Home

10%

NSME recognizes Outstanding Undergraduate and Graduate students

Honorees and their families attended a ceremony on May 9

By California State University, Bakersfield

May 18^th, 2022

Each year, the schools of California State University, Bakersfield recognize their top graduate and undergraduate students ahead of the spring commencement. On May 9, the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering held its 2022 Honors Recognition Ceremony in the Solario de Fortaleza in the Student Recreation Center.

Learn more about each of these students and their many accomplishments below.

Kaitlin Macaranas

Outstanding Undergraduate of Biology and Outstanding Undergraduate of the School of NSME

Kaitlin Macaranas’ time at CSUB has been full of academic accomplishments and campus involvement, and this spring she will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in biology. Since transferring to CSUB from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, she has made the Dean’s List each semester and has completed research on atmospheric connections to microplastic pollution as part of Dr. Rae McNeish’s Aquatic Ecology Research Lab. She has given five presentations on her research, served in a leadership role for three years in the lab and participated in two external CSUB research internships. Most recently, she was awarded funding through the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program to study an invasive marine worm called Clymnella torquata and its ecological impacts on the vital and federally protected eelgrass meadows at Padilla Bay in Washington, where she will attend Western Washington University to pursue her master’s degree in environmental science.

Macaranas has also been active in the CSUB Women in Science Club, the CSUB Biology Club and the Society for Freshwater Science. A first-generation, Filipino-American student, Macaranas’ drive and passion have made her a role model for her peers, according to her Dr. McNeish.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Kaitlin Macaranas, her mentor Dr. Rae McNeish and Provost Harper

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Kaitlin Macaranas, and Provost Harper

Kaitlin Macaranas sits with her family at the Honors Recognition Ceremony.

Ricco Reynolds

Outstanding Graduate of Nursing and Outstanding Graduate of the School of NSME

Family nurse practitioner student Ricco Reynolds has been described by his colleagues and preceptors as having compassion, confidence and cognizance, a hat trick they refer as the “Triple C.” As a clinical nurse shift leader in Kern Medical’s emergency department, Reynolds has worked on the frontlines of COVID while pursuing his graduate nursing degree at CSUB, where he previously earned his bachelor’s in nursing. Reynolds took a leadership role among his peers for a research project titled “Comparing Stress and Anxiety of Parents and Non-parents during COVID-19,” which won first place in this year’s Student Research Competition in the Health, Nutrition and Clinical Sciences category. A father of two, Reynolds is looking forward to providing health care access to underserved populations as a family nurse practitioner.

Reynolds’ previous achievements include being a National Institute of Health STAR Scholar and the Health Resources and Services Administration ANEW Scholar in 2020. In 2019, he was named Kern Medical’s Nurse of the Year.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Ricco Reynolds and his mentor Dr. Annie Boehning and Provost Harper

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Ricco Reynolds and Provost Harper

Ricco Reynolds takes a photo with President Zelezny and his family.

Jordan Holmes

Outstanding Graduate of Biology

Jordan Holmes is finishing her master’s degree in biology a semester early and will soon head to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to pursue her doctorate in dental medicine. Finishing the typically two-year biology program early is rare, and Holmes did so while maintained a high GPA. She also took active roles in the labs of Dr. Anna Jacobsen and Dr. Amber Stokes despite not needing to complete an independent research project for her non-thesis track degree. She has been involved in the Graduate Student Fellowship, serving as its elected treasurer most recently. Online classes during COVID were initially difficult for Holmes, but as a teaching assistant for an online class, she found the overall experience has made her a more multifaceted learner and educator.

Jordan Holmes greets Interim Dean McBride

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Jordan Holmes and her mentor Dr. Anna Jacobsen and Provost Harper

Toni Ramirez

Outstanding Graduate of Geology

As a CSUB Student Research Scholar and a National Science Foundation CREST (Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology) scholar, Toni Ramirez conducted her graduate research on earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility along the lower Kern River. She was also awarded a grant from the Geological Society of America and was invited to present her research at the annual American Geophysical Union meeting in 2019. A mother and full-time student, Ramirez has successfully navigated a busy time in her life with much success.

