McNair Scholars Program at UC Davis - Graduate Scholar Profiles

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR ]

Deborah began her Ph.D.in Psychology at UCD in fall, 2005. She is working in Gail Goodman's research lab.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN ANTHROPOLOGY MAJOR ]

Viola graduated in 2004, and began her Ph.D study in Anthropology at University of Michigan

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY AND PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR ]

Catharine began her graduate study in GIS/Geography at UC Davis, Fall 2004. In the summer of 2005 she had a very productive internship with the Department of Agriculture. Way to go, Catharine!

[ 2005 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR ]

Patricia and her family have moved to southern California, where she is pursueing her master's in psychology at CSULA

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR ]

She is currently working as a research assistant at Harder & Company Community Research, a company that provides non-profit organizations with strategic planning, needs assessments, capacity building, and program evaluation. Shirley plans on applying to Ph.D. programs in Social Work in Fall 2002. She is currently training to be a nurse / midwife.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN SOCIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Hernaldo graduated from UC Berkeley in 2002 with a JD degree. Hernaldo is an attorney with the law firm, Hadsell and Stormer in Los Angeles. He practices civil rights and enjoys his work. He is happily married.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN SOCIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Kianda plans to return to California next year and would like to teach future sociologists perhaps at UC Davis! His dissertation topic is about those who care for individuals with violently acquired spinal cord injuries. Currently he works at the National Rehabilitation Hospital on disability research. He also serves as adjunct professor at AU teaching Introductory Sociology.

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR ]

Andrea is in the PhD program in Political Science at the University of Michigan. She is brainstorming topics for her dissertation. She hopes to graduate in 2008.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Indergit Bihala graduated in Fall 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN ENGINEERING MAJOR ]

Mustafe Botan graduated in Fall 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. He's currently working for a biotechnology company, while looking into graduate programs and taking the GRE. His company may fund his graduate education.

[ 2005 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOBIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Navdeep finished her B.S. in June, 2005. She came back this summer to prep for the GRE and will be applying to graduate school soon. Right now, she is taking it easy at home.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN SOCIOLOGY AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR ]

William is in his second year of graduate study in Human Sexuality Studies at San Francisco University, Fall 2004

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN ENGLISH MAJOR ]

After graduating, Amy moved her family to Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is currently employed as a substitute teacher.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MAJOR ]

Emily is a 3rd year PhD student in Clinical Psychology at UC Santa Barbara. She is doing research in two areas: Substance abuse and drug courts and their success; Domestic Violence. She graduated from CSU Fresno with a Master of Art in May 2003. She was 1 of 9 students to receive the CSUF Dean's Medal Award. Emily has 2 published articles.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN PHYSICS MAJOR ]

Anthony de la Cerda graduated in June 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. "I am currently working at Raytheon designing and coding software for airborne radars. I've been promoted twice and received a plaque for my efforts on our current radar project (I've also been joined by a physics graduate who I graduated from U.C. Davis with.) Other than that, just going over future educational choices and pursuing a hobby in horse race handicapping. Currently contemplating what angle I want to pursue in terms of future education whether it be an engineering route or more of a pure science route. I have no plans to leave Raytheon anytime soon and will continue to advance in radar technology as long as I am with Raytheon."

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY AND ENGLISH MAJOR ]

Vathary Chea graduated in Summer 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in English. Vathary has completed her program in the University of Pacific School of Pharmacy, and has been seen working in the Davis Rite Aid.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Athena has been working and living with her family, but now is getting ready to apply to graduate school--probably in education.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR ]

Christina works as a liason for River Oaks Center for Children and the County of Sacramento to authorize funding for services to severely, emotionally handicapped children and their families. She serves as a mediator for Yolo County Superior Court and Davis Mediation Services.

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN AFRICAN / AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES AND ENGLISH MAJOR ]

Tamishia hopes to get a joint degree in law and a masters in the social sciences. She is presently employed with a home design center in Sacramento, CA.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT MAJOR ]

Rosario Cortés graduated in June 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Behavioral Science. She is still living in Sacramento and is now working as a Legislative Advocate at Nossaman (Guthner, Knox, Elliott, LLP). Rosario has had the opportunity to interact with UC officials and UC Davis McNair Scholars as well in her role. She hopes to pursue a joint J.D./Ph.D. at UC Davis in the near future.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN MATHEMATICS MAJOR ]

Clay is busy as a Math teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, CA. He hopes to get a MS in Computer Science when his children get a little older.

