2020 McNair Scholars Program

2020 McNair Scholars Program

 

Liliana Figueroa UC Davis McNair Scholars Program


Hala Alkhatib Andrew Ramirez
Hometown: Fairfield, CA
Major: Psychology with Biology emphasis Minor: Arabic Language
Mentor: Dr. Leonard Abbeduto & Sara Nelson
Research Interests: Child Challenging Behaviors and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children with Fragile X Syndrome
Update: Hala was accepted to University of California, Davis Human Development Ph.D. program.

Antoinette Banks UC Davis McNair Scholars Program


Antoinette Banks Ph.D. Student Wins $1 Million Prize for App that Optimizes Students’ IEPs
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Major: Cognitive Science with an emphasis in Neuroscience. Minor: Social and Ethnic Relations
Mentor: Dr. Yuko Munakata
Research Interests: Parental Scaffolding Prepares Groundwork for Children to Thrive with Executive  
Update: Antoinette was accepted to the University of California, Davis Ph.D. program in Education.         

Jennifer Nguyen Bernal UC Davis McNair Scholars Program


Jennifer Nguyen Bernal 
Hometown: Stockton, CA
Major: Asian American Studies & Chicanx Studies
Mentor: Dr. Monica Torreiro-Casal & Dr. Carlos Jackson
Research Interests: Capturing the Lived Experiences of Solidarity Between Latinx/Chicanx and Southeast Asian Undocumented Communities  
Update: Jennifer was accepted to UCLA Library & Information Science Masters program.

Juan Garcia-Cardenas McNair Scholars Program UC Davis

Juan Garcia-Cardenas Andrew Ramirez
Hometown: American Canyon, CA
Major: Psychology
Mentor: Dr. Richard W. Robins
Research Interests: The Development of Shyness from Late Childhood to Adolescence: A Longitudinal Study of Mexican-origin Youth 
Update: Juan was accepted to Northwestern University's Philosophy Ph.D. program.

Isaias Ceballos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaias Ceballos
Hometown: South Gate, CA
Major: Psychology
Mentor: Dr. Fernanda Ferreira
Research Interests: "Did They Just That!": Investigating the Comprehension of Racialized Adjectives in Sentential Contexts 
Update: Isaias was accepted to University of Michigan Linguistics Ph.D. program.

 

Alexa Guerrero UC Davis McNair Scholars Program
 

Alexa Guerrero
Hometown: Montebello, CA
Major: Sustainability Agriculture & Food System
Mentor:
Research Interests: Linking the Foraging and Breeding Behaviors in Lekking Species  
Update: Alexa was accepted to University of Pennsylvania Environmental Studies Masters program.

Jessica Gutierrez Cuenco McNair Scholars Program UC Davis
 

Jessica Gutierrez Cuenco Andrew Ramirez
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Major: Math Analytics & Operations Research  Minor: Education
Mentor: Noel Salunga Ed.D.
Research Interests: Holy Bodies: Exploring Religion, Culture, Ethics, and Sex Education Inequity among students in the Filipinx diaspora

Sheyla Mirka Dirzo UC Davis McNair Scholars Program
 

Sheyla Mirka Dirzo Andrew Ramirez
Hometown: Gardena, CA
Major: Psychology & Chicanx Studies Minor: Education
Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Sherman
Research Interests:  Warmth, Competence, and Social-class of Immigrants

Alexis Vivas Flores McNair Scholars Program UC Davis


Alexis Vivas Flores Andrew Ramirez
Hometown: San Lorenzo, CA
Major: Managerial Economics & Spanish
Mentor: Dr. Ashish Shenoy
Research Interests: Returns to Agricultural Technology in Rich and Poor Countries 
Update: Alexis was accepted to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the Agricultural & Applied Economics Ph.D. program.

Cristavel Camacho-Gutierrez UC Davis McNair Scholars Program


Cristavel Camacho-Gutierrez
Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA
Major: American Studies Minor: Education 
Mentor: Dr. Yvette G. Flores
Research Interests: Identifying Strengths and Barriers Faced by Latinx Parents of Children With Special Needs
Update: Cristavel was accepted to University of California, Davis Community Development Masters program.

Minhal Hanif McNair Scholars Program UC Davis
 

Minhal Hanif
Hometown: Richmond, CA
Major: Cognitive Science Minor Education
Mentor: Dr. Faheemah Mustafaa
Research Interests: A Qualitative Analysis of Black Educators’ Perspectives on Black Childrens’ Need For School Success

Isidro Hernandez McNair Scholars Program UC Davis
 

Isidro Hernandez
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Major: Psychology
Mentor: Dr. Richard Robins
Research Interests: The co-development of shyness and acculturation: Findings from study of Mexican-origin youth

Maya Martinez McNair Scholars Program UC Davis
 

Maya Martinez
Hometown: Monrovia, CA
Major: Biological Sciences Minor: Native American Studies
Mentor: Dr. Beth Rose Middleton
Research Interests: Examining Indigenous Led and Non-Indigenous Led Burning on in Plants Herbivory

Mercedes Ross UC Davis McNair Scholars Program
 

Mercedes Ross
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Major: Communications & Russian Language
Mentor: Dr. Richard Huskey
Research Interests: Do GRE scores predict Graduate school success for Communication students?  
Update: Mercedes was accepted to University of Washington Communication Ph.D. program.

Reshmika Singh UC Davis McNair Scholars Program
 

Reshmika Singh
Hometown: Hercules, CA
Major: Mathematics
Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Ambrose
Research Interests: Language, notation & meaning: Children’s articulation of their emergent fraction ideas

Samuel Snelson McNair Scholars Program UC Davis
 

Samuel Snelson
Hometown: West Sacramento, CA
Major: Sociology
Mentor: Dr. Jacob Hibel
Research Interests: California Education Funding in Context: How Supplemental and Concentration Grant Funding Varies by School District Demographics  
Update: Samuel was accepted to Duke University Sociology Ph.D. program.

Theodore Huy Tran McNair Scholars Program UC Davis
 

Theodore Huy Tran
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Dr. Cort Anastasio
Research Interests: Nitrate Photodegradation in Snow  
Update: Theodore was accepted to University of California, Davis Chemistry Ph.D. program.

Glenda Valenzuela McNair Scholars Program UC Davis
 

Glenda Valenzuela
Hometown: Castroville, CA
Major: Spanish & Sociology Minor: Education
Mentor: Dr. Lee Martin
Research Interests: Firstborn Latina daughters: the obstacles when learning from home  
Update: Glenda was accepted to University of California, Davis Education Masters program.

Dylan Zuver McNair Scholars Program UC Davis
 

Dylan Zuver
Hometown: Hacienda Heights, CA
Major: Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology
Mentor: Dr. Dirk Van Vuren
Research Interests: Activity Budgets of Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels in the Rocky Mountains