Author: Dan White
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Giving Day 2021: Widening the circle of support
Giving Day, UC Santa Cruz’s wildly successful and fast-paced 24-hour crowdfunding contest, returns on November 3, with a strong emphasis on programs designed to support students in these challenging times.
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Dedicated to keeping campus safe during COVID
Michael Luttrell, this year’s Outstanding Staff Award winner, worked hard to keep the campus safe during a chaotic year of pandemic fears and a devastating wildfire. Four additional staff members received honorable mentions for working on the front lines of COVID.
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Searching for answers in the cosmos
Alumna Olivia Ross, winner of this year’s prestigious Steck Award, took on the daunting quest of trying to find primordial black holes. Her faculty mentor calls this young, tireless scientist a “one-in-a-generation gem.”
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Crossing and Zooming: A joyful 2021 commencement
This year’s UC Santa Cruz commencement festivities blended online ceremonies with jovial, in-person gatherings, including “Slug Crossings,” a chance for graduates to cross a stage on campus with their caps, gowns, and tassels while loved ones cheered them on.
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Montserrat Lopez
Montserrat Lopez dedicated her college career to art, outreach, activism, and giving back to the communities that have sustained her. With her far-ranging goals and ambitious course of study, Lopez had not a minute to lose when she transferred to UC Santa Cruz last year.
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Jonah Gertz
Jonah Gertz tried to choose between his two academic passions: intensive history and music. But, he said, the choice was impossible since he was surrounded by so many different opportunities to grow as both a historian and musician.
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Katharina Pierini
The qualities of patience, perseverance, focus, hard work, and striving to achieve an elusive goal helped Katharina Pierini hold the course toward a UC Santa Cruz diploma, an educational path she completed in spite of a 27-year-long delay and a devastating wildfire.
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Nabeela Ariqat
Nabeela Ariqat, a first-generation college student, hoped for a new beginning at UC Santa Cruz, which she attended in part because “I felt like I could be who I was,” she said.
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Vaishnavi Dornadula
Vaishnavi Dornadula was a leader in creating the first-ever Baskin Day celebration, which launched in February 2020. Since then, it has turned into a popular campus tradition, with students from across the disciplines, as well as off-campus visitors.
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David Sanchez Godinez
David Sanchez Godinez arrived at UC Santa Cruz with a passion for scientific exploration. Taking a full load of science classes and getting hands-on learning honed his scientific knowledge—especially his experience working as an undergraduate researcher.
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Found in translation
Marine scientist Stacy Jupiter, the 2020 Alumni Achievement Award winner, translates science and analysis in ways that inspire people to change behaviors.
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Legendary oceanography professor has made sea changes in students’ lives
Devoted professor and beloved mentor Gary Griggs has no plans to step down—or even slow down—after 53 years of teaching, advising, and advocating for the environment.