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES MAJOR ]

Charles is in his 5th year at UCLA studying HIV as part of his Medical Pharmacology PhD research.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN PHYSIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Audrey earned her Ph.D from UC Berkeley. Now she is a post-doctoral scholar is Radiology at UCSF.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN CHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Alex Duran graduated in June 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. Following a month of teaching in Chicago, IL, Alex has been employed as an Asst. Chemist for Miravent Pharmacuticals. He is not currently applying to graduate programs.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MAJOR ]

Dawnte began her Ph.D. in Human Development at UCD in 2005. She plans to continue her study of the factors that lead to resiliency among African American children.

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN GENETICS MAJOR ]

After the sudden death of her husband Damien, Renee took a leave of absence from her graduate work. She is in Davis working as a staff research associate in the Center for Neuroscience.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN ENGINEERING MAJOR ]

Samuel works for Dow Chemical as a senior research engineer conducting polymer research. He completed his MS in Material Science and now plans to return to school to get an MBA.

[ 2005 GRADUATE IN STATISTICS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MAJOR ]

Lorraine began her doctoral work in Education at UC Davis in the fall of 2005.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Jacqueline Fu graduated in June 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. She chose to work at NIH for one year, and she is currently doing research at UCSF while she works on her graduate school applications.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN CLASSICS MAJOR ]

After spending a year studying French and German, Tim has begun his graduate studies at Fordham. Congratulations, Tim.

[ 2005 GRADUATE IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES MAJOR ]

Michael began his graduate work in Religious Studies this fall (2005) at the University of Chicago.

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN CHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Ben received his Ph.D. in Chemistry in May, 2005--only 3 years and 7 months after he began his program. He analyzed protein modifications at the University of Virginia. He received a Sigma Xi research award in 2004. Ben and and his wife have two very adorable children. When we last heard from him, he was considering several post-doctoral opportunites. Congratulations, Ben!

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN PHYSICS MAJOR ]

He is studying Physics at San Francisco State University. He will earn his Master's degree soon and then plans to move on to a Ph.D. program in Physics. His wife and little one are doing well.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR ]

Tran Sin Gieng graduated in June 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. He earned his M.S. in Computer Science at California Institute of Technology. His area of research was computer graphics, and was a part of the Multi-Res Modeling Group and working on techniques for geometric compression. Tran is now working in the computer industry.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN ANIMAL SCIENCE MAJOR ]

Effie is a 5th year PhD student with the Institute of Ecology at UGA. Her PhD dissertation is about the loss of fish and shrimp biodiversity due to dam construction in Puerto Rico. Her project was awarded two NSF research grants. Her goal is to continue research in conservation and ecology upon completing her PhD.

[ 1996 GRADUATE IN CHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Shiang Gwee graduated in June 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. Shiang is currently working for Pharmetrics in Menlo Park. Graduate school is still in her plans, but she hasn't applied yet; Shiang is also looking into medical schools.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN MICROBIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Robert Hayter graduated in Fall 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology. After fulfilling an internship requirement at NIH, Robert was accepted to Harvard Medical School. He just finished his second year at Harvard Med. Robert plans to finish in 2004, and also still plans "on going back to San Diego when I'm done." When he finishes, Robert would like to pursue Neuroradiology.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES MAJOR ]

After doing some work in a Master's program at the University of Texas, Houston, Mariana moved back to California and is currently married and working at a bank . She and her husband have just added an adorable daughter (Melanie) born in late June, 2005.

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN SOCIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Tynisa is presently employed with PolicyLink in Oakland, CA. She is thinking about going back to graduate school next year.

[ 2003 GRADUATE IN MAJOR ]

Tobhiyah began graduate work at Chulalonghorn University in Thailand, summer 2004. He is now working on his thesis and loving Thailand.

[ 1996 GRADUATE IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MAJOR ]

Nicole graduated recently with her MD degree from New York Medical College. Congratulations!

[ 1996 GRADUATE IN DIETETICS MAJOR ]

Holly Howes graduated in June 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics. Holly recently earned her Master's in Public Health from San Francisco State University.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN NUTRITION SCIENCE MAJOR ]

Teresa works as a lab manager for Dade Behring Microscan in California.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING MAJOR ]

After earning his M.S. in Engineering at UC Berkeley and starting a Ph.D. program at Cornell, Kofi is back at UC Berkeley for his Ph.D. Kofi's research is in ocean engineering. As usual, Kofi keeps very busy...

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MAJOR ]

He is finishing his Master's degree in Art here at UC Davis. This spring Carlos received a graduate fellowship to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine this summer.

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN GENETICS MAJOR ]

Stephanie earned her Master of Forensic Science degree from the National University. Now, she is working in the CA Dept. of Justice, Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN WILDLIFE BIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Maral graduated from Oklahoma State University, May 2002 with a master of science in Wildlife Ecology.Maral spent the summer in Armenia in a program which sends diaspora Armenians back to help. She taught English, helped build a school, and learned a lot about wildlife in Armenia.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES MAJOR ]

Nicholette completed her Masters degree in Biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University, December 2001, and got married April 2002 to her wonderful African prince. She is currently attending the University of Maryland's School of Pharmacy to work on her Pharm.D. and has a beautiful baby girl.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MAJOR ]

Phillip Lam graduated in June 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations and Economics. He is currently working in the financial industry.

