Building Belonging 2024-2025 Projects and Fellows

Understanding advocacy around the root causes of migration: Transnational Solidarity in Central America and beyond

Faculty mentors: Amy Argenal, Sociology Department

Student fellow:

• Sam Jimenez, sociology and global and community health double major

Farmworker Community Education Pathways For Equity And Climate Resilience

Faculty mentor: Margarita Azmitia, Psychology Department

Student fellows:

• Xittlali Trejo, psychology and education, democracy, and justice double major
• Stephanie Mendez Dominguez, global and community health major

Language Comprehension and Cognitive Control

Faculty mentor: Megan Boudewyn, Psychology Department

Student fellow:

• Lea Toledo, cognitive science major

Migrant Farmworkers and the Role of Corporate Chaplaincy

Faculty mentor: Laura Beth Bugg, Global and Community Health Program

Student fellow:

• Ali Guiterrez-Esquivel, global and community health major

Ciencia en Relatos: Latine Families’ Talk about Science in Stories with Young Children

Faculty mentors: Maureen Callanan, Psychology Department

Student fellows:

• Dana Alvarez Hernandez, psychology and anthropology double major
• Alessia Ramos, psychology major

California Air Resources Board Racial Equity Inventory

Faculty mentor: Mijin Cha, Environmental Studies Department

Student fellow:

• Scarlett Ortega Velez, environmental studies major

Food Culture and Sustainability in Okinawa

Faculty mentor: Alan Christy, History Department and Global and Community Health Program

Student fellow:

• Aivan Bach, anthropology and environmental science double major

Varieties of Federalism and the Erosion of Democracy in the Americas

Faculty mentor: Kent Eaton, Politics Department

Student fellow:

• Vivian Zalunardo, politics major
• Marili Jacinto Jimenez, politics major

Tracking Colonial Deportations in South America

Faculty mentor: Jeff Erbig, Latin American and Latino Studies Department

Student fellows:

• Jesus Vargas, intensive psychology and Latino American and Latino studies double major
• Alexandra Mendes, politics major

Contested Legitimacy and Transformative Climate Urbanism: A Comparative Examination of Santa Cruz, San Jose, and San Francisco

Faculty mentor: David Gordon, Politics Department

Student fellow:

• Crystal Solis, politics major

Banks and Their Climate Engagement

Faculty mentor: Grace Weishi Gu, Economics Department

Student fellows

• Kerry Chen, mathematics and economics combined major
• Shurod Tunamal, business management economics major

Using Petrography to Characterize Ceramic Production in Yauyos (Peru) during the Inka and Spanish Periods

Faculty mentor: Carla Hernandez Garavito, Anthropology Department

Student fellow: Liliana Barajas, anthropology and literature double major

Ant Community Ecology in Tropical Forest Restoration

Faculty mentor: Karen Holl, Environmental Studies Department

Student fellows:

• Zyre Tenhet, environmental studies major
• Jasmine Moffett, biology major

Coordinated Fire Management for Resilient Coastal Prairies

Faculty mentor: Karen Holl, Environmental Studies Department

Student fellows:

• Ava Liu, plant sciences major
• Angelina Losak, environmental studies major

Bilingual Language Processing

Faculty mentor: Liv Hoversten, Psychology Department

Student fellows:

• Ginny Hsu, psychology and technology and information management double major
• Karen Hinojosa, psychology and Spanish studies double major
• Anthony Espinoza, politics major

Urban Ethology Lab: Examining the urban wildland interface through the lens of wildlife mentorship

Faculty mentors: Gizelle Hurtado, Environmental Studies Department

Student fellows:

• Juliet Ruiz, ecology and evolutionary biology major
• Ysabel Sierra

Global Perspectives of Carbon Dioxide Removal

Faculty mentor: Sikina Jinnah, Environmental Studies Department

Student fellow:

• Valeria Cuevas, environmental studies major

La Noche de Estrellas Program Evaluation

Faculty mentor: Regina Langhout, Psychology Department

Student fellow:

