(rhythmic piano music)
- Hello students, faculty,
family and friends.
My name is Kathleen Madden, I'm the dean
of the School of Natural Sciences,
Mathematics, and Engineering.
I thank you so much for
joining us in this virtual
celebration of our Spring
2020 outstanding graduates.
In this video, we will
introduce the winners
of the outstanding undergraduate
and graduate paper award.
These awardees were
selected by the Faculty
Honors and Awards Committee from among
submissions across the school.
We will also introduce
the outstanding graduates
from each of our 16 degree programs.
To be named an outstanding
graduate is a high honor.
These students were chosen
by the faculty from among
all students completing a
degree in the discipline.
Each has demonstrated excellence
in scholarship and research.
These students represent
the best in their programs,
and we are so very proud of them.
We will conclude the video by announcing
the outstanding undergraduate
and graduate student
for the entire School of Natural Sciences,
Mathematics, and Engineering.
These awardees are selected
by the Faculty Honors
and Awards Committee from among the
outstanding graduates in
each of the degree programs.
Thus, this award represents
the highest honor
awarded by the school.
And now, we meet our
inspiring awardees, each
of whom will be introduced
by his or her faculty mentor.
Kaitlin Macaranas took the lead on a
student team-based project
that studied the effect of
antherogenic pollutants
on freshwater algae.
Its methodologies and data collections
were primarily determined and managed by
Kaitlin, who was the sole author of its
resulting empirical paper that
she won this award for.
The leadership and
determination demonstrated
by Kaitlin has made her a star student
in our department as she continues to
pursue her research interests.
Congratulations Caitlin.
Good job!
- Luke Kim has been a stellar student
at CSUB, excelling through a double major
in Biology and Religious Studies while
minoring in Chemistry.
On top of doing great in his classes,
he's also been really active in research
both on and off campus, receiving both
internal and external grants.
And on top of all this he's constantly
seeking to help those around him,
in our community and as a peer mentor
and tutor to his fellow students.
Luke has been a constant,
positive presence
around the Biology department and the
entire university community.
We'll really miss having him here
in Bakersfield but we know he's going to
continue to do amazing things.
In the fall, Luke will
start medical school
at the University of
California, San Francisco.
Congratulations Luke.
- Francisco Cervantes
is a first generation
college student who conducts research
in my laboratory.
He's tackled a particularly challenging
research project where he's working to
prepare a cofactor mimic that will
help our collaborators understand
the mechanism of an enzyme involved
in tumor metastasis.
Francisco is one of those people that
excels in just about everything
and approaches every obstacle
with a smile on his face.
His most recent challenge
has been deciding
which medical school to attend and I am
pleased to say that he will be off to
the University of
Cincinnati this coming fall.
Congratulations Francisco,
we are so proud of you.
- Hi, I'm Doctor David Germano.
I was Nicole Deathrage's thesis advisor.
Nicole came to Bakersfield to work on
the endangered San Joaquin kit fox and
she looked at the occupancy of kit foxes
in Bakersfield where they occurred, and
she did an excellent job for her thesis.
Nicole was the first
in her immediate family
to go to college and had overcome problems
as you might expect to
complete her degrees.
Nicole plans to continue working with
the endangered species
program on kit foxes
and other species here in the valley.
Congratulations Nicole.
- Hi there.
I'm proud to introduce Elaine Gonzales.
She is a first generation student and
she has worked very hard to achieve
academic success here at CSUB.
She joined my research group in 2019
and she has presented her findings at a
CSUB student research competition in 2020.
She is now on her way to
Fresno State University
in the fall of 2020 to
obtain a Masters degree
in Chemistry, and after that she plans to
pursue her Phd.
A big congratulations to Elaine.
Nice job.
- Hello, Sarah Forrester here.
Henna Singh has worked hard to overcome
adversity and become a model student
in our department.
Her time at CSUB has included involvement
in campus clubs and honors programs,
as well as research in my lab studying
the potential intrinsic anti-cancer
properties of hops in craft beer.
Following graduation, she will attend
the University of the
Pacific School of Pharmacy
this coming fall.
Congratulations Henna.
- Brandon Burdick is the outstanding
graduating senior for Computer Science.
Since a young age, Brandon had a passion
for learning particularly the challenging
nature of programming and math.
He began his studies at BC in June 2018
where he obtained an AST in both
Computer Science and
Mathematics and will soon
graduate from CSUB with a 4.0 GPA.
