Undergraduate Students

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.

Thirteen graduating students were honored by UC Merced’s School of Social Science, Humanities and Arts for outstanding academic careers.

UC Merced Arts invites everyone to a free performance that serves up whimsy, interactive fun and an inspiring message with a big helping of … operatic singing. 

As senior Bobcats prepare to walk the stage this weekend, we asked them to reflect on their own personal journeys at UC Merced. In response, we received stories of growth, self-exploration and change. The next chapter in their lives will bring on a whole new slate of experiences, and whether they leave the area or stay close, these testimonies show that they're versatile, highly adaptable, and ready for whatever life has planned for them.

More than 1,300 students plan to participate in UC Merced's Spring 2024 Commencement, celebrated with three distinct ceremonies on the campus's Recreation Field.

The first ceremony honors Graduate Division students and will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, May 10. There will be 27 master's candidates recognized and 67 Ph.D. candidates hooded.

There are 693 undergraduate students set to cross the stage during the ceremony for the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 11.

It’s a pair of special birthdays for UC Merced’s two student-run journals for undergraduates. The Vernal Pool , which publishes creative stories, poems and images, turned 10 this academic year. Meanwhile, it’s the sweet 16th for the Undergraduate Research Journal , which provides an early taste of the lifeblood of graduate and post-grad research — peer-reviewed publication.