Graduating students in the spotlight are, from left: Kaia Joye Moyer, Gary Haddow, Jennica Rebelez-Ernst, and Joe Bergeson. Credit for Moyer, Haddow, and Bergesen photos: Spencer Bruttig, Office of Public Affairs and Communications
With 23 days left to go before the Graduate Division’s 2015 Commencement ceremony on June 14, the Office of Public Affairs and Communications is shining a spotlight on a few of the many graduation candidates that make UC Santa Barbara great. These students exemplify UCSB’s tradition of service, teaching, research, and excellence.
Below are its profiles of four graduate students. You may read all of the graduate candidates’ profiles on its “Meet the Class of 2015” page. Make sure to use the hashtag #UCSB2015 on your Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets when you post your photos and good wishes for the graduates. Your hashtagged posts will then show up on UCSB’s Commencement webcast page, where each Commencement ceremony will be live-streamed.
Congratulations to all of our graduates! We look forward to celebrating with you on Sunday, June 14, at 4 p.m. on the Faculty Club Green.
A Green Education: Kaia Joye Moyer
Kaia Joye MoyerKaia Joye is a graduate student in UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. This year, she will complete her Master’s of Environmental Science and Management with a specialization in coastal marine resource management. While at UCSB, Kaia Joye has been involved in many on-campus organizations, including the Bren development team; Brengrass, the official band of the Bren School; the Graduate Students Association; and the SciTrek program. For her master’s group project, Kaia Joye and a team of four other Bren graduate students developed a tool to assist in the design of TURF-Reserves, a type of spatial fisheries management proposed to combat overfishing in many small-scale fisheries. This research project gave Kaia Joye the opportunity to travel to the Philippines twice to present her research. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in environmental communication and education while teaching scuba diving on the side. “I cannot emphasize the inspiration that comes from being engaged in such a hardworking, diverse, passionate, and talented community that is found at the Bren School,” said Kaia Joye. “Bren provides a rigorous baseline curriculum that challenges students to understand the inherent interdisciplinary nature of environmental management. It was with this solid foundation that I was able to bolster and combine my seemingly disparate interests, to create a stronger and more unified strategy for approaching these multifaceted environmental problems.”
Bren and the U.N.: Joe Bergesen
Joe BergesenJoe is a Ph.D. student in UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. Joe is a longtime Gaucho whose Ph.D. will be his fourth degree obtained here. As a student, Joe conducted research on the long-term environmental implications of the development of rapidly changing renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. He worked as a graduate student researcher and teaching assistant in many departments on campus, including the Bren School, the Technology Management Program and the departments of Geography and Geology. “My time at UCSB has given me numerous opportunities, including teaching and research,” said Joe. “As a Ph.D. student, I was able to jump right into some very exciting, international, policy-relevant research for the U.N., thanks to my well-connected advisor. I have also been given a lot of teaching experience, which has certainly inspired me to continue teaching as a professor, hopefully.” After graduation, Joe plans on continuing to research the relationship between climate change and the development of renewable energy. He will continue his work with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), working to produce a report on the environmental impacts of greenhouse gas mitigation technologies. In the long term, Joe hopes to become a professor of environmental science doing what he loves: teaching and research.
A Global Education: Gary Haddow
Gary HaddowGary is a Ph.D. student in UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. While pursuing his master’s degree in Education, Gary traveled to Liberian refugee camps in Ghana to interview refugee mothers about their views on their children’s future opportunities. He conducted his Ph.D. research in southwest Philadelphia, interviewing Liberian immigrants about their perceptions of identity and citizenship. Additionally, he has worked for four years as a teaching assistant in UCSB’s Department of Black Studies and has been highly involved in both the Graduate Division and the Gevirtz School. After graduating from UCSB, Gary plans to work with an international non-governmental organization focused on providing educational programs for refugees and immigrants. “My time at UCSB inspired me to want to change the world, or at least to change the lives of all those that I interact with and in particular of those that may live in countries that have been ravaged by war,” he said. Gary’s proudest accomplishment as a student has been serving as president of the Graduate Students Association because it has enabled him to help his fellow students in their daily lives, both socially and academically. In the long term, Gary plans to “help develop educational programs in post-war countries and foster the development of the next generation of youth.”
Ready to Give Back: Jennica Rebelez-Ernst
Jennica Rebelez-ErnstJennica is a doctoral student in UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. A longtime Gaucho, Jennica began studying at UCSB as an undergraduate in 2006 and has gone on to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a master’s program in School Psychology, and she is about to complete her Ph.D. in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology. While an undergraduate, Jennica served as president of Iaorana Te Otea, UCSB’s Polynesian dance group. She also has worked as a preschool teaching assistant at the Orfalea Family Children’s Center on the UCSB campus and has been involved in research activities at the downtown Santa Barbara-based Storyteller Children’s Center for homeless preschool children. After graduating from UCSB, Jennica will begin a postdoctoral psychology fellowship with the San Diego Center For Children. “The school psychology faculty at UCSB have truly inspired me since I first was introduced to them during my third year of undergrad,” said Jennica. “I was given opportunities to participate in applied psychology research that inspired my career trajectory and I remain forever grateful for the education and applied psychology minor that served as my channel to connecting me with my true career passions.” Looking toward the future, Jennica hopes to become a school and child psychologist, a professor and a researcher in applied positive-based youth development and among diverse youths who have experienced maltreatment.
“My time at UCSB inspired me to want to change the world, or at least to change the lives of all those that I interact with and in particular of those that may live in countries that have been ravaged by war.”
– Gary Haddow, Ph.D. candidate, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education