The Institute for Social Transformation’s Building Belonging program is designed to foster student success, increase engagement, and build a greater sense of belonging for under-represented undergraduate students through faculty mentored service-learning and research projects. Click here to learn more about the Building Belonging program.
Watch the 2024 student presentations and read these testimonials from Building Belonging Fellows.
PROJECT: Understanding advocacy around the root causes of migration- Transnational Solidarity in Central America and beyond
FACULTY MENTOR: Amy Argenal, Sociology
Sam Jimenez
Sociology + Global and Community HealthPROJECT: Farmworker Community Education Pathways For Equity And Climate Resilience
FACULTY MENTOR: Margarita Azmitia, Psychology
Xittlali Trejo
Psychology + Education
Stephanie Mendez Dominguez
Global and Community HealthPROJECT: Language Comprehension and Cognitive Control
FACULTY MENTOR: Megan Boudewyn, Psychology
Lea Toledo
Cognitive SciencePROJECT: Migrant Farmworkers and the Role of Corporate Chaplaincy
FACULTY MENTOR: Laura Beth Bugg, Global and Community Health
Ali Guiterrez-Esquivel
Global and Community HealthPROJECT: Ciencia en Relatos: Latine Families’ Talk about Science in Stories with Young Children
FACULTY MENTOR: Maureen Callanan, Psychology
Dana Alvarez Hernandez
Psychology + Anthropology
Alessia Ramos
PsychologyPROJECT: California Air Resources Board Racial Equity Inventory
FACULTY MENTOR: Mijin Cha, Environmental Studies
Scarlett Ortega Velez
Environmental StudiesPROJECT: Food Culture and Sustainability in Okinawa
FACULTY MENTOR: Alan Christy, History + Global and Community Health
Aivan Bach
Anthropology + Environmental SciencePROJECT: Varieties of Federalism and the Erosion of Democracy in the Americas
FACULTY MENTOR: Kent Eaton, Politics
Vivian Zalunardo
Politics
Marilu Jacinto Jimenez
PoliticsPROJECT: Tracking Colonial Deportations in South America
FACULTY MENTOR: Jeff Erbig, Latin American and Latino Studies
Jesus Vargas
Intensive Psychology + Latin American and Latino Studies
Alexandra Mendes
PoliticsPROJECT: Contested Legitimacy and Transformative Climate Urbanism: A Comparative Examination of Santa Cruz, San Jose, and San Francisco
FACULTY MENTOR: David Gordon, Politics
Crystal Solis
PoliticsPROJECT: Banks and Their Climate Engagement
FACULTY MENTOR: Grace Weishi Gu, Economics
Kerry Chen
Math and Economics
Shurod Tunamal
Business Management EconomicsPROJECT: Using Petrography to Characterize Ceramic Production in Yauyos (Peru) during the Inka and Spanish Periods
FACULTY MENTOR: Carla Hernandez Garavito, Anthropology
Liliana Barajas
Anthropology + LiteraturePROJECT: Ant Community Ecology in Tropical Forest Restoration
FACULTY MENTOR: Karen Holl, Environmental Studies
Zyre Tenhet
Environmental Studies
Jasmine Moffett
BiologyPROJECT: Coordinated Fire Management for Resilient Coastal Prairies
FACULTY MENTOR: Karen Holl, Environmental Studies
Ava Liu
Plant Sciences
Angelina Losak
Environmental StudiesPROJECT: Bilingual language processing
FACULTY MENTOR: Liv Hoversten, Psychology
Ginny Hsu
Psychology + Technology and Information Management
Karen Hinojosa
Psychology + Spanish Studies
Anthony Espinoza
PoliticsPROJECT: Urban Ethology Lab- Examining the urban wildland interface through the lens of wildlife mentorship
FACULTY MENTOR: Gizelle Hurtado, Environmental Studies
Juliet Ruiz
Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYsabel Sierra
PROJECT: Global Perspectives of Carbon Dioxide Removal
FACULTY MENTOR: Sikina Jinnah, Environmental Studies
Valeria Cuevas
Environmental StudiesPROJECT: La Noche de Estrellas Program Evaluation
FACULTY MENTOR: Regina Langhout, Psychology
Gracie Scherffius
PsychologyPROJECT: Associations between Intimate Partner Violence, Depression, Perceived Stress, and Child Growth
FACULTY MENTOR: Audrie Lin, Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology + Global and Community Health
Aaliyah Balangue
Global and Community Health + Feminist Studies
Journey Bliss
Global and Community Health + Environmental StudiesPROJECT: Diverse Perceptions and Experiences of Guyana’s Oil Boom
FACULTY MENTOR: Flora Lu, Environmental Studies
Chris Mathura
Latin American and Latino StudiesPROJECT: The Professional Opportunities and Pathways Project (POPP)
FACULTY MENTOR: Carlos Martinez, Latin American and Latino Studies
Alia Espinoza
Latin American and Latino Studies
Elsie Vizcarra
Latin American and Latino StudiesPROJECT: Young Worker Study
FACULTY MENTOR: Steve McKay, Sociology
Zoë Koenigsaecker
Sociology + Psychology
Anna Zigmond-Ramm
Psychology
Robert Esquivel
PsychologyPROJECT: How do Children Think about Death?
