Combining Environmental Education with Music at Sunnybrae Middle School

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

My service learning project is with Sunnybrae Middle School at the after school program. I have spent the duration of the semester tutoring children in grades 6-8 and planning my activity. I am combining environmental education with music by obtaining a group of children in order to a discuss environmental topics and creating musical lyrics using that dialogue and an arrangement of instruments. The goal of this project is the inform the next generation about the importance of planetary health as well as human relationships to nature by touching on subjects such as pollution, oppression and ways in which one can make differences that will contribute to the creation of a more just world.

Community Connection: Becoming a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) and the Relation to Political Science

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This project highlights my experience volunteering with CASA of Humboldt and how it relates to a political science degree. Often CASA is marketed to the child development and social work majors; however, I will demonstrate how it is equally connected to political science majors. An internship with CASA applies several aspects of political science including: social advocacy and understanding the judicial system. CASA’s gain extensive legal experience through writing court reports, collaborating with attorneys, learning child welfare laws, and advocating in court. My ultimate hope is that my project will spark your interest in becoming an advocate, so you can make a difference for a child!

Community Needs Assessment for the Bear River Band of Rhonerville Rancheria

College of Professional Studies

My project is a community needs assessment for the Bear River Band of Rhonerville Rancheria, who are my community partners. I am working with Liana Whiteley, Director of Social Services. This needs assessment is needed to effectively assess and address the educational needs of the youth in their community. It is also a way to assess how the local school districts can better support the education of the tribes youth, their families, and their community. With this needs assessment, I hope to be able to capture the necessary information to demonstrate Bear River Rancheria’s need for an educational system that is supportive and inclusive of their community and culture.

Comparative Analysis of Planktonic Productivity in Trinidad Bay and Nearshore Environments in Northern California During the 2017 Upwelling Season

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

This study investigated how biological productivity in the shallow waters of Trinidad Bay, located adjacent to Trinidad Head, differed from the productivity in exposed nearshore environments before and after the onset of seasonal upwelling in 2017. Biological and hydrographic measurements were collected prior to the onset of seasonal upwelling (March) as well as after (May and June) to determine if the associated hydrodynamics affected the spatial distribution of planktonic productivity. Measurements suggest that Trinidad Bay exhibited enhanced secondary productivity relative to nearby exposed environments during relaxation events following strong upwelling periods.

Construction of Flow Injection System to Detect and Analyze Zinc Using Fluorescent Methods

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Zinc is a metal that is found in trace amounts in seawater and acts as a micronutrient to marine phytoplankton. To detect and quantify trace amounts of zinc, a flow injection (FI) system was constructed using a flow-through fluorescence detector. The FI system was interfaced with a LabVIEW program which allows for the signals to be analyzed and quantifies time resolved peaks. Zinc, when bound to the organic ligand p-tosyl-8-aminoquinoline (p-taq), fluoresces when exposed to an excitation wavelength of 377 nm and emits light at 495 nm. The fully functioning FI system will be used in the analysis of zinc in Humboldt Bay and coastal waters.

Construction of Niemann Pick Disease Type C1 HEK293 Cell Model Utilizing CRISPR Gene Editing

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Niemann Pick Disease Type C1 (NPC1) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder that affects 1:150,000 people. The disease is characterized by cholesterol accumulation within lysosomes, as well as clinical cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. These symptoms can be attributed to a mutation in the NPC1 gene that leads to the interruption of the intracellular cholesterol transport. Using CRISPR Cas9 technology, the ability to make a cellular model with inducible CRISPR gene regulation can give researchers considerable insight into the cellular pathology of Niemann Pick Disease Type C1 as well as the ability to apply targeted drug therapy and potentially lead to drug discovery.

Continuum of Violence Research Project

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This project explores the spatial distribution of automobile title lenders across four metropolitan areas. Automobile title loans are specific form of alternative finance that targets individuals who do not have access to traditional forms of credit. Our research shows that the spatial distributions of these alternative financial service providers concentrate in lower income neighborhoods where residents tend to be poorer, less educated, and less white. Thus, there are clear class and racial dimensions to the marketing, spatial presence, and consumption of these alternative loan products.

Correlations between the X-ray and UV spectrum in PG1126

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

PG 1126-041 is a closeby luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) with a low redshift that displays complex and variable UV and X-ray absorption, which identifies winds expelled from the black hole environment. The data in this paper, collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, was normalized by polynomial fits applied using our own developed Python code. We analyzed the absorption by several ions (OVI, PV, NV, SiIV, CIV and the Lyman series) at 4 different epochs. Our goal is to study a potential correlation between the X-ray and UV absorption to understand their driving mechanism. Discoveries in this project will be compared to AGN much farther than the relatively close PG 1126-041.

Creating Inclusive Outdoor Spaces

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

My poster outlines the work I have put in, as an Environmental Studies capstone student, to create an educational outdoor program that is more inclusive for the Latinx community through the Wildlands Conservancy. I decided to work on this project because as a Mexicana I have struggled with being in enviromental spaces and feeling like I don't belong there. Although this program will be implemented on the local level it will still help to mitigate the problem that is a predominantly white Environmentalist Movement. If through this I am able to empower at least one Latinx student to feel like they belong in the Environmental Movement, then I will consider it a success.

CRISPR-Induced Overexpression of Huntingtin as a Cellular Model of Huntington's Disease

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Huntington’s disease (HD) is associated with CAG trinucleotide repeats in the HTT gene, which encodes the huntingtin protein. Our central hypothesis is that overexpression of normal huntingtin, with the eventual inhibition of cells’ autophagy pathway or other route of clearance, will lead to a disease-like state. In order to address this hypothesis, we are developing a novel human cell model that will allow us to assess how excess huntingtin is managed and/or cleared by cells, and precisely how cell death occurs upon buildup of huntingtin protein. Using this model as a starting point, it is possible to study the response of human cells to huntingtin overexpression.