Alumni

Student Philanthropy Month Returns to UC Merced with Focus on Service and Giving

March 11, 2026

Six UC Merced students pose in front of a University of California, Merced backdrop, smiling and holding blue-and-gold pennants that read “UC Merced Alumni” and “UC Merced.”

Student Philanthropy Month, now in its fifth consecutive year, gives students opportunities throughout March to better understand philanthropy and its impact on the university, the community and beyond. UC Merced Alumni Relations, in partnership with the UC Merced Student Alumni Association, is...

Graduate Student Finds New Career in Military Research

As a chemistry teacher at Golden Valley High School in 2004, Scott Seronello frequently told his students to keep working at their education and never give up their dreams. Then his students asked...

First Alumni Association Board Members Named

In conjunction with Homecoming weekend, UC Merced has announced the formation of the first-ever board of directors for its Alumni Association. Christopher Abrescy (’09), Uday Bali (’08), Josh Bolin...

New Alumni Director Working on Building Connections

Although she’s the only full-time UC Merced staff member focused on alumni, Heather Buckner says the Alumni Affairs Office is definitely not about her. “Alumni should feel a connection to the...

Homegrown Alum Earns Law Degree

Ann Hinesley-Perez's original academic plans didn't involve law school — or even UC Merced. Hinesley-Perez was born and raised in Merced, but with UC Merced still in development, she left town in...

Annual Donors Connecting, Shaping the Future

A group of university supporters from various professions and backgrounds have something in common — they've joined UC Merced's Chancellor's Associatesand found a way to connect with the campus and...

Sustainability Research Opportunities Abound for 2010 Grad

Andrea Mercado has a knack for finding opportunity. She left her hometown of Lake Arrowhead in Southern California for college in Seattle, but a year later, her horizons opened up in a different ...

UC Merced Options Set Engineering Alumnus on the Right Path

Unlike many other schools, UC Merced allows freshman students to enter with a major of “engineering - undeclared.” For Matt Nelson, now looking back on his freshman year more than five years down...

Alumnus Continues Connecting, Learning as Congressional Staffer in DC

Josh Franco ('07) is exactly where he planned to be. Every step leading to his current job as a senior legislative assistant for U.S. Congressman John Garamendi has been carefully taken by Franco...

Student-Run Startup Planting Solar Roots in Valley

Three UC Merced alumni — two from Southern California and one from Ohio — are working toward starting a business and making a difference right here in the San Joaquin Valley. Heather Poiry, Kevin...