ƵAPP

Brenda Ortiz

ƵAPP campus photo of sign

Senior Public Information Representitive

Office: (209) 228-4203

Mobile: (209) 628-8263

bortiz@ucmerced.edu

Turlock Student Blends Public Health, Advocacy to Support Underserved Communities

Simone Samra’s dedication to education and community work is influenced by her mother's experience immigrating from India and her belief in the power of education for immigrant women.

Samra is keenly aware of the barriers immigrants face when attempting to transfer their education or degrees, often limiting their career options.

“If you don't get the opportunity to use your education in America, it can be very discouraging,” said Samra, who graduated from John H. Pitman High School in Turlock.

ƵAPP’s Grad Slam Champion Explores Mucus-Fungus Battle Behind Valley Fever

Nervous but prepared, Tahirah Williams took the stage at ƵAPP’s competition in March and delivered her three-minute talk, “More Than Slime: When Mucus Meets the Valley Fever Invader.” By day’s end, she had been announced as the university’s 12th Grad Slam Campus Champion.

ƵAPP Sees Strong Gains in U.S. News Grad School Rankings

ƵAPP saw broad gains in the U.S. News and World Report with graduate programs rising in national standing, reflecting the campus’s growing academic and research profile.

Commuter Student Finds Belonging at ƵAPP

Most weekdays, civil engineering major Jacqueline Garcia travels 45 minutes each way from her hometown of Hughson to attend classes at ƵAPP.

“The perk is being able to pursue my undergraduate degree while still having a tie to home. It's been great having the campus here in the Valley,” she said.

While she has enjoyed living at home while attending a UC campus, the third-year undergraduate student said commuting does pose some challenges. Early on, she often went home right after class, making it harder to join evening activities.

Ready, Set, Slam: 10 ƵAPP Scholars Battle for Champion Title

Ten ƵAPP graduate researchers are gearing up to deliver the most intense three minutes of their academic careers.

Each spring, master’s and Ph.D. students across the campus’s three schools are invited to participate in — a fast‑paced competition that challenges scholars to distill their cutting‑edge research into a crisp, engaging presentation for a general audience.

ƵAPP Students Invited to Tackle Real-World AI Challenges in 2026 Data Science Program

Applications are open for the 2026 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , a two-week summer internship that gives students a firsthand look at national lab research through high‑impact, data‑driven problem solving.

Postdoc Leads Study to Turn Cotton Waste into Climate-Smart Compost

ƵAPP researchers are collaborating on a two-year research project to develop effective composting methods for cotton textiles.

The project explores manufacturing cotton waste scraps from clothing into compost to demonstrate efficient composting with the right recipe, and the compost’s ability to nourish soils without introducing pollutants, according to ƵAPP’s project lead, Biyensa Dubiwak, a postdoctoral scholar in the .

Hundreds Gather at ƵAPP to Explore Graduate School Pathways

ƵAPP buzzed with energy as nearly 800 students and 200 recruiters, staff and volunteers from across California converged on campus on Oct. 18 for the California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education - a dynamic event dedicated to inspiration, inclusion and academic ambition.

Diversity Forum is a collaboration with public and private colleges and universities from across California.