Angelina and Claudia Velazquez, UC Merced

Angelina and Claudia Velazquez are juniors at UC Merced and currently pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences. These twins were born and raised in the Central San Joaquin Valley. Both of them decided that UC Merced was the best college for them because of the high quality education and exposure to cutting edge research they would be receiving. In addition, UC Merced is only a 30-minute drive from their home, which allows them the opportunity to be with their family and friends while receiving a UC education.

The Velazquez twins are grateful of the unparalleled opportunities they have received thus far at UC Merced. Being part of the AGEP Scholars program has allowed them to have research experience as undergraduate students. While participating in the AGEP program, they learned firsthand what the job and tasks of research scientists are. Both had the privilege of helping professor Monica Medina in her molecular marine lab were they learned molecular techniques, such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs). Angelina and Claudia both agree that this experience was valuable because they had the opportunity to learn more through hands-on experience than from a textbook.

After they graduate from UC Merced, they both plan to attend graduate school. Angelina wants to be part of a graduate program that will prepare her for a Ph.D. in marine pharmacology and Claudia wants to focus in medical and marine ecology. Advice they would like to pass along to prospective AGEP Scholars is to, "...be optimistic and if given the opportunity to participate in summer research, take advantage of it by learning as much as you can. This will definitely be a challenging but rewarding experience."