• Gracie Scherffius, psychology major

Associations between Intimate Partner Violence, Depression, Perceived Stress, and Child Growth

Faculty mentor: Audrie Lin, Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology Department and Global and Community Health Program

Student fellows:

• Aaliyah Balangue, global and community health and feminist studies double major
• Journey Bliss, global and community health and environmental studies double major

Diverse Perceptions and Experiences of Guyana’s Oil Boom

Faculty mentor: Flora Lu, Environmental Studies Department

Student fellow:

• Chris Mathura, Latin American and Latino studies major

The Professional Opportunities and Pathways Project (POPP)

Faculty mentor: Carlos Martinez, Latin American and Latino Studies Department

Student fellows:

• Alia Espinoza, Latin American and Latino studies major
• Elsie Vizcarra, Latin American and Latino studies major

Young Worker Study

Faculty mentor: Steve McKay, Sociology Department

Student fellows:

• Zoë Koenigsaecker, sociology and psychology double major
• Anna Zigmond-Ramm, psychology major
• Robert Esquivel, psychology major

How Do Children Think About Death?

Faculty mentor: David Menendez, Psychology Department

Student fellows:

• Jasmine Barragan, psychology major
• William Nelson, psychology major

Mapping habitat connectivity for the world’s forest birds

Faculty mentor: Natalia Ocampo-Penuela, Environmental Studies Department

Student fellow:

• Julian Crown, sociology and legal studies double major

The Social Integration of Immigrant Female Chimpanzees

Faculty mentor:  Vicky Oelze, Anthropology Department

Student fellow:

• Jenna DiNapoli, anthropology major

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 Department

Student fellows:

• Ella Ripley-Rodriguez, economics major
• Molly Jenkins, economics and applied mathematics double major
• Sophie Walsh, environmental studies, economics, and film and digital media triple major

Publication: Let Them Eat Big Macs, Crunchwraps, and Whoppers: A Working Paper Describing the Local Impact of California’s $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage in the City of Santa Cruz

Trans Migrant Life Histories in Iquitos, Peru

Faculty mentor: Justin Perez, Latin American and Latino Studies Department

Student fellow:

• Allison Duran Majano, Latin American and Latino studies, psychology, and educaiotn, democracy, and justice triple major

Into the Depths: Examining the Deep-History of Fishing

Faculty mentor: Eréndira Quintana Morales, Anthropology Department

Student fellows:

• Layla Saad
• Sophia Lewis-Mussa, anthropology and environmental studies double major

Sociopolitical Involvement and Well-being in College Students

Faculty mentor: Danny Rahal, Psychology Department

Student fellows:

• Narissa Carthy-Dundas, psychology and legal studies major
• Katelyn Ma, cognitive science

“The mess just jumps out at me!”: Do People with Obsessive-Compulsive Contamination Fears Detect Messiness More Easily?

Faculty mentor: Hannah Raila, Psychology Department

Student fellow:

• Amaya Aquino, intensive psyschology and cognitive science double major

Connectados: Social Networks and Health Among Indigenous Californians

Faculty mentor: Alicia Riley, Sociology Department

Student fellow: Anahu Matias Santiago, politics and Latin American and Latino studies double major

Right Livelihood Student Global Secretariat

Faculty mentor: David Shaw, Environmental Studies Department

Farmworker Community Health Vulnerabilities and Responses Amid Climate Change

Faculty mentor: Matt Sparke, Politics Department + Global and Community Health Program

Student fellows:

• Stephanie Mendez Dominguez, global and community health major
• Wendy Perez, global and community health major
• Svasti Kandpal, global and community health major
• Nashaly Pari-Candia, global and community health major

UCSC Chicanx/Latinx Student Activist Histories

Faculty mentor: Jessica Taft, Latin American and Latino Studies Department

Student fellows:

• Luis Garcia, Latin American and Latino studies
• Julian Serrano, sociology major

Labor of Decentralization: Promises and Extraction in the Web3 Field

Faculty mentor: Zoe Zhao, Sociology Department

Student fellow:

• Alyssa Merced Lugtu, cognitive science and intensive psychology double major