Undergraduate Students

Researchers at UC Merced used fruit flies to uncover a cellular process common to many organisms that could dramatically impact the understanding of cancer and aging.

UC Merced said “welcome” to its 2,400 new students Tuesday as only UC Merced can, with a joyous and colorful Scholars Bridge Crossing ceremony that symbolizes their transformation into Bobcats at the San Joaquin Valley’s only research university.

Hundreds of those first-year or transfer students gathered in yellow T-shirts on the lawn next to the Pavilion dining hall in preparation for the crossing.

UC Merced political science students returned to Sacramento to get first-hand experience at California’s Capitol with internships.

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

After diving into robotics in high school, Antonio "Tony" Lopez-Blanco is eager to attend UC Merced in pursuit of a career that reaches for the sky. Lopez says he is “ready to learn, ready to work and ready to have fun.”

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

Jenna Hinds, a Central Valley native, is bringing spirit to UC Merced. Hinds discovered a passion for cheerleading as a senior in high school. After participating in UC Merced tryouts, will join the university cheer team’s elite squad this fall.

Where I come from: I’m from Stevinson and I graduated from Turlock Christian High School.

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

Alexis “Lexi” Wright gives her all, excelling in school and on the soccer field. A transfer from Saddleback Community College in Orange County, Wright also spent a year at San Francisco State helping knock out the prerequisites for attending UC Merced.

If you're looking for someone to make a late-night sushi run with and teach you the finer points of sudoku, Lexi might be your new best friend.

Editor's note:This is part of a series of profilesabout new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

Jesus Silva graduated from Central Valley High School in Ceres after being named the school's Central California Conference male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. "I had no idea I was going to win," Silva told the Ceres Courier. "My athletic director (Greg Magni) told me. I think it's pretty cool. It's an incentive to do your best in the class and on the field."

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

San Joaquin Valley native Anmol Kaur is well on her way to making a splash in the worlds of science and medicine. The Bakersfield resident, coming to UC Merced as a first-year student, parlayed strong experiences in high school into a slot in the second SJV PRIME+ medical education cohort.

Kaur is poised to follow a path taken by her parents, who both have careers in medicine.

Between academic semesters and collegiate soccer seasons, UC Merced standout defender Preeya Singh is representing Fiji on the world stage.

Over the past eight months, Singh has played in multiple World Cup and Olympic qualifying games in addition to NAIA National Championship matches. She has scored goals, won trophies and anchored shutouts. Singh, a biological sciences major, also earned a trio of academic accolades recently and has a 3.78 GPA through four semesters.

It’s spring break 2009 and Jane Lawrence is rushing across campus, the words from the phone call still ringing in her ear. The unimaginable is happening and she must tell Charles Nies,

First Lady Michelle Obama is coming to UC Merced as commencement speaker.

Lawrence, the vice chancellor for student affairs, finds her associate vice chancellor in his office. With the campus quiet and students gone home, Nies had brought his two young daughters to work.