Hundreds of accomplished students walked in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA) commencement earlier this month, proudly wearing their cap, gown and stole. Among them were a handful of students wearing one additional item: a gold medal hung on a blue and yellow ribbon inscribed with the UC Merced seal.
These were the recipients of the SSHA Outstanding Student Awards.
Each spring, faculty from each department in SSHA select one student from among their peers who exhibits outstanding qualities. These students must not only demonstrate scholastic success by having a cumulative cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, but they also must have significant research experience with a mentor, exhibit leadership through service on campus or the community at large, and a clear judicial affairs record.
Surrounded by faculty, family and friends, the following students were given their medals at the Outstanding Student Awards reception on May 17, just in time to walk across the commencement stage wearing a symbol of their success.
Below are the Outstanding Students and their respective departments:
1. My Ngoc Nguyen, Psychology
2. Rocio Murillo, Sociology
3. Maria Rivas Reyes, Public Health
4. Summer Escobar, History
5. Florencio Maldonado Vaca, Political Science
6. Alison Crosby, Cognitive Science
7. Yaqeline Castro, Anthropology
