Author: Dan White
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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.
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A day to Baskin the glory
Student Vaishnavi Dornadula played a leadership role in launching the popular Baskin Day celebration, which invites the community to learn about the achievements of Baskin School of Engineering faculty and students
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Science to the people
Four years ago, alumnus George Kraw launched the Kraw Lectures, an impassioned defense for scientific inquiry. Free and open to the public, the series covers topics ranging from the Antarctic in a time of climate change to the possibility of self-driving cars creating future gridlock.
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Bearing witness to COVID at UC Santa Cruz
Stories of resilience and loss are preserved in The Empty Year: An Oral History of the Pandemic(s) of 2020 at UC Santa Cruz, an immersive project that includes a 540-page published book
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‘The only way society gets to reopen safely is if we are all vaccinated’
UC Santa Cruz COVID experts Rebecca DuBois, A. Marm Kilpatrick, and Susan Carpenter are urging all unvaccinated people to book an appointment to get their shots immediately, and follow CDC safety guidelines even after the vaccinations take effect.
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Alumni Week was a virtual smorgasbord for nostalgic Banana Slugs
Banana Slugs showed off their creativity and adaptability during last week’s all-virtual Alumni Week, a celebration that made the most of its online format and featured more than 70 live events from April 19–25.