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN HISTORY MAJOR ]

Eli is getting his MA in Education at UC Davis. He is examining students' choice of major and how it affects their studies. He plans to graduate in 2004 and begin teaching.

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN ENGLISH MAJOR ]

Andrew has just completed his 4th year at Rice University. He is studying the works of T.S. Elliot and C.S. Lewis. He hopes to complete his dissertation in 2006 and look for a teaching position.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR ]

Michael began graduate work in Electrical Engineering at UCLA, Fall 2004 but decided to change to education. He's now pursueing a degree at USF.

[ 2002 GRADUATE IN MATHEMATICS MAJOR ]

Azusa is studying propensity scores as a statistic PhD student at UCLA. She hopes to graduate in 2006 and hasn't decided what she plans to do after she is done.

[ 1996 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS MAJOR ]

Qiang Liu graduated in June 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. Qiang is currently working on a Ph.D. in Psychology at UC Santa Cruz. Areas of interest are: quantitative analysis, mathematical models, and measurement methodology in human memory.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN ARGICULTURAL SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENT MAJOR ]

Di presently is the UC LEADS Program Director at UC Berkeley. She received her MA from USF.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR ]

Javier and his family have moved to Seattle, where he is purseing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Seattle Pacific University..

[ 2002 GRADUATE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR ]

Bim Majekodumi went to Carnegie Melon University and received her masters in entertainment technology in 2005.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN WILDLIFE BIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Summer works for California Pacific Medical Center as an office manager with cardiac patients. She is currently considering graduate school options.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN NEUROLOGY, PSYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR MAJOR ]

Becky Marquez graduated in June 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience, Physiology, and Biology. She just finished her fifth year as a Ph.D. student in the Reproductive Physiology program at Cornell University.

[ 2003 GRADUATE IN COMMUNICATION MAJOR ]

Gina began graduate work in communication at the University of Washington, Fall 2004. She came to be part of a McNair graduates panel this summer to tell our seniors what the first year of graduate school is really like.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR ]

I graduated from UCD in September 2001 with a double major in Computer Science & Engineering and Religious Studies. I was hired by HP at the end of October 2001. I am in the training program for the Response Center Engineer. I will be doing support fo the System Administration for HP-UX. I plan to take engineering classes about UNIX system at HP. In 2-3 years I plan to enroll in a Master's program part-time. I will probably concentrate on System Administration.

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOBIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Tara completed a year at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and then decided to pursue her original love: psychology. She recently earned a Master's in Psychology and is currently the program director of a child care program and study for autistic children and lives in Davis with her two children.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR ]

Victoria is attaining her PhD with the Center for Psychotherapy Research and Policy at Vanderbilt University.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN BIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Minh is returning to school this year. She will be earning her DDS at UCSF. Congratulations, Minh!

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN PHYSICS AND NUEROSCIENCE MAJOR ]

Mayra just completed her Ph.D. in Behavioral-Neuroscience major at UC Berkeley, where she is studying patients with brain trauma due to strokes and accidents and the reasons they make errors. Congratulations, Mayra!

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN MATHEMATICS MAJOR ]

Lily earned her MD degree from UCSF, School of Medicine in 2004. She is now working at the UCSF Department of Laboratory Medicine/Pathology (Resident)

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN CHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Rigo Pantoja graduated in Summer 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He completed his Ph.D in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California Los Angeles. Rigo is currently doing a post-doc at Cal Tech.

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY MAJOR ]

Christine currently works for California Environmental Protection Agency, Dept. of Toxic Substances Control as a chemist. Graduate Degree awarded: University of California, Riverside, M.S. Environmental Toxicology, June 2000. Research topic: Atmospheric Chemistry of Selected Oxygenates.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN MICROBIOLOGY MAJOR ]

James began his Ph.D study in Genetics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fall 2004

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN GENETICS MAJOR ]

Dillon received his PhD from the University of Texas, Houston. He currently works as a post-doc at UTSW Medical Center in molecular biology under a 3-year NIH grant. He's just begun a new position as a scientist at Myogen in Westminster Colorado (near Boulder). Congratulations!

[ 2005 GRADUATE IN CLASSICS MAJOR ]

Dawnyelle graduated in 2005 and is planning on working a few years before applying for graduate school. No more Greek for a year or two!

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Stuart Robinson graduated in June 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. He began a master's degree in the the UC Davis Viticulture and Enology program in Fall, 2004.

