Phi Kappa Theta
Class of 2025
Men of Value
“Fall On You”
Kidus Yohannes (KXY)
Hometown:
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Major:
Computer Science (6-3)
Activities:
SBC (Corporate Relations Director), Startlabs (VP of Internal Development), Ethiopian Student Association (Social Chair), Collegiate Capital (Sourcing Analyst)
On every day, at every hour, during every minute, this brother is the talk of the town of MIT. Greeting hundreds of people between classes in the infinite corridor and running our most iconic social events at PKT - to many he sounds like a deity or legend. But to us he is the kind soul named Kidus that blesses our fraternity. Hailing from the great country of Ethiopia, Kidus has his eyes on changing the world. As an innovator, he’s involved in a multitude of startups in industries from EdTech to Tourism looking to better the next generation. As a leader, he holds multiple executive positions in MIT’s premier business and entrepreneurship clubs. As an engineer, he can build any website out back to front. And when he’s not working on his next project, he enjoys curating his next instagram-worthy photo, supporting his Man City side, or religiously listening to The Weekend. It’s time to roll out the carpet, cause MIT’s next superstar is on his way.
Max Tan (MXT)
Hometown:
Manlius, NY
Major:
Physics 😎 and EECS (6-2)
Activities:
Club Tennis, Startlabs, Pokerbots, MIT Consulting Group
Hailing from Syracuse, NY, the Tax Man is a quiet but gentle spirit. When he's not collecting dues as treasurer (appropriate role given the name), he can be found unknowingly charming all with his good looks and genius craft. Well experienced and accomplished from his Exeter days, Max continues to excel at all that he does. From performing in MIT's orchestra to hitting balls (with a tennis racquet of course!) to discovering the Grand Unified Theory, Max is a jack of all trades. With these musical, creative, athletic, and intellectual qualities, Max is most clearly a sort of renaissance man, if you will (still can't beat Ian in FIFA though). Statistically, you can't win them all, but Max is clearly an outlier.
Ian Jimenez (IJM)
Hometown:
New York City, New York
Major:
Aerospace Engineering (16)
Activities:
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), Running
Bio under construction.
Vasu Kaker (VXK)
Hometown:
Singapore
Major:
Computer Science (6-3)
Activities:
Juggling, Running, Hacking
Bio under construction.
Eddy Ogola (EOO)
Hometown:
Nairobi, Kenya
Major:
6-4
Activities:
Photography Club, MIT Sea Grant, UROP
Eddy is beautiful soul who appreciates life’s beautiful moments. He’s a gift given to PKT and MIT by way of Nairobi, Kenya. Eddy likes to take life slow — he stops and smells the roses — but not too slow. He has a photographer’s eye, a poets heart, and a scholar’s mind. Given his natural affinities, Eddy made a great PKT ’25 historian. I know what you’re thinking at this point, “yeah art literature blah blah blah this guy sounds pretty boring”, but don’t make that mistake — he’s also always ready to make some memories. And memories he does make. I mean you can imagine, a man this smooth, this sensual, this mysterious — watch your girl. And yeah art is great and all but it won’t make you much money (unless you’re buying it to evade taxes). Eddy, being as wise as he is, obviously knows this, which is what inspired his interest in entrepreneurship. And a few years down the line when Eddy is some mega-rich CEO he’ll be able to evade all the taxes he wants.
Max Peters (MAP)
Hometown:
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
Major:
Computer Science and Engineering (6-3)
Activities:
Soccer, Weightlifting, Baseball
This here is a beast of a man. Although he did not come from a very prestigious high school, he has easily shown that he deserves to be at MIT. This magnificent man has no bounds as he is a jack of all trades. Intelligence, check. Athletic prowess, check. Humor, check. An absolute stud, check. Party animal, definitely check. He is an easily approachable guy that many people love to be around. However, like many other unfortunate students at MIT, he has converted to become a 6-3 major. Originally planning to be a physics major, he fell into the trap of the course called 6.0001 and found that he actually enjoyed coding. In fact, either through enjoyment or insanity, he filled his second semester mostly with coding courses, sacrificing countless nights of sleep. While it is a shame that he has joined the massive herd of Course 6's in MIT, his intelligence is demonstrated by his insane ability to handle all these Course 6 assignments, whether efficiently or not, and he will be able to make more money in the future! This man is a monster in class, the court, and at parties.
