A new partnership with UC Merced

Two rising seniors at UC Merced have each been awarded one-year, $15,000 scholarships from LLF to participate in a 12-week remote engagement with the Lab’s Data Science Summer Institute and continue a part-time internship throughout the school year. Both scholars will have the opportunity to analyze real-world data problems with Lab mentors with whom they can consult on research, seek academic guidance, and further their professional goals.

The UC Merced student recipients are Jose Garcia-Esparza of Clovis, who is studying computer science/engineering and Teagan Zuniga, a political science major from Modesto. Their scholarships, provided by the LLF via the UC Merced Foundation, will support both educational and living expenses for the students, allowing them to focus on their studies, the LLNL internship and post-graduation prep. Both students began their new internships on May 26.

LLF’s 2020 UC Merced scholarship recipients, seniors Jose Garcia-Esparza and Teagan Zuniga

“We were delighted to award these first-ever UC Merced scholarships to two very worthy students, “ said Dona Crawford, LLF Board Chair. “Both Jose and Teagan have been interested in STEM related programs and specifically data science and its real-world applications for several years. They are great role models for our future generation of scientists and engineers.”

This is the second year the Livermore Lab Foundation has awarded one-year scholarships to local university undergraduate students. Alan Noun, a Modesto resident attending Cal State East Bay, was the first recipient in 2019. Noun graduated in May 2020 and plans to become a software developer.

“Our Foundation is establishing strong relationships with both UC Merced and Cal State East Bay,” noted Crawford. “We will continue to identify opportunities that ‘open the door’ to the future for all who are interested in STEM in the greater Bay Area and Central Valley. We appreciate the strong new partnership with UC Merced and wish both Jose and Teagan the very best as they start their senior year.

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