FACULTY MENTOR: David Menendez, Psychology
Jasmine Barragan
Psychology
William Nelson
PsychologyPROJECT: Mapping habitat connectivity for the world’s forest birds
FACULTY MENTOR: Natalia Ocampo-Penuela, Environmental Studies
Julian Crown
Sociology + Legal StudiesPROJECT: The Social Integration of Immigrant Female Chimpanzees
FACULTY MENTOR: Vicky Oelze, Anthropology
Jenna DiNapoli
AnthropologyPROJECT: Let Them Eat Big Macs, Crunchwraps, and Whoppers: The Local Impact of California’s $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage in Santa Cruz
FACULTY MENTOR: Steve Owen, Economics
Ella Ripley-Rodriguez
Economics
Molly Jenkins
Economics + Applied Mathematics
Sophie Walsh
Environmental Studies + Economics + Film and Digital MediaPROJECT: Trans Migrant Life Histories in Iquitos, Peru
FACULTY MENTOR: Justin Perez, Latin American and Latino Studies
Allison Duran Majano
Latin American and Latino Studies + Psychology + EducationPROJECT: Into the Depths: Examining the Deep-History of Fishing
FACULTY MENTOR: Eréndira Quintana Morales, Anthropology
Layla Saad
Sophia Lewis-Mussa
Anthropology + Environmental StudiesPROJECT: Sociopolitical Involvement and Well-being in College Students
FACULTY MENTOR: Danny Rahal, Psychology
Narissa Carthy-Dundas
Psychology + Legal Studies
Katelyn Ma
Cognitive SciencePROJECT: “The mess just jumps out at me!”: Do People with Obsessive-Compulsive Contamination Fears Detect Messiness More Easily?
FACULTY MENTOR: Hannah Raila, Psychology
Amaya Aquino
Intensive Psychology + Cognitive SciencePROJECT: Connectados: Social Networks and Health Among Indigenous Californians
FACULTY MENTOR: Alicia Riley, Sociology
Anahi Matias Santiago
Politics + Latin American and Latino StudiesPROJECT: Right Livelihood Student Global Secretariat
FACULTY MENTOR: David Shaw, Environmental Studies
PROJECT: Farmworker Community Health Vulnerabilities and Responses Amid Climate Change
FACULTY MENTOR: Matt Sparke, Politics + Global and Community Health
Stephanie Mendez Dominguez
Global and Community HealthWendy Perez
Global and Community Health
Svasti Kandpal
Global and Community Health
Nashaly Pari-Candia
Global and Community HealthPROJECT: UCSC Chicanx/Latinx Student Activist Histories
FACULTY MENTOR: Jessica Taft, Latin American and Latino Studies
Luis Garcia
Latin American and Latino Studies
Julian Serrano
SociologyPROJECT: Labor of Decentralization: Promises and Extraction in the Web3 Field
FACULTY MENTOR: Zoe Zhao, Sociology