Johnny Chen (JXC)
Hometown:
Ossining, New York
Major:
Mechanical Engineering (2)
Activities:
UROP, Robotics, Machine-shopping, Lifting
Action courses through every fiber of Johnny Chen—pure, determined, crystal-clear action. You can see in his eyes: take one glance at his razor-sharp and commanding, yet intelligent eyes, and his chiseled jawline… it just melts your uncertainty away. Hailing from NYC, Johnny’s developed a knack for both the ambitious and the relaxed. He’s a mechanical mastermind, having built human-size robots while leading his high school robotics team and taken over MIT’s makerspaces, and a physical powerhouse, having been the MOST cut brother in our class. He’s worked at a startup on robots that can scale buildings, and hacks away on electric vehicles at MIT Motorsports. Despite all this action, Johnny maintains a calm, yet bold exterior — almost nothing fazes him. Perhaps this is because he balances his life by playing hard, too: you’ll find Johnny blasting some Carti on long car rides, weaving magic on the basketball courts, and burning through some Bloons TD 5 and anime shows. Johnny’s on the path to build some truly incredible things. He’s the bedrock of our class, and we’re proud to call him our brother.
Mind over matter's the game
Rohan Kanchana (RPK)
Hometown:
Hockessin, Delaware
Major:
Physics (8)
Activities:
StartLabs, Computational Physics UROP, Ping-Pong
Rohan “Ro” Kanchana is a man of many layers. He has the eloquence of a poet, the drive of a 700 horsepower Dodge Ram, and the curiosity of a cat (but not a furry). After leaving his home state of Delaware (causing a 10% population drop), he’s driven to become the most learned man in all of Massachusetts. You’ll find him espousing mathematical marvels, playing with physics, or becoming the newest biotech hotshot on the block. Don’t let his cute, sweet, gentle exterior fool you though— the man is both physically and mentally strong. He brings a presence everywhere he goes with his Mirchi dances, fantastic singing voice (ask him about it!), and Oracle-like wisdom. Rohan’s captured our hearts and he’s pleasured our minds.
You build a thousand bridges but fuck one goat. You know what they'll call you? A goat fucker.
Andrew Cai (AZC)
Hometown:
Houston, Texas
Major:
Mathematics and Computer Science (18-C)
Activities:
Introspection, Math/Computer Science projects, Basketball
Sometimes at MIT you forget how smart everyone is around you, Cai is one of those people who helps you remember. From math competitions to graduate classes in freshman year, there’s no question he’s intelligent. But, even deeper than his intellect is his ability as a self oriented leader which is most likely a consequence of his keenness for introspection. He regularly reflects on every facet of his life and easily admits his shortcomings and strives to improve. Despite his tall achievements (or maybe even the reason for their existence in the first place) he is grounded in raw enthusiasm for his work, and an endless sight on something greater for the future.
Taji Manning (TLM)
Hometown:
Los Angeles, CA
Major:
6-9 and 8
Activities:
Engineers Without Borders, UROP
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Taji zooming through the streets of Boston on his electric bike. As is common with MIT students, Taji is infatuated with computers. However, less common is his desire to actually benefit society, unlike SWEs and Sloanies. Thus, he is interested in human centered innovations, such as human centered AI, computer vision, computer graphics, and computer human interfaces. Taji is also an avid 3D modeler, capable of vividly designing your deepest, darkest fantasies. Nevertheless, Taji’s most important trait is his genuine and unwavering compassion for others. Taji is always looking for a way to help people and he inspires those around him to do the same. He truly makes everyone feel valued and we are lucky to have him as part of our family.
Jalen Evans (JCE)
Hometown:
Sacramento, California
Major:
Biological Engineering (20)
Activities:
Amphibious Achievement, Varsity Swim
Bio under construction.