobbies: Filipino folk dance, overthinking, drinking water, reading books by the beach, finding beaches to read by, learning, and appreciating others.

Favorite Filipino Food: Halo-Halo

Current Favorite Song: Bright Star - A.J. Shively

Favorite Thing About Barkada: There are so many kind hearted people encouraging others, the spirit of Barkada is an energetic and bright one!

Other Extracurricular Activities: Barkappella, sinking into chairs after a heavy lunch, and running across the street to catch a Lyft.

Fun Fact: After I had a quarter-life crisis and decided to become an actor, my mom asked a family friend, who does pageant production, to tell me why I shouldn't join the entertainment industry. Now, I travel with them as the lighting engineer for the Miss WA/OR/ID/MT USA pageants.

Name: Esmé Bonnin Farrales

Hometown: New York City, NY

Major: Undeclared (thinking about Behavioral Neuroscience…?)

College: Explore Program (cuz we should be represented)

Year of Graduation: 2023?

Hobbies: hanging out with friends, netflix, film-making (but really bad at it), gymnastics (also really bad at it), travelling, and of course eating (always feel free to donate food to me :) )

Favorite Filipino Food: UBE ICE CREAM!

Current Favorite Song: Sunday Candy (or anything by Chance)

Favorite Thing About Barkada: BKD people! The members are so welcoming and helped me adapt to Northeastern (which I am grateful for especially as an NUin student)

Other Extracurricular Activities:  BKD takes all of my time unfortunately… (love you all)

Fun Fact: I’ve lived in 5 different cities (Santa Barbara, Nantes, New York, Melbourne, Boston)

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January BIGGIEsmalls Spotlight

BIGGIE: Sheena Santos, Middler, Health Science Major

smalls: Lauren Bough, Sophomore, International Affairs Major

Family: Destiny’s Children (DC Fam)

Describe your relationship with your BIGGIE/smalls!

L:  Sheena and I really like to just hang out together and it doesn’t matter what we’re doing because we can make it fun. We like to tease each other a lot, although I’m much better at doing the teasing if I do say so myself! (Sheena just makes it so easy! Sorry biggie <3) We can be pretty different sometimes, but I like to think that we compliment each other in that way. And regardless, Sheena and I have got each other’s back. Although it’s been harder to meet this year than last year because of our opposite co-op cycles, we try our best to spend time with one another and to stay in the know about each other’s lives. Sheena is so supportive of me; she gives me great advice whenever I’m struggling, and sends very thoughtful messages to encourage me. Sheena is terrible at describing where she is, (which really sucks when you also don’t know where you are) but I’ll always search until I find her! I love my biggie to pieces!! (Also, to set the record straight: I did NOT get Sheena into BTS, she did that all on her own!!! I am serious!!!)

S:  Lauren always has my back, and I will always have hers. She's one of my closest friends and I can tell her anything. We support each other through thick and thin and just get each other. She's seen many of my quirky sides and loves me anyway! Hanging with her never gets old because she's the best smalls I could have ever asked for and the sister I never had.

What’s something you’ve learned from your BIGGIE/smalls?

L: The biggest thing I've learned from Sheena is that I should be more open to new people and really foster my relationships with people. I really admire Sheena's ability to do this. Whether it be co-workers, new BKD members, or classmates, Sheena always makes great friends, and genuinely cares for these people. Sheena is one of the most sincere people I’ve ever met, and I hope to emulate this in my own life!

S:  Smallsie taught me the true meaning of unconditional support and she encourages me to be the best version of myself.

What’s one of your favorite moments with your BIGGIE/smalls?

L:  This is hard! But I think that some of my favorite moments with Sheena were when I came up to visit her in Boston in August. She was on co-op and I had just finished with my summer job, so I was taking the chance to escape suburbia for a long weekend. The entire weekend was really fun. One of the nights I was there we listened to BTS and made crepes with Alice Ding, stuffing our faces until we were lying on the ground, laughing but wanting to cry over how full we were. Another night, we made dinner and did karaoke in Sheena’s apartment (because of course Sheena would have a karaoke machine). We danced all about, jumped around, and sang (or more like screamed on my part) at the top of our lungs until we were sure the neighbors would complain. It’s moments like these that make me so grateful to call Sheena my biggie!

