Building Belonging Student Showcase
May 14, 2025
The Institute for Social Transformation hosted an end-of-year celebration and student showcase event to honor the work that has been accomplished in the Building Belonging Program. Students involved in the program in 2024-2025 presented their contributions to research projects. This annual event provides Building Belonging Fellows an opportunity to share their research with the community.
Since the program launched in 2020, we have awarded over 560 student scholarships–totaling more than $840,000 going directly to students–and supported over 187 faculty research projects.
Video Recording
Event Photos
Student Presentations
Cienca en Rezlatos: Latine Families’ Talk About Science in Stories with Young Children
Dana Alvarez Hernandez, Psychology / Anthropology
Alessia Ramos, Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Maureen Callanan, Psychology
Migrant Farmworkers and the Role of Corporate Chaplaincy
Ali Gutierrez-Esquivel, Global Community Health
Faculty Mentor: Laura Beth Bugg, Global Community Health
Associations between Intimate Partner Violence, Depression, Perceived Stress, and Child Growth
Aaliyah Balangue, Global Community Health / Feminist Studies
Journey Bliss, Global Community Health / Environmental Studies
Faculty Mentor: Audrie Lin, Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, and Global Community Health
How do Children Think about Death?
Jasmine Barragan, Psychology
Faculty Mentor: David Menendez, Psychology
UCSC Chicanx/Latinx Student Activist Histories
Luis Garcia, Latin American and Latino Studies
Julian Serrano, Sociology
Faculty Mentor: Jessica Taft, Latin American and Latino Studies
Trans Migrant Life Histories in Iquitos, Peru
Allison Duran Majano, Latin American and Latino Studies / Psychology / Education
Faculty Mentor: Justin Perez, Latin American and Latino Studies
California Air Resources Board Racial Equity Inventory
Scarlett Ortega Velez, Environmental Studies
Faculty Mentor: Mijin Cha, Environmental Studies
Contested Legitimacy and Transformative Climate Urbanism: A Comparative Examination of Santa Cruz, San Jose, and San Francisco
Crystal Solis, Politics
Faculty Mentor: David Gordon, Politics
Let Them Eat Big Macs, Crunchwraps, and Whoppers: The Local Impact of California’s $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage in Santa Cruz
Ella Ripley-Rodriguez, Economics
Molly Jenkins, Economics / Applied Mathematics
Sophie Walsh, Environmental Studies / Economics / Film and Digital Media
Faculty Mentor: Steve Owen, Economics
Varieties of Federalism and the Erosion of Democracy in the Americas
Vivian Zalunardo, Politics
Marilu Jacinto Jimenez, Politics
Faculty Mentor: Kent Eaton, Politics
Urban Ethology Lab – Examining the Urban Wildlife Interface through the Lens of Wildlife Membership
Juliet Ruiz, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Faculty Mentor: Gizelle Hurtado, Environmental Studies
The Social Integration of Immigrant Female Chimpanzees
Jenna DiNapoli, Anthropology
Faculty Mentor: Vicky Oelze, Anthropology
Into the Depths: Examining the Deep History of Fishing
Sophia Lewis-Mussa, Anthropology / Environmental Studies
Faculty Mentor: Eréndira Quintana Morales, Anthropology
Coordinated Fire Management for Resilient Coastal Prairies
Ava Liu, Plant Sciences
Angelina Losak, Environmental Studies
Faculty Mentor: Karen Holl, Environmental Studies
Diverse Perceptions and Experiences of Guyana’s Oil Boom
Christopher Mathura, Latin American and Latino Studies
Faculty Mentor: Flora Lu, Environmental Studies
Banks and Their Climate Engagement
Kerry Chen, Math / Economics
Shurod Tunamal, Business Management Economics
Faculty Mentor: Grace Weishi Gu, Economics
Tracking Colonial Deportations in South America
Jesus Vargas, Intensive Psychology / Latin American and Latino Studies
Alexandra Mendes, Politics
Faculty Mentor: Jeff Erbig, Latin American and Latino Studies
Using Petrography to Characterize Ceramic Production in Yauyos (Peru) during the Inka and Spanish Periods
Liliana Barajas, Anthropology / Literature
Faculty Mentor: Carla Hernández Garavito, Anthropology
The Professional Opportunities and Pathways Project (POPP)
Elsie Vizcarra, Latin American and Latino Studies
Alia Espinoza, Latin American and Latino Studies
Faculty Mentor: Carlos Martinez, Latin American and Latino Studies
Farm Worker Community Education Pathways for Equity and Climate Resilience
Xittlali Trejo, Psychology / Education
Stephanie Mendez Dominguez, Global Community Health
Faculty Mentor: Margarita Azmitia, Psychology
Ant Community Ecology in Tropical Forest Restoration
Zyre Tenhet, Environmental Studies
Jasmine Moffet, Biology
Faculty Mentor: Karen Holl, Environmental Studies
Connectados: Social Networks and Health Among Indigenous Californians
Anahi Matias Santiago, Politics / Latin American and Latino Studies
Faculty Mentor: Alicia Riley, Sociology
Mapping Habitat Connectivity for the World’s Forest Birds
Julian Crown, Sociology / Legal Studies
Faculty Mentor: Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela, Environmental Studies
Young Worker Study
Zoë Koenigsaecker, Sociology / Psychology
Anna Zigmond-Ramm, Psychology
Robert Esquivel, Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Steve McKay, Sociology
Food Culture and Sustainability in Okinawa
Aivan Bach, Anthropology / Environmental Science
Faculty Mentor: Alan Christy, History and Global Community Health
Language Comprehension and Cognitive Control
Lea Toledo, Cognitive Science
Faculty Mentor: Megan Boudewyn, Psychology
Global Perspectives of Carbon Dioxide Removal
Valeria Cuevas, Environmental Studies
Faculty Mentor: Sikina Jinnah, Environmental Studies
Sociopolitical Involvement and Well-being in College Students
Narissa Carthy-Dundas, Psychology / Legal Studies
Katelyn Ma, Cognitive Science
Faculty Mentor: Danny Rahal, Psychology
Labor of Decentralization: Promises and Extraction in the Web3 Field
Alyssa Merced Lugtu, Cognitive Science / Intensive Psychology
Faculty Mentor: Zoe Zhao, Sociology
Bilingual Language Processing
Ginny Hsu, Psychology / Technology and Information Management
Karen Hinojosa, Psychology / Spanish Studies
Anthony Espinoza, Politics
Faculty Mentor: Liv Hoversten, Psychology
Understanding Advocacy Around the Root Causes of Migration – Transnational Solidarity in Central America and beyond
Sam Jimenez, Sociology / Global Community Health
Faculty Mentor: Amy Argenal, Sociology
“The mess just jumps out at me!”: Do people with Obsessive-Compulsive Contamination Fears Detect Messiness More Easily?
Amaya Aquino, Intensive Psychology / Cognitive Science
Faculty Mentor: Hannah Raila, Psychology
Farmworker Community Health Vulnerabilities and Responses Amid Climate Change
Stephanie Mendez Dominguez, Global Community Health
Wendy Peres, Global Community Health
Svasti Kandpal, Global Community Health
Nashaly Pari-Candia, Global Community Health
Faculty Mentor: Matt Sparke, Politics and Global Community Health
Solidarity Economics Series: Childcare in the Monterey Bay
