Community Service

Research indicates that obesity can increase a woman’s risk of developing and dying from breast cancer.

The concept of taking a “gap year” is gaining steam in the U.S. Typically done between high school and college, these sabbaticals can also occur in the space between graduating college and entering the workforce or beginning graduate school. For many, the transition between phases of life is a mental and physical break filled with travel and life experiences.

Rebekah Contreras found herself entering one of those phases as she concluded her studies at UC Merced this past spring, but she wanted more than an extended vacation.

The UC Merced Police Department will host its annual Light Up the Lantern event on Sept. 19 to support the campus’s Police Mentor Program.

In 2006, UC Merced police officers formed a partnership with UC Merced students with the mission of positively impacting the lives of at-risk students in the local community through mentorship and education. The program, which benefits 200 Merced fourth-grade students annually, operates solely on grant and private funding.

David Do sits in his office in Washington, D.C. — nearly 3,000 miles from UC Merced — reflecting on the path he’s cut for himself.

As a high school student in Merce

The winners of this year’s Innovate to Grow competition have been announced.

The event includes three components: The Mobile App Challenge, the Capstone competition for senior Innovation and Design Clinic teams and the Engineering Service Learning competition for undergraduate teams.

Two prizes are given for Capstone teams. The winners receive $1,000 each — up to $5,000 or $6,000 per team, depending on the number of students on the winning teams.  

The winning Engineering Service Learning team shares $3,000, while Mobile App winners share $5,000.

When students walk across the stage at this weekend’s commencement ceremonies at the University of California, Merced, they will join the nearly 4,000 scholars who have earned degrees from the university, while marking yet another campus milestone as the campus’s 10th graduating class.

Innovate to Grow, the annual showcase of UC Merced student creativity, features some amazing teamwork this year, from medical and agricultural devices to mobile applications for saving energy and water.

For senior Jessica Nguyen, UC Merced has fueled more than academic preparedness — it has sparked her fervent interest in civic leadership.

The 2015 UC Merced Leadership Awards were held this evening (April 30) at the Wallace-Dutra Amphitheater. Presented by the Margo F.