Student Life

Student Finds Community and Purpose Through Culture and Literature

March 12, 2026

Student stands outdoors on the UC Merced campus holding a notebook and pen, looking off into the distance near a campus walkway lined with leafless trees.

Between classes at UC Merced, you will often find Padme James under the trees outside the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library. What she studies there isn’t directly correlated to her classwork, but it connects her roots to where she hopes her future is headed. Instead of reviewing notes for a...

A large group of fraternity members pose in red shirts with uniformed veterans from prior world wars

Service Project Partners Fraternity With West Side Veterans

Gustine’s Veterans Day parade has a been a Westside tradition for as long as most people in the area can remember. It’s also been a tradition for the brothers of Omega Delta Phi for as...

Campus Voices: Serving Community Brings Benefits to Students

When it came time to apply for college, so many of us scrambled to compile those lists of community service hours to bolster our resumes. Was there enough? Could I explain in my personal statement...

CatCrawl Celebrates Community Connection

Food, fun and prizes drew more than 100 UC Merced students and others to downtown Merced on Aug. 25, for the inaugural CatCrawl. Degree Attainment for Returning and Transfer Scholars (DARTS), Office...

Class of 2017 Shows Anything is Possible at UC Merced

The newest campus in the University of California system, UC Merced is a campus that attracts leaders — individuals who enjoy the challenge of paving the way for others to follow — and...

Students Recognized at Leadership Awards Event

Student leaders, advisors, campus organizations and athletes were recognized at the annual the Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center 2017 Leadership Awards celebration on April 23. A campuswide...

Campus to Showcase Sustainability Initiatives During Earth Week

Earth Week is UC Merced’s chance to highlight some of the ways the campus community is committed to being good stewards of the environment. From working to divert all waste from the landfill to...

Cheer Team Takes Second Place at National Competition

UC Merced’s Cheer Team traveled to Anaheim last month to compete alongside 11 other teams in the 2017 USA Collegiate Championships, placing second in the Four-Year Large Coed division. ...

UC Merced Celebrates Pride Week

Lambda Alliance, in collaboration with other campus units, offices and departments, will host UC Merced’s annual Pride Week program celebrating LGBTQ+ identity and culture. From April 3-9, students...

Pulitzer Winner, HP Executive to Speak at Commencement Ceremonies

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Héctor Tobar and HP Inc. Chief Diversity Officer Lesley Slaton Brown are the keynote speakers for the University of California, Merced’s 12th commencement...