Hannah Siebert

Outstanding Undergraduate of Biochemistry

Hannah Siebert’s work as biochemistry student has taken her not only to the Dean’s List but to Costa Rica. Her research trip, which she was chosen for as part of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program, culminated in a research paper titled “A quantitative analysis of arthropod density, diversity and composition in response to insect repellents: a tropical field study.” On campus, Siebert worked in Dr. Karlo Lopez’s lab on a green chemistry project and in the NSME Science Tutoring Center. She has recently collected data for the USDA Forest Service and will soon work as a biological technician in botany and silviculture. She is in the process of applying to master’s programs at Johns Hopkins University and Montana State University.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Hannah Siebert, Dr. Jesse Bergkamp, Dr. Karlo Lopez and Provost Harper

Hannah Siebert and her family take a photo at the Honors Recognition Ceremony.

Matthew Goulart

Outstanding Undergraduate of Chemistry

A bright and hard-working first-generation student, Matthew Goulart has excelled in the classroom and the laboratory, earning high grades and contributing to research in Dr. Danielle Solano’s lab, where he employs green chemistry methods to prepare inhibitors of the enzyme lysyl oxidase, an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of metastatic cancers. Though COVID interrupted his research, Goulart was the first student back in the lab when on-campus research was allowed to resume. He has been a lab teaching assistant, a peer mentor for incoming first-year chemistry students and a supplemental instructor for organic chemistry courses. He plans to apply to graduate school and pursue his doctorate in chemistry in the future.

Matthew Goulart receives his stole from President Zelezny.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Matthew Goulart, Dr. Jesse Bergkamp, Dr. Karlo Lopez and Provost Harper

Ericka Snopko

Outstanding Undergraduate of Computer Science

A student-athlete on CSUB’s women’s volleyball team, Ericka Snopko succeeded in her classes as well as on the court. Double majoring in computer science and applied mathematics, Snopko impressed her professors with her dedication to both her studies and her sport. Snopko showed her leadership and collaboration skills when working with her peers, even in the virtual classroom setting. She is hard-working, committed and cool under pressure. She plans to pursue her master’s degree in cybersecurity.

Ericka Snopko receives her stole from President Zelezny

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride,Ericka Snopko and her mentor Dr. Nick Toothman and Provost Harper

Ericka Snopko takes a photo with Dr. Nick Toothman

Rahayana Ruth Bautista

Outstanding Undergraduate of Electrical Engineering

Rahayana Ruth Bautista has shown her academic excellence, strong teamwork skills and practical abilities as an electrical engineering student. She has worked with mentor Dr. Amin Malek on a Smart Campus research project and is preparing to present a paper for the 25th annual TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. next month.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Rahayana Ruth Bautista and Provost Harper

Tara Bonas

Outstanding Undergraduate of Geology

A friendly, hardworking and motivated student, Tara Bonas has been on the Dean’s List every semester and received many scholarships. Her involvement on campus includes serving as the vice president of the university’s Women in Science Club, working part-time as a student assistant for the geology department and participating in research on lunar anorthosite under Dr. Katie O’Sullivan. A first-generation college student, Bonas hopes to further her education by pursuing a master’s degree and conducting research in the geochemistry/hydrogeology fields.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Tara Bonas, Dr. Anthony Rathburn and Provost Harper

Payton Peet

Outstanding Undergraduate of Human Biology

Payton Peet graduates with a 3.925 GPA, a hard-earned accomplishment for the first-generation college graduate. While taking and excelling in her classes, she also spent much of her time as a student caring for her family during the pandemic, taking on the role of teacher for her two younger siblings and supporting her mother, who has an autoimmune disease. Peet’s passion for the subject of human biology was clear to her professors, and she now hopes to earn her nursing degree and eventually become a nursing professor.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Payton Peet and her mentor Jordan Mead Vaughn and Provost Harper

Margarette Grace Bajar

Outstanding Undergraduate of Mathematics

Earning her bachelor’s degree in mathematics has at times been a difficult journey for Margarette Grace Bajar, but her persistence and dedication has led her to become one of the department’s top students, earning a 3.9 GPA and a place on the Dean’s List every semester since starting at CSUB. Born in the Philippines, Bajar moved to the United States with her mother after high school but had to wait to receive a green card before she could continue her education. After attending a community college and UCLA, Bajar found her home at CSUB, where she researched topics like the presence of anxiety in the math curriculum and the use of geometry in the architecture of Islamic mosques. She was a math tutor for two years, helped her peers with online supplemental resources and helped lead a summer robotics camp for elementary school students. Next, Bajar plans to pursue her master’s degree in pure mathematics and hopes to become a math professor.

