Student & Alumni Success

Editor's note: In honor of Black History Month, the UC Merced newsroom is highlighting some of the organizations, services and people who serve or represent the Black community on campus.

Like many first-year students, Layla Muhammed stumbled a bit at the beginning of her journey at UC Merced.

But one of the most surprising things she learned was how much other people cared and would help her.

Professor Shahar Sukenik has been a faculty member for only 5 1/2 years, but he has already built an impressive resume, becoming a leader in his research field, an innovator and an exceptional communicator.

Those qualities helped him become UC Merced’s first recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Sloan Research Fellowship.

UC Merced will be featured on Amazon Prime’s popular show “The College Tour,” a half-hour, student-driven program that showcases colleges and universities around the world. Each episode focuses on a single school, highlighting everything from campus life and academics to athletics, activities and more.

A new state law will make a difference in accessing education for the dependents of disabled veterans in California, thanks to the initiative of UC Merced Interdisciplinary Humanities graduate student Karla Seijas.

When Carlos Martinez was growing up in Southern California, his experience outdoors largely consisted of the irrigated lawns and tidy trees of his local park. Camping and hiking were not in his family’s recreational repertoire. Meanwhile, high school and work kept him too busy to focus on much else.

Martinez’s diligence paid off with an offer of admission to UC Merced. Like all undergraduate biological sciences majors, he completed more than a few laboratory classes involving pipettes and test tubes.

2023 was a remarkable year in which UC Merced experienced tremendous growth and acclaim. Several milestones were reached, setting up the university to continue thriving in the near future and beyond. As we embark on a new year, here's a look back at the stories that shaped 2023.

The year just ending has been one for the college sports record books and many kudos are due to the Bobcat athletes and their coaches.

UC Merced men’s and women’s outdoor track swept the California Pacific (Cal Pac) Conference Championships in their inaugural seasons. Women’s soccer beat 14^th-ranked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Cal Pac Tournament Championship game and got to hoist their first trophy in front of Bobcat Nation on Bobcat Field.

Downtown Merced was awash in blue and gold as UC Merced's Fall 2023 Commencement literally spilled into the streets. Graduate students took the stage of the Art Kamangar Center inside the Merced Theater on Friday evening. They were followed on Saturday by the graduating class from the Schools of Engineering, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences, Humanties and the Arts.

Hundreds of UC Merced graduates, their friends and familes will pack the Merced Theatre in downtown Merced this weekend as fall commencement ceremonies are celebrated. There are 427 Bobcats set to participate.

The pomp and circumstance begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, with the Graduate Division Commencement Ceremony.

Using magnetic resource imaging, or MRI, to harmlessly detect seeds in Mandarin oranges. Identification of pathogens in an image library with artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose plant disease. Creating a robot to more efficiently manufacture a robot. Building a user-friendly database to organize information for a global tech organization. Production-grade employee coaching and training applications for a large cold chain industry and a multinational computer storage company.