Undergraduate Stories

Six top graduating seniors were honored for their achievements at a luncheon on Monday, June 6, 2022, in the Green Hall courtyard. College leadership, faculty, friends and family attended the celebration of the students’ individual and collective accomplishments. Each received awards that recognized their research, community service and academic achievements.

Every year more than 100 billion garments enter the world's landfills, and the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average American throws away roughly 81 pounds of clothing material per year. 

Take off your shoes and socks, the guest speaker asked 10 students in a recent class of the BioLaunch “Career Lab” at UC Davis.

“I was a little surprised,” laughed Madison Sainte-Agathe, who is majoring in molecular and medical microbiology.

Under the guidance of UC Davis Assistant Athletic Trainer Lisa Varnum, the students teamed up to examine how ankle muscles work, practiced wrapping simulated injuries and developed rehabilitation plans.

The University of California, Davis, is embarking on a major initiative to make career exploration and preparation accessible to all students as a matter of equity and social justice.

Through Aggie Launch, the university aims to foster opportunities so that all graduates — including those who are from low-income families, underrepresented minorities, first-generation college students and women — can experience meaningful, timely and gainful employment.

The Biology Academic Success Center (BASC)—the one-stop-shop for academic support and advising services for undergraduate students in the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences—welcomed five new employees to the Aggie family this year. The additions include four new academic advisors and a program coordinator, who will all assist in guiding the academic journeys of the over 6,500 undergraduate students spread across the college’s 11 majors.

Five students from the College of Biological Sciences have been selected for a prestigious global fellowship program that focuses on social impact projects, an achievement that was first announced by UC Davis Global Affairs earlier this fall.

The Millennium Fellowship is a highly selective semester-long global leadership development program run by United Nations Academic Impact and the Millennium Campus Network. Fellows convene to learn from and challenge each other, both at their home campuses and with peers at other institutions.

Each year, CBS undergraduates who have demonstrated exceptional academic performance are invited to join the Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honor Society, Gamma Delta Chapter. Each year’s cohort of student leadership help engage with and administer society activities.

Four members of the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences are recipients of 2021 Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Two undergraduate students, a faculty member and a postdoctoral researcher were among those honored by UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May at the virtual awards ceremony.

Rishi Sharma’s passion for community service can be traced back to his parents. While growing up in Dubai, Sharma watched his parents, who are both doctors, hone their expertise in the medical field. As his parents advanced in their careers, they never forgot about the people around them.

“They moved up the ladder, and as they did they used more of their experience to invest in the community,” said Sharma, a biochemistry and molecular biology major in the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences. 

When Madeline Bright was young, she was told she asked a lot of questions.

Today that same curiosity is leading her toward a career in medical research where she hopes to find life-saving answers.