S:  Lauren stayed with me over the summer for a week of wholesome fun! We bonded over making crepes, watching the Cheetah Girls, cooking dinners, listening to BTS, and jamming karaoke! We had a great time just chilling, enjoying our time together as Army, as amigas cheetahs, as biggiesmalls, bffls, and as family.

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Your Freshman Representatives for Spring 2019!

KATIE McCOLGAN

Born: April 22, 2000

Fave PH Food: Ginisang Upo (or in my house: Upo Soup-o)

Fave Part of BKD: The immediate sense of family I felt from the moment I walked in that IV basement <3

Fun Fact:  I played the oboe in high school. Yes, I know it’s the lamest instrument.

JAANA TABALON

Born: May 14, 2000

Fave PH Food: Kare-kare

Fave Part of BKD: The feeling of family and knowing that I’ll always have this second home :)

Fun Fact: I grow baby succulents at home! Their names are Bolbi, Baby Bolbi, and Orlando Bloom <3

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Meet our November Members of the Month!

Name: Terri Javaluyas

Hometown: New Milford, NJ (bergen county, r u surprised)

Major: Behavioral Neuroscience

College: College of Science

Year of Graduation: 2019

Hobbies: dancing, eating, being the #1 checked in user for KFT on Yelp

Favorite Filipino Food: uMMM how does one choose one?? sinigang, longanisa, & kare-kare are top 3

Current Favorite Song: Motion by Khalid

Favorite Thing About Barkada: The overwhelming amount of love and dedication they have for the community. This org does SO MUCH for its members (shoutout to ebo), and on top of all of the GMs, fam dins, and dance practices, there is always ALWAYS someone in Curry to cry and do work with :)))

Other Extracurricular Activities: NU Kinematix (woot)

Fun Fact: I ate 20 scoops of ice cream at last year's Scooper Bowl and ever since then it's been my fun fact for everything.

Name: Guinivir Lopez

Hometown: Brooklyn/Staten Island, New York

Major: Pharmacy

College: Northeastern University

Year of Graduation: 2024

Hobbies: Bowling, Fencing, Baking, Reading, Dancing, Exploring

Favorite Filipino Food: Tocino/Adobo/Bicol Express/Dinaguan

Current Favorite Song: Runaway by SuJu

Favorite Thing About Barkada: I love my fam Allegiance, my Preshmen friends, all the members in general and BKD dance

Other Extracurricular Activities: I love Barkada

Fun Fact: I love desserts

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Meet Our October Member of the Months!

Name: Kathleen (Katie) Luz McColgan Hometown: Abu Dhabi, UAE (but also Tampa, Florida, and I was born in Tennessee so it's confusing) Major: Undeclared.. so..no College: Umm..  Year of Graduation: 2022 (?) Hobbies: playing soccer, cooking (so therefore eating), reading and writing (check out my blog lol @blogbykt or katiemccolgan.com) Favorite Filipino Food: Lumpia, sinigang, and this soup my mom makes with pork and upo but I don't know what it's called someone help me Current Favorite Song: Heat Wave by Snail Mail Favorite Thing About Barkada: Just how welcoming everyone has been. I didn't expect to find such a loving and friendly group of people and I'm so happy to be a part of it :)) <3 Other Extracurricular Activities: MSU(Mixed Student Union! and only sometimes because it's on the same day as BKD), but nothing much else yet Fun Fact: I've been to 28 different countries, but I've never been to the Philippines :'(

Name: Nelson Angelo Ballesteros Villanueva AKA Lo Hometown: Teaneck, New Jersey Major: Health Science (Pre-PA) College: Bouvé College of Health Sciences Year of Graduation: 2020 Hobbies: Cooking, cutting hair, photography, lifting, and playing with Ralph's whiskers Favorite Filipino Food: My mom's pancit canton Current Favorite Song: I Wish I Missed My Ex by Mahalia Favorite Thing About Barkada: The people! Y'all might not know this, but every single one of you make my heart full :) Other Extracurricular Activities: I cut hair from my apartment on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday so hit my line up @loclips ;) Fun Fact: I had to get six stitches on my left ear after doing a handstand in the summer, and yes it was a good handstand  

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Meet Our September Members of the Month!

