With graduation fast approaching, here are a few of the many graduation candidates that make UC Santa Barbara great. These students come from different colleges on campus, yet all exemplify UCSB’s tradition of service, teaching, research and excellence.
Meet the Class of 2015
Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:51pm
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Grant Draper
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Grant is a mechanical engineering major in UCSB’s College of Engineering. As a student, Grant has been actively involved on campus as a tour guide, president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and president of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society. Grant has pursued multiple internships during his time at UCSB. He worked on a prototype boat for the Navy while interning at Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and worked on a satellite program while interning at Lockheed Martin. After graduation, Grant plans to have an adventure in Southeast Asia before beginning work at...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:51pm
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Camille Sasaki
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Cami is a mechanical engineering major in UCSB’s College of Engineering. While pursuing her Bachelor of Science, Cami has been actively involved in campus life at UCSB. She has conducted engineering research in a structural materials lab, acted as vice president of the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honors Society, served as secretary of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and co-founded the Machine Shop Club. After graduation, Cami plans to pursue a career in the field of mechanical engineering. “I have learned a lot from my time at UCSB...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:50pm
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Kaia Joye Moyer
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Kaia Joye is a graduate student in UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. This year, she will complete her master’s of environmental science and management with a specialization in coastal marine resource management. While at UCSB, Kaia Joye has been involved in many on-campus organizations, including the Bren development team; Brengrass, the official band of the Bren School; the Graduate Student Association; and the SciTrek program. For her master’s group project, Kaia Joye and a team of four other...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:50pm
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Joe Bergesen
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Joe is a Ph.D. student in UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. Joe is a long-time Gaucho whose Ph.D. will be his fourth degree obtained at UCSB. As a student, Joe conducted research on the long-term environmental implications of the development of rapidly changing renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. He worked as a graduate student researcher and teaching assistant in many departments on campus, including the Bren School, the Technology Management Program and the departments of geography and geology. “My...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:49pm
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McKenna Lux
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McKenna is a political science major and a french minor in UCSB’s College of Letters and Science. During her time at UCSB, McKenna has taken advantage of multiple research opportunities in the department of political science. During her junior year, she completed an independent research course on United Nations involvement in Darfur, and during her senior year, she has been writing an honors thesis on the role of border management policy on the frequency of human trafficking in the Eastern European Union. McKenna also spent a summer interning at a...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:48pm
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Sharlyn Nelson
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Sharlyn is a biological sciences major in UCSB’s College of Letters and Science. As a student, Sharlyn has been involved in multiple organizations, including the Office of Research as a research development assistant, the College of Letters and Science as a peer adviser and FeelGood SB, a local chapter of a national nonprofit that sells grilled cheese sandwiches to raise money to combat world hunger. She also has worked as a general learning assistant in general chemistry labs, worked as a biology mentor and tutored students from Isla Vista...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:48pm
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Gary Haddow
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Gary is a graduate student in UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. While pursuing his master’s degree in education, Gary traveled to Liberian refugee camps in Ghana to interview refugee mothers about their views on their children’s future opportunities. He conducted his Ph.D. in southwest Philadelphia, interviewing Liberian immigrants about their perceptions of identity and citizenship. Additionally, he has worked for four years as a teaching assistant in UCSB’s Department of Black Studies and has been highly involved in...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:47pm
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Jennica Rebelez-Ernst
Jennica is a doctoral student in UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. A long-time Gaucho, Jennica began studying at UCSB as an undergraduate in 2006 and has gone on to complete a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a master’s program in school psychology, and she is about to complete her Ph.D. in counseling and clinical and school psychology. While an undergraduate, Jennica served as president of Iaorana Te Otea, UCSB’s Polynesian dance group. She also has worked as a preschool teaching assistant at the Orfalea Family Children’s Center on...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:46pm
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Philip Saad
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Philip is a physics major in UCSB’s College of Creative Studies (CCS). While at UCSB, Philip has conducted intensive research on string theory and quantum field theory. On campus, he has worked as a teaching assistant and has been involved with the Creative Lecture Series, a club that organizes campus events similar to TED Talks. After graduation, Philip will attend Stanford University where he will pursue a Ph.D. in theoretical physics and, more specifically, quantum gravity. “I will be working on understanding how to understand how Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which describes gravity at most...
read more » Posted on May 18, 2015 - 12:45pm
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Victoria Wu
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Victoria is a biology major in UCSB’s College of Creative Studies (CCS) with a minor in applied psychology. For two and a half years, Victoria has worked as a research assistant in the Koegel Autism Center, studying the efficacy of social skill group interventions for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders in an experience she describes as “one of the highlights of my college career.” She has worked as a teaching assistant for three years and also has worked as an intern in the Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships at the California...
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