Margarette Grace Bajar receives her stole from President Zelezny

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Margarette Grace Bajar and her mentor Dr. Aubrey Kemp and Provost Harper

Krystian Kyle Tagacay Florentino

Outstanding Undergraduate of Nursing

Being admitted into the highly competitive nursing program is already a big accomplishment, and Krystian Kyle Tagacay Florentino only further impressed his professors and mentors from there. While maintaining a high GPA, Florentino has also served as president of both the 2022 nursing class and the Community Preventive Health Collaborative club, as a tutor for the nursing department and as the mentorship chair for California Nursing Students Association. As a sophomore in March 2020, Florentino’s clinical rotation was put on pause, but he has since gained the important hands-on experience he needs for his future career. Following graduation, Florentino will begin a nurse residency position at Adventist Health Bakersfield Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Krystian Florentino and his mentor Carol Falk and Provost Harper

Krystian Florentino with his parents at the ceremony

Jacob Spriester

Outstanding Graduate Thesis

Biology graduate student Jacob Spriester is being recognized for his work titled “Rooting depth is linked to drought mortality and dehydration tolerance strategies of six chaparral shrubs.” After earning his bachelor’s degree in biology from CSUB, Spriester went on to earn his master’s degree there as well, graduating last fall. A National Science Foundation CREST (Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology) fellow, Spriester regularly met with geologists and mathematicians in the process of working on his research. His work is a tribute to the importance of interdisciplinary research.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Jacob Spriester and his mentor Dr. Brandon Pratt and Provost Harper

Isaiah Orizaga

Outstanding Undergraduate Unpublished Paper

Biochemistry student Isaiah Orizaga completed his paper titled “G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs)” for his Seminar in Chemical Literature course, taught by Dr. Andreas Gebauer. His work was the best in the class of 15 students and was well written and researched.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Isaiah Orizaga and Provost Harper

Alexander Hernandez

Outstanding Undergraduate Published Paper

“Potential for Biomass Production and Remediation by Cultivation of the Marine Model Diatom Phaeodactylum tricorutum in Oil Field Produced Wastewater Media” by biochemistry student Alexander Hernandez was published in Water, a journal with a broad audience in the areas of biology, chemistry and engineering. Hernandez worked with co-authors Dr. Jeroen Gillard, Dr. Luis Cabrales and Dr. Isolde Francis, all NSME faculty members. Hernandez’s contribution to the research makes up about 50% of the work, including the meticulous work of microscopic cell counts.

President Zelezny, Interim Dean McBride, Alexander Hernandez and Provost Harper

Alexander Hernandez takes a photo after the ceremony.

NSME outstanding students take a group photo with Dr. McBride, Dr. Zelezny, Dr. Harper and Dr. Lopez.

Support CSUB — Give now

Footnotes

Compiled by Kelly Ardis, communications specialist, School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering (NSME); photos by Juan Rodriguez, photographer/videographer

Button Label

FootNotes

Compiled by Kelly Ardis, communications specialist, School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering (NSME); photos by Juan Rodriguez, photographer/videographer

Migrant education champion shaped thousands of students’ futures

NSME recognizes Outstanding Undergraduate and Graduate students

Honorees and their families attended a ceremony on May 9

FootNotes

Janie Flores to be inducted into Alumni Hall of Fame

Awards honor CSUB alumna and beloved Bakersfield community member

Fred Plane to be inducted into Alumni Hall of Fame

David Zulfa to be inducted into Alumni Hall of Fame

Two biology, two chemistry students presented their research

Thirteen-day trip 'opened the door to more knowledge and wisdom' for students