The UCSC Latino Alumni Network aims to serve their community with the help of new Co-Chairs Amaris Trujillo and Guadalupe Sanchez.

George Kraw attributes his life successes to the education he received from UC Santa Cruz. An alumnus and longtime donor to the university, Kraw talks about his time as a student and why he chooses to support his alma mater.

The university’s multi-pronged approach—including field-to-plate food security, expanded access and food pantry resources, holistic CalFresh support, student-centered basic needs research and assessment, and Slug Support program—works to ensure a safety net for UCSC students.

Now in its seventh year, the Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award welcomes its 2023 cohort.

Among the magical moments of Alumni Reunion Weekend 2023 were the conversations among classmates who recounted stories of their days on the UC Santa Cruz campus.

Alyssa Scarsciotti (Stevenson ’20, Sociology and Linguistics) dreamed of joining the Peace Corps since she was a child. After graduating from UCSC, Scarsciotti is making her dream a reality.

Rockefeller Fellow, Peabody Award winner, Emmy-nominated film producer, writer, director, community organizer, and social justice activist Peter Bratt is UC Santa Cruz’s 2023 Social Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.

Over 150 alumni from the classes of 1965-1973 returned to campus April 14 & 15 to participate in Alumni Reunion Weekend. The class of ’73 celebrated their 50th reunion. Campus was bustling with current and admitted students and their families for Cowell and Stevenson Family Day and Banana Slug Day.

Associate Professor of Sociology Rebecca London testified before the California State Senate Education Committee on April 12 in support of SB 291, which would guarantee at least 30 minutes of recess per day for California students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

UCSC alumni Tallula Preston and David Purgason founded Watsonville based Fruition Brewing in 2019. Four years later, the duo’s establishment is a staple in the Santa Cruz and Watsonville communities.

A daughter of a Vietnamese refugee and a Mexican immigrant, Kim Bernice Nguyen advocates for her community as the youngest person to hold a seat on the Garden Grove City Council. In Jan. 2023, Nguyen announced her run for Congress.

Louie Campos graduated from College Seven—now Oakes College—with a cohort of seven other students. Oakes College’s mission deeply resonated with Campos, and after graduating he led a life of community and civil service.

An astrophysicist, musician, mentor, and inspiration, Bill Mathews died in September 2021. His daughter, Amey Mathews, began drawing portraits of him in his memory.

April Yee joined the UCSC Alumni Council in 2017.

CalEPA Secretary Yana Garcia heads California’s fight against the ongoing climate crisis with her UCSC education as her foundation.

Christy Martin is currently serving as the Vice President of Finance for the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Association. Martin enjoys reconnecting with and giving back to the UCSC community, while helping to manage and grow funds that support alumni programs and student success.

Stevenson College Distinguished alumnus John Rickford returns to UC Santa Cruz for a reading of a chapter of his memoir, “Speaking my Soul: Race, Life, and Language.”

UC Santa Cruz alumni Florence Nelson, Stephen Klein, and Nadene Thorne are at the forefront of volunteering at Cowell College.

Mario Galdamez joined the UCSC Alumni Council in 2022. Since then, he has enjoyed giving back to the UCSC community, honing his leadership skills, reconnecting with the community, and supporting students.

UCSC alumnus and Stone Brewing Co-Founder Steve Wagner has funded summer research fellowships for four humanities graduate students over the course of four years.

UCSC alumna Irene Vasquez works towards a restoration of Yosemite’s cultural and ecological heritage.

UCSC alumna Angel Riotutar returns to her alma matter as the Director of the American Indian Resource Center (AIRC).

Autumn Johnson graduated from UCSC in 2015. Now as the African American Resource and Cultural Center's Director, Johnson provides essential programs and services to current students.

Eight years after graduating from UC Santa Cruz, Xiomara Lopez is the Director of Chicanx/Latinx resource center, El Centro, coming full circle to the center that transformed her undergraduate experience.

Lisa Rose, Jim Lapsley, and Susan Nerton banded together to organize Crown’s 50th reunion during Alumni Week. Now, the trio is organizing to raise money to support Crown College.

UC Santa Cruz graduate alumna Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (M.S. astronomy and astrophysics ’05) splits her focus on issues of both galactic and national scales.

After years working across industries from filmmaking to horse-wrangling, alumnus Justin DiPego channels both his vast career experience and his UCSC creative education into his latest novel—"Wrong Side of a Workingman."

After years of working to bring feminist history and thought to a young audience through her popular Rad Women series, author Kate Schatz (Stevenson ’03, literature and creative writing) moves to turn teaching history into teaching practice and show adults what they can do to combat racism.

Dedicating over two decades of service as an alumni volunteer, John Madrid (Oakes ’98, language studies) will now step into the role of alumni council president. The UCSC alumni council will also be welcoming seven new councilors to join the current board totalling a 25 person volunteer board.

Best known for producing the U.S.'s longest running daytime soap opera, “Days of Our Lives,” UCSC alumnus Ken Corday is a nine-time daytime Emmy nominated producer. Corday has ushered in new opportunities for the film department at UCSC, and has now expanded his generosity to the music department.

The Black Men’s Alliance, established in 1994 as an organization to create community for Black students at UC Santa Cruz, now boasts a population of 60 engaged and active alumni—and wants to expand further.

With the help of UCSC alumni Marcia Wall (Stevenson ‘92, English and American literature) and Frank Marquardt (Stevenson ’92, American studies), alumna Morgan Jones (Stevenson ’04, linguistics and cognitive science) was able to land her dream job in UX design.

Alumni Leslie Riehl (Cowell ’78, Mathematics) and Pam Krone (Cowell ’75) were the only women on UCSC’s rugby club in 1974, making their stand as women in the sport years before the women’s rugby club formed in 1979.

UCSC alumna Jodi McGraw (Rachel Carson ’94, Environmental Studies and Biology) founded her conservation consulting firm in 2001 and has since hired upwards of 15 UCSC graduates and has sponsored almost 50 UCSC interns.

UCSC alumni and New York Times reporter Andrew Kramer (Cowell ’94, history) is on the ground in Ukraine, breaking news for the New York Times.

UCSC alumna and award-winning poet, Terisa Siagatonu (John R. Lewis ’11, community studies), will be a keynote speaker at the John R. Lewis College dedication ceremony on May 6.

National Director of the NAACP Youth & College Division and UCSC alumnus Wisdom Cole (Oakes ’15, chemistry) will be a keynote speaker at the John R. Lewis College dedication ceremony on May 6.

Claire Pierangelo (Kresge College, History ’82) will be sworn in as Ambassador to the Republic of Madagascar and the Union of the Comoros on May 2.

UC Santa Cruz alumna Risa Wechsler (Ph.D. Physics ’01) has played an instrumental role in groundbreaking research in the cosmology field, with pioneering galaxy structure and cosmic structure surveys, and more than 300 widely cited publications. Wechsler has also been committed to ensuring the growth of diversity and inclusion within the physics and astronomy community.

Sarah Peelo (Ph.D. Anthropology ’09) looked to UC Santa Cruz as an institution beaming with women in leadership. Now company president and co-owner of cultural resource management firm, Albion, Peelo is at the forefront of cultural preservation in the Bay Area.