Category: alumni

Kauchani Bratt (Cowell ’23, philosophy) made his acting debut in the Netflix movie Rez Ball, which started streaming September 2024. The film centers around a high school basketball team rich in Native American heritage.

Leo Merle (Rachel Carson ’20, molecular, cell, and developmental biology) represented Team USA at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, competing in the T38 mid-distance race.

Abigail Lopez-Byrd (Porter ’13, fine studio arts and sociology)  is the founder of nonprofit arts organizations Color Compton and the Compton Art and History Museum.

The first in his family to go to college, Abel Pineda (Oakes ’14, sociology) became the youngest person ever elected to the San Pablo City Council, and in 2022 became the youngest ever elected as the city’s mayor.

Famed folk singer–songwriter and storyteller John Craigie (Crown ’02, mathematics) credits UC Santa Cruz with expanding his mind, confidence, and creativity.

Sharhonda Bossier (Oakes ’05 politics and legal studies) (MA ‘06, education) is the CEO of nonprofit organization, Education Leaders of Color, committed to multi-racial solidarity, and using their diverse network to make sure young people of color have the opportunities and resources to thrive and build generational wealth.

Gillian Welch’s (Porter ’90, art) career as a singer-musician has been an odyssey of sorts. She learned to play the guitar, drums, piano, and ukulele, and listened to everything from her parents’ hootenanny music to James Taylor and the Beatles. It was during her time at UCSC that she was first drawn to bluegrass music.

For Artemis Patrick (Oakes ’93, economics), leading the innovative beauty retailer Sephora North America has meaning that goes far beyond skin-deep.

Martha Mendoza (Kresge ’88, independent major, journalism and education) is an Emmy award and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with the Associated Press. Mendoza’s investigative reports have won numerous awards and prompted Congressional hearings, Pentagon investigations, and White House responses

As the former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, Axel Alonso (Cowell ’87, sociology) once oversaw a world of superheroes, villains, and megalomaniacs who want to take over the world.