Student Affairs

In what world are Shakespeare and hip-hop related? Ask Devon Glover.

Glover is The Sonnet Man, a Shakespeare-loving rapper who sets The Bard’s famous sonnets to hip-hop instrumentals. Using iambic pentameter to his advantage, Glover turns 16^th century English writings into 21^st century educational material for students.

Kisha McGuire has discovered an opportunity to do what she loves for an institution she’s grown to care deeply about.

McGuire graduated from UC Merced in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, and soon started a full-time staff position in the Fiat Lux Scholars Program within the campus’s Calvin E. Bright Success Center.

UC Merced is venturing into the bright lights of YouTube shows and junior Kamyar Nekoui is leading the charge.

Tuesday marks the release of the first online episode of Nekoui’s project, a recorded talk show titled “Crucial Conversations.” The show, formatted to mirror popular talk shows like “The View,” is the first of its kind at the university.

Senior mechanical engineering major Kelvin Cheung from San Francisco got a head start on his career exploration during his first year at UC Merced.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) career specialist Robert Goodman one of four career specialists for the Center for Career and Professional Advancement in UC Merced’s Office of Leadership, Service and Career, played a crucial role in preparing him to apply for internships.

Working in education over the years, I have learned to never let inhospitable and toxic circumstances destroy one’s soul, but to use education as a way to empower, transform, radically heal and cultivate seeds of hope.

The UC Merced Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships is committed to ensuring a world-class education remains within reach for all eligible students who need financial assistance to achieve their educational goals. The office focuses on student success by providing financial aid and advising services that support student recruitment, retention and timely degree completion.

Jonathan Grady brings more than 14 years of experience as a researcher, educator and leader in academia to his new role as associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and dean of students at UC Merced.

Grady comes from University of Michigan, Flint, where he was assistant vice chancellor of student success and was responsible for the vision and direction of Educational Opportunity Initiatives, Counseling and Psychological Services, Orientation, Disability and Accessibility Services, Intercultural Programming, and the Student Success Center.

UC Merced students had the chance to gain knowledge and leadership skills for their personal and academic careers at the 2017 Leadership Conference, hosted by the campus’s Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center on Sept. 23.

Now in its 11th year, the annual conference was redesigned to help facilitate deep transformational learning to increasing student leadership on campus and beyond.

The University of California, Merced, received the largest incoming class of students in its 13-year history this semester, as total enrollment neared 8,000 for the first time.

The fastest-growing university in the nation, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, UC Merced now enrolls 7,375 undergraduate and 592 graduate students for a total of 7,967 students — an 8.6 percent increase from 7,336 in 2016, as reported in the university’s fall census.

When Chigoziri Ibechem attended her first planning commission meeting in downtown Merced last November, she had no idea where it might lead.

After the meeting, the psychology major from Los Angeles was greeted by the city of Merced’s principal planner, who noticed her enthusiasm for the city’s Local Transportation project. He invited her to apply for an internship program UC Merced’s sustainability office launched earlier this year to give students education and applied learning opportunities in sustainability-related careers.