He is a shining example
of academic excellence
and we look forward to his
career with great interest.
- Brian Jenkins is a very talented student
who was very eager to
learn different ideas
and concepts during the class.
He was also very punctual in delivering
the milestones when he
was assigned projects
and he was asked to
deliver those milestones
in a given amount of time.
He's also a very dedicated team player
and he has a very good relationship
with other team members.
I wish him success in
his future endeavors.
Congratulations Brian.
- Michael Genevore is a very passionate
student who has been very proactive
achieving his academic goals.
He was very engaging in class discussions
during different courses
that he took with me.
He has also been very active in the
research area and authored a paper in a
peer reviewed journal called 'Energies'.
Congratulations Mike.
- Carrie Williams is a friendly,
hardworking and highly motivated student
whose time at CSUB has included research
in the Mojave desert with myself,
running the AR sandbox
for department tours,
tutoring her fellow
classmates, and serving
as the founding president for the Women
in Science Club.
After graduation Carrie plans on working
through the Federal Pathways program as
a hydrologist with
either the US Geological
Survey, or the National Parks Service
for a couple of years before
pursuing a PhD in Geology.
Congratulations Carrie.
- Jesus Robles is a bright, hardworking
geoscientist with a pleasant personality
and a broad array of research
skills in geochemistry.
His success in writing
a nationally competitive
research proposal and
work on a research trip
demonstrated strong commitment to quality
research and a sincere
interest in improving
his skills and knowledge base.
Through persistence and hard work, Jesus
has overcome a number of obstacles to
achieve his goal of
obtaining a Masters degree.
Congratulations Jesus.
- Isabelle Recinos is a dedicated student
who drives 90 minutes
each way to get to campus
and has still maintained a 3.92 GPA.
After an initial setback in her math
education in eighth grade, she has
more than made up the difference.
Isabelle plans to teach high school math
and sees her earlier
trouble with the subject
as a blessing because it will help her
relate to students who
are also struggling.
Congratulations Isabelle.
- Hi, today I want to tell you about
Nicolette Eyherabide
Nicolette has shown tremendous growth in
her time here as a nursing student,
especially in her ability to lead.
She is passionate about
patient care and has
completed hundreds of
hours of community service
while still working
several part time jobs.
Nicolette is proud to
be a part of the CSUB
community and this shows
through her dedication
to her fellow students,
faculty and community itself.
Congratulations Nicolette.
Proud of you.
- Hi everyone, this is
Doctor Heidi He from
the department of Nursing.
It is my pleasure to
introduce to you Miss Lin Dim.
As as a first generation
immigrant, Miss Dim had
faced many challenges in
her educational journey.
But, through her
determination and perseverance
she was able to overcome those obstacles
and has achieved many goals
in her professional career,
advancing from a registered nurse with an
Associate degree to a Master degree
prepared family nurse practitioner.
Miss Dim is going to work in the medically
underserved community,
providing much needed
care to the medically
underserved population.
Congratulations Lin.
We're just so proud of you.
- Andrew Goodwin is the perfect ambassador
of the enduring sciences student body at
California State University Bakersfield.
He has worked hard to maintain a high GPA
and has also worked with myself,
Doctor Tat Acharya conducting research
in thermal and fluid sciences.
Andrew plans to join the
mechanical engineering
workforce after graduation
and is considering
pursuing his Masters degree in the future.
Congratulations Andrew.
- Zack Bryant has worked
hard as a double major
in Physics and Applied Mathematics,
all while being active in
campus clubs and activities.
He has also worked with
me, Doctor Peng Guo
on physics research project
and attended a national
science foundation research program.
Zach has had to overcome
financial hardships
by working uni full time while also taking
a full class load every semester.
Congratulations Zack.
- This is truly an impressive group.
And now, chosen from among this group
I am pleased to announce
the 2020 recipients
of the school's highest honor.
The outstanding
undergraduate of the School
of Natural Sciences,
Mathematics and Engineering is
Luke S. Kim, BS in Biology.
Congratulations Luke.
The outstanding graduate
student from the School
of Natural Sciences,
Mathematics and Engineering is
Linh Dang, MSN in Nursing.
Congratulations, Lin.
Congratulations to all of
you, our award winners.
We are so proud.
We have been honored to know you,
to have watched you learn and grow, and to
have worked with you
over these past years.
We know you will continue to do CSUB proud
in the years to come.
Best wishes, and congratulations.
