Student & Alumni Success

From Strawberries to Smart Farm: Alum Adamaris Alvarez Grows Passion into a Career Path

June 18, 2025

Photo depicts UC Merced graduate Adamaris Alvarez in a black hat on a blue and gold graphic background.

Growing up in Watsonville, a vibrant agricultural community on California's Central Coast, Adamaris Alvarez always knew she wanted to work in agriculture. She worked on her family's berry ranch, Alvarez Farms, where she grew a deep appreciation for the hard work agriculture demands. But...

Advisor and student of Undergraduate Research Journal

Happy Birthday to Undergrad Journals that Spark Students’ Aspirations

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...

Student Production of ’26 Pebbles’ Encircles Tragedy with Healing and Hope

It is impossible to avoid — the real-life event that frames the play “26 Pebbles” is disturbing. Heartbreaking. Which makes all the more remarkable the play’s uplifting...

Ph.D. candidate Ambarish Varadan will compete in the UC Grad Slam finale livestreamed starting at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 3.

Campus Grad Slam Winner Examines ‘Gut Viruses: Friends or Foes?’

Earlier this month, Ambarish Varadan competed in UC Merced’s Grad Slam finals and seized the title of Campus Champion. This was the second time the Quantitative and Systems Biology (QSB) Ph....

Researchers Find Unexpected Cellular Residence for Protein Vital in Neurodevelopment

In Professor Xuecai Ge ’s lab, where UC Merced researchers study how cells talk to each other to develop and differentiate, a recent surprise discovery is lending insight as to how erroneous...

Professor Ajay Gopinathan and CCBM Executive Director Carrie Kouadio

New Summer Research Opportunities for Undergraduates from Across U.S.

The National Science Foundation awarded a team, led by principal investigators Professor Ajay Gopinathan and Carrie Kouadio, funding to establish a summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (...

Students compete in the Aqua Arcade Game Jam at UC Merced.

Students Create Games to Teach About Safe Water

Ensuring people have access to reliable, clean water is no game. Except when it is. UC Merced's Secure Water Future interns, administrative assistant and coordinator joined the university...

Volunteers take part in a painting project at Lake Yosemite.

California Volunteer Program Expansion Effort Makes UC Merced Stop

Sometimes public service at UC Merced looks like finding ways to grow crops with a changing water supply. Or delving into how children translate for their non-English-speaking parents. And...

Shakespeare in Yosemite Goes Big for Magical ‘Midsummer’

There’s nothing small about this year’s Shakespeare in Yosemite production. It boasts the largest cast in the program’s seven-year history and, for the first time, features a full...

Thirty students attended ¡Valle! Get Your Start in Tech! at UC Merced

Charting a Course to Tech Success: Insights from UC Merced's ¡Valle! Event

How do you find your way to a lucrative career in tech? That's a question many students want answered. The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and...

All News