This is the final entry of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester.
Adriana Ponce Mata spent the last two summers working in one of the largest and oldest companies in the Bay Area. This fall, she joins UC Merced to begin her next chapter. Through Project SEED, she gained hands-on research experience testing fuels in an oil refinery, sparking her passion for science and helping others.
This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester.
Rolando Ortega is closing in on his dream of earning a Ph.D. This fall, the Cal-Bridge scholar from Los Angeles County joins UC Merced to start his doctoral journey. With experience spanning national labs, NASA outreach and cutting-edge research, Ortega is ready to design devices that push the boundaries of science and technology.
Where I come from: I was born and raised in Baldwin Park and graduated from Baldwin Park High School in 2018.
For many first-generation Mexican American college graduates, the definition of success includes paying their parents’ bills or even buying them a home.
Lifting the social or financial status of their elders is a goal that often defines upward mobility for Latinx millennials, especially the children of immigrants, according to a study by UC Merced sociology Professor Daisy Verduzco Reyes.
Mass deportation of California's undocumented residents would open a $275 billion hole in the state's economy, cripple industries ranging from agriculture to hospitality, disrupt countless small businesses, and lead to $23 billion a year in lost tax revenue.
UC Merced’s graduating Class of 2025 recently celebrated its achievement at the campus’s spring commencement, joined by family members, close friends and loved ones.
For two graduates, Jahaira Morales and Bryan Gutierrez, the ceremony also was an opportunity to meet with a couple of other individuals who have been invested in their higher-education journey at UC Merced – their scholarship benefactors, Dar Chen and Cheryl Matsubara.
UC Merced students pursuing degrees in chemical sciences now have access to a new source of financial support, thanks to a gift from two of the university’s most dedicated advocates.
Alumna Laura Showalter ’16, ’18 and UC Merced Foundation Diplomat Dr. Jane Binger have established the Showalter Binger Scholarship to assist promising students who demonstrate passion and perseverance on their journeys to becoming future scientific leaders.
Each spring, master’s and doctoral students across UC Merced’s 18 graduate groups are invited to contend in the campus’s Grad Slam Finals. They are given three minutes and one visual slide to present their research to a panel of non-specialist judges.
This year’s competition will take place during Research Week on Wednesday, March 12, in the Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom in the Conference Center.
Medical education at UC Merced is expanding at a rapid pace as part of the campus’ long-term goal to address the shortage of physicians and health care professionals in the Central Valley.
During college, Dr. Margo Vener was on a completely different career path. Having received a C in chemistry early on, she had all but closed the door on any notion of pursuing a career in medicine. But a conversation with her uncle during her senior year changed all of that.
After telling him she wanted to become a teacher so she could make a difference and really help people in a hands-on way, he suggested it sounded more like she should become a doctor.
“That’s when it clicked,” said Vener. “I hadn't thought of it since I ruled it out after I received a C in that class.”
At their Nov. 15 meeting, the Regents of the University of California gave final approval for the construction of a new medical education building at UC Merced. The vote approved the final design, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) findings and the full budget and financing.
