Brenda Ortiz

Commuter Student Finds Belonging at UC Merced

March 31, 2026

Most weekdays, civil engineering major Jacqueline Garcia travels 45 minutes each way from her hometown of Hughson to attend classes at UC Merced. “The perk is being able to pursue my undergraduate degree while still having a tie to home. It's been great having the campus here in the...

Nathan Parmeter, Arlene Kranich, Melissa Becerra and Haipeng Li

New Scholarship Pays Homage to Persistence and Research

A generous gift from the grandmother of a UC Merced alumna and current staff member is benefitting two undergraduate students who put the UC Merced Library to good use. Melissa Becerra, a third-...

Graduate student Dalena Ngo poses seated at table.

Grad Student’s Passion for Prince Fuels Research

Dig if you will, a picture: the chance to study Prince – the musician and purveyor of all things purple -- as a subject of academic research. UC Merced’s Dalena Ngo did. For years, Ngo...

UC Merced graduates are wrapping up finals and getting ready for UC Merced's 13th Spring Commencement ceremonies this weekend.

Campus Conferring its Highest Number of Doctorates at Commencement

This weekend, 1,250 UC Merced undergraduate and graduate students, including 52 doctoral candidates — the most in the campus’s 12-year history — are expected to cross the...

QSB’s Portia Mira Places Third at GradSlam Finals

Portia Mira scored $1,000 for winning third place in the University of California’s 2018 Grad Slam competition , marking UC Merced’s first appearance as a top-three finalist during the...

Tomanike Banks will receive a bachelor's degree in public health on May 12, then a month later her journey will take her to Sierra Leone with the Peace Corps.

Grad’s Ambition Continues to Motivate Her Success

The odds of Tomanik’e Banks graduating from college were slim — only slightly lower than the odds she’d go to college at all. But Banks had one thing going for her that many...

'Red Carpet' Event Honors Exceptional Leadership

At the 14th annual UC Merced Leadership Awards, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty advisors and student organizations were celebrated Hollywood style — complete with cameras, lights...

About 1,200 admitted students and their family members visited campus on Bobcat Day, and many accepted their UC Merced admittance offers on the spot.

Campus’ Spring Open House Draws Record Attendance

More than 3,700 individuals visited UC Merced last Saturday during the campus’s annual Bobcat Day — a 26 percent increase over 2017 and more than any previous year. About 1,200...

Mario Banuelos will complete his doctoral studies in Applied Mathematics at UC Merced and participate in the university’s 13th spring commencement.

Applied Math Grad Student Committed to Central Valley Roots

When Mario Banuelos was 12, his mother took him into the fields to tie grape vines. The labor was tough and the wages were meager. After just one day on the job, Banuelos knew that his path in...

Kimberly Ramirez Gonzalez will speak to thousands of youth at WE Day California April 19.

Undergraduate Student Advocates for Youth at Empowerment Event

Kimberly Ramirez Gonzalez has been advocating for youth for four years and she is committed to dedicating the rest of her life to doing so. The third-year UC Merced student takes the stage April...