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR ]

David is currently employed as a Human Resources representative for Sutter Health. He plans on pursuing a law degree in the near future and would like to attend either UC Berkeley or UCLA.

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT MAJOR ]

Gerardo is a PhD candidate with the department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley. He is investigating the effects of redevelopment in downtown Los Angeles on low-income neighborhoods.

[ 2003 GRADUATE IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY MAJOR ]

Casey began Ph.D study in Physical Anthropology at Univesity of Florida, Fall 2004

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MAJOR ]

Ray is in his final quarter in the UC Davis Human Development Ph.D. program. Ray's current research is: Phase: Adult Development and Aging, Domain: Socioemotional Development, Specialty: Stress & Coping. In 2001, Ray gave an oral presentation at the APA (American Psychological Association) and a poster presentation at APU (American Psychological Society). In August 2002, Ray gave another oral presentation at APA. Ray has also taken his preliminary exams. He is also currently serving as a Graduate Student Assistant for McNair, and advising students and teaching our verbal GRE prep course. Outside of academia, Ray got married August 2002!

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN GENETICS MAJOR ]

She got married in June 2001, and began Stanford University for medical school in Fall 2002.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Chad Sniffen is at the University of Arizona taking classes towards a masters in public health. He will enroll next fall as a grad student. He works on the RESTORE program as a research technician.

[ 2001 GRADUATE IN GENETICS MAJOR ]

Bharti is an NIH fellow with the Genetics department at University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is completing the 4th year of her PhD studying cell division in zebra fish.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN GEOLOGY MAJOR ]

Kathryn has a publication in Paleoclimatology and Oceanography Ecology. She has been traveling to museums in Illinois, Canada, and Minnesota to look at bone and tooth enamel of fossil dinosaurs, birds and crocodiles. She is studying the chemical composition of dinosaur teeth to attain physiological, growth and dietary data. She expects to complete her PhD June 2006. She has accepted a tenure track position in Geology at Sacramento City College.

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

A PhD candidate at UCLA, Robert is majoring in Molecular Toxicology and studying the role of co-activators and transcriptional response to dioxin.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR ]

Steven began doctoral work in Electrical Engineering at Cornell, Fall 2004. He likes his coursework and research--but he says it is VERY cold.

[ 2003 GRADUATE IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES MAJOR ]

Julie has been working as a PGR for the NIH and will apply for MD/PhD programs for the 2004-2005 school year.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

Vu is beginning his second year in his Ph.D. program here at UCD. He's decided on a research topic and is studying for his exams. Good luck Vu!

[ 2000 GRADUATE IN AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR ]

Janel finished her Master's degree at Michigan State University and took a teaching position in the Atlanta area. She and Reggie Townsend just became engaged. Congratulations, Janel.

[ 2005 GRADUATE IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY MAJOR ]

Bridgit is pursueing her master's degree at the University of Wisconsin. We're hoping for a mild winter, Bridgit!

[ 2002 GRADUATE IN SOCIOLOGY AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR ]

Sedenia is at SFSU attaining her MA in Education. She is investigating the effects of minority gender on students' self-esteem at the university level. She has participated in several workshops and conferences related to diversity issues. She is now working on high school and college curriculum development. She plans on going on to a PhD in Education.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN SOCIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Tania would like to continue doing research and teaching after she completes her PhD at Northwestern University. She is studying past and present resource exploitation in the Navajo and Hopi tribes.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN HUMAN DEVELOPLMENT MAJOR ]

Jenny Wang graduated in June 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY MAJOR ]

Chinyere just began a position as Assistant Forensic Toxicologist for the City and County of San Francisco. She's living in the Bay Area and has a job in her own field. Congratulations, Chi Chi!

[ 1997 GRADUATE IN MICROBIOLOGY MAJOR ]

Shondelle is studying formaldehyde oxidation for her PhD research in her 6th year at U.W., Madison. She hopes to complete her degree next year and work in the biotech industry.

[ 2004 GRADUATE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR ]

Michael Wong is pursuing his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering at UC Davis.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT MAJOR ]

Marcus is working on his M.S. in biology at CSU Sacramento. He's studying the impact of high voltage lines on bird migrations.

[ 1998 GRADUATE IN FOOD SCIENCE MAJOR ]

Nikkisha earned her M.S. in Food Science from North Carolina State University and is now has a research position with Starbucks in Seattle.

[ 1999 GRADUATE IN BIOCHEMISTRY MAJOR ]

She completed her M.S. in Pharmacology at the University of Iowa, Iowa City this May (2002). Lili's research topic was: Characterizing the Interaction Between Cyclin Gil, ARE, and mdm2. Lili was just hired as a research associate at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She hopes to be able to find time to take a few classes and is still dreaming of becoming Dr. Zhao one day.