
The annual Give Tue UC Merced marketing campaign takes place on Tuesday, Dec. Three.
Jose Nava-Mejia hopes to work in renewable power after he graduates from UC Merced. Which means each second spent on his environmental power programs is a second invested within the planet’s future.
Kelsey Duggin hopes to make use of her microbiology and immunology research to change into a virologist and work with stem cells. Vania Huaranga plans to change into a neuropsychologist.
The three are among the many scores of UC Merced undergraduates whose research are backed by the Construct the Future Scholarship Fund, which is supported by donations collected throughout Give Tue UC Merced.
The annual day of giving marketing campaign takes place Tuesday, Dec. Three. Throughout the 24 hours of worldwide “Giving Tuesday,” UC Merced has set a purpose of drawing items from 1,000 donors.
Donations designated for the Construct the Future Scholarship Fund will probably be matched Three-to-1 by Foster Poultry Farms, quadrupling the impression of each greenback.
As well as, donors can assist UC Merced’s Graduate Scholar Fellowship Fund. The primary 100 donations to the fund will probably be amplified by an identical donation that can present as much as $1,000 from longtime campus buddies Dr. Robert Bernstein and Dr. Jane Binger. Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie Zatz is providing an analogous match.
This 12 months’s Give Tue UC Merced marks the sixth 12 months of the marketing campaign.
“Help from the items made throughout Give Tue UC Merced transforms the lives of our college students, their households and their communities,” interim Chancellor Nathan Brostrom mentioned. “Each donation helps us construct a greater future by supporting the training of the subsequent era of world-class researchers.”

Nava-Mejia, a 19-year-old first-generation pupil from Merced, mentioned the Construct the Future Scholarship permits him to dedicate extra time to his research.
“It means quite a bit as a result of I can give attention to my training,” he mentioned. “With the scholarship, I will pay for my books and transportation prices. It additionally lifts a burden off my mother and father.”
UC Merced is a nationwide chief in pupil outcomes and social mobility, with 9 out of 10 college students receiving some type of monetary help. Such monetary assist was one of many foremost causes Duggin determined to enroll.
“The assist from the Construct the Future Scholarship has supplied me with the flexibility to pay for all the primary requirements,” mentioned the second-year pupil from La Crescenta. “It gave me reassurance that hard-working college students are rewarded and it motivates me to proceed to prioritize my research.”
For Huaranga, a first-year psychology main from Antioch, the Construct the Future Scholarship not solely offers monetary backing, it helps her really feel supported as she transitions into school life.
“As a first-generation pupil, school tuition may be very pricey for our households,” she mentioned. The Construct the Future Scholarship “has been very vital to me for a lot of causes however my foremost cause is that it gave me a way that there are folks on the market who assist college students. This made me really feel that I’m not alone and that there are individuals who imagine in me.”
“Help from the items made throughout Give Tue UC Merced transforms the lives of our college students, their households and their communities.”
Final 12 months, the Give Tue UC Merced marketing campaign raised greater than $170,000, bringing the full collected over the previous 5 years to greater than $1.5 million.
At the moment, 144 college students are receiving assist from the Construct the Future Scholarship. And due to the generosity of Foster Poultry Farms, there will probably be a Three-to-1 match on items made to the Construct the Future Scholarship Fund, as much as a complete of $100,000 throughout Give Tue UC Merced.
On-line items may be directed to givetue.ucmerced.edu ; Donations additionally will probably be collected at places throughout campus on Tuesday, Dec. Three.
Quite a few occasions will probably be held on campus all through the day to boost consciousness of Give Tue UC Merced and assist a tradition of giving again. Housing and Residence Life is organizing a “ for Students” carnival occasion, together with an opportunity for donors to toss pies at resident assistants and a vacation social that includes an unsightly sweater contest. The occasions are open to all college students and a $1 donation is inspired.
The Graduate Division will provide espresso and churros to donors Tuesday afternoon.
Final 12 months marked the second 12 months wherein the campus met its 1,000-donor purpose on Give Tue UC Merced. These donors included almost 500 college students, underscoring a rising custom of giving amongst Bobcats.
Huaranga mentioned receiving assist from the Construct the Future Scholarship has impressed her to need to, sooner or later, give scholarships that can assist college students from her hometown attend UC Merced.
Duggin mentioned she additionally hopes to contribute to the college.
“I hope to finally be capable to give again to UC Merced, particularly to learn the scholars. I would like the long run generations to have entry to a fantastic training with out worrying about funds,” Duggin mentioned. “Give Tue UC Merced is a superb occasion that permits donors to assist the college and the scholars. Thanks to the donors who put money into the scholars at UC Merced — it actually makes a distinction.”