At the end of each month, Barkada’s E-Board selects a Member of the Month, based on attendance, activity, and overall awesomeness!  

Name: Shawn Robin

Hometown: Rutherford, NJ

Major: Computer Science

College: College of Computer and Information Science

Year of Graduation: 2022?

Hobbies: gaming, playing soccer, watching YouTube and Netflix, unaffiliated gatherings

Favorite Filipino Food: lumpia and bibingka

Current Favorite Song: SAN MARCOS by BROCKHAMPTON, 100 Miles and Running by Logic

Favorite Thing About Barkada: dancing and all the people!

Other Extracurricular Activities: Asian Student Union, Intramural Soccer

Fun Fact: I have a pet dog and snake.

Name: Krystal Abbott

Hometown: Washington, DC

Major: Undeclared :/

College: Lol idk

Year of Graduation: 2023

Hobbies: Dancing, eating, listening to music, scrolling on twitter for hours 

Favorite Filipino food: Lechon!

Current Favorite Song: Dedicate - Lil Wayne 

Favorite Thing About Barkada: Dance

Other Extracurricular Activities: Democracy Coach for Generation Citizen 

Fun Fact: I hate cold weather I don’t know why I went to school in Boston

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She’s here! It’s Amanda Escaba!

Class: Co-President

Place of Origin: Montgomery, NY

Faction: Candy Fam

Upon adding to your party: +10 procrastination / +30 puns / ∞ memes 

Special Abilities:

Power Nap – ability to sleep wherever, whenever. Can have positive or negative effects

Winged Eyeliner - sharp enough to kill a man

7litty2 - can provide a base of operation for any activity

Items:

Bullet Journal of Organizaton

That’s it! That’s your e-board for this year! We can’t wait to get the year started, we’ve got a lot of cool stuff planned for you guys! We hope you’re as excited as we are!

                                            - Your Barkada 2018-2019 Eboard

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Holy Moley! It’s Martin Narciso!!!

Class: Co-President

Place of Origin: Wayland, MA

Faction: Sexy Fam

Upon adding to your party: +10 photography +20 outdoor survival +25 dance -15 crippling caffeine addiction

Special Abilities:

Aspiring Trendy Gay Uncle: grants user fashion sense, the taste for black coffee, a subscription to the New Yorker, and the desire to have at least three bottles of wine in the house at all times. 

KRAV MAGA: Self defense to the max.

Items:

Aeropress 

Camera 

Portable Hammock (as seen on Northeastern Insta) 

Books of Justice (all of my textbooks)

Can you guess who our last Ebo member is??? Only one way to know for sure, though!

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Woah! It’s Max Abisia! What’s he doing here?

Class: Media Specialist

Place of Origin: Newark, California

Faction: Candy Fam

Upon adding to your party: +15 laughs +20 memes +10 loudness  

Special Abilities:

My Passion: unlocks ability: Graphic Design

Lerner's Guidance: Grants minimal knowledge of Computer Science

My Other Passion: can turn anything into a meme

Items:

Barkada Stickers

Pencil of Enthusiasm 

Crystal of Bad Jokes

Eye for Design

Who could our last 2 characters be?? Come back next week and find out!

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Wow! Another Ebo member? And it’s Mark Choa!!

Class: Treasurer

Place of Origin: California

Faction: Big Barkada Ballers

Upon adding to your party: +10 business/ +15 Sports /+ 20 Money Moves

Special Abilities:

NUin Pass (grants ability to travel the world)

Items:

Baseball of Sports Knowlege

Calculator of Perfect Accounting

Only a few Ebo members left! Who could be next??

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Nice! You’ve unlocked Abby Mungcal!

Class: Historian

Place of Origin: Illinois

Faction: DC Fam

Upon adding to your party: +50 SCIENCE, +200 Head Pats, +100 Motivational Snap Streaks

Special Abilities:

So Many Smiles!: +100 happiness

Smol: unlocks the ability to get away with picking fights with people with zero consequences

The Power of STEM: becomes invisible the night before a chem test

Items:

Camera of History

Happy Journal of Friendship

Lab Journal of Chemistry

Who’s up next? Who knows? Come back next week and find out!