As a graduate student at UC Merced, Jordan Galloway looks for ways to push himself forward and lead by example.
The third-year Chemistry and Chemical Biology student forged a new path last summer through a fellowship in the nuclear science and technology division of Idaho National Laboratory.
“It was a great opportunity,” Galloway said. “I met a lot of good people and, overall, I was able to learn a great deal.”
UC Merced is part of a concerted effort to dramatically increase diversity in physics and astronomy over the next five years.
The campus is one of nine University of California campuses and 15 California State University campuses awarded a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation through the Cal-Bridge North program.
A new grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will help UC Merced further diversify its community of graduate students and faculty, beginning with the humanities and humanistic social sciences.
Two of UC Merced’s newest postdoctoral researchers, Colleen Cheverko and Maria-Elena Young, received the Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship (CPFP) for 2018-2019.
The fellowships, which are for one year with a potential one-year renewal, provide professional development and faculty mentoring to outstanding postdoc scholars whose research, teaching and service contribute to diversity and equal opportunity at the University of California.
Kimberly Ramirez Gonzalez has been advocating for youth for four years and she is committed to dedicating the rest of her life to doing so.
When Mario Banuelos was 12, his mother took him into the fields to tie grape vines.
The labor was tough and the wages were meager. After just one day on the job, Banuelos knew that his path in life would be different. He worked even harder in school and earned nearly straight As. His efforts paid off when he was selected for the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholars program.
More than 3,700 individuals visited UC Merced last Saturday during the campus’s annual Bobcat Day — a 26 percent increase over 2017 and more than any previous year.
The odds of Tomanik’e Banks graduating from college were slim — only slightly lower than the odds she’d go to college at all.
But Banks had one thing going for her that many others don’t. Determination.
When Banks crosses the commencement stage May 12, she’ll be one of only about 3 percent of foster youth to graduate from college.
Portia Mira scored $1,000 for winning third place in the University of California’s 2018 Grad Slam competition , marking UC Merced’s first appearance as a top-three finalist during the systemwide contest.
This weekend, 1,250 UC Merced undergraduate and graduate students, including 52 doctoral candidates — the most in the campus’s 12-year history — are expected to cross the commencement stage and embark on the next chapter of their lives.
“Commencement is the culmination of years of determination and is an exciting time for graduates and their families,” Chancellor Dorothy Leland said. “We are thrilled to celebrate the courage, commitment and spirit of UC Merced students.”
