Student Testiominals

  • Joseph Cruz in white lab coat with safety goggles

    Joseph Cruz, EOP STEM Transfer Participant 2020

    "The EOP STEM Transfer Program has been the most helpful and informative summer program I have participated in. During my transfer experience to UCSC, there were numerous resources at the university that I was not familiar with nor understood which would benefit me the most academically. I was not familiar with course workload, what the typical amount of units STEM majors take in a quarter, the resources for tutoring, class selection, and undergraduate research. The EOP community helped guide me through this transition through its informative events and detailed workshops. Transferring over, I was very determined to pursue undergraduate research, however, I was unaware of where to begin my search, or how to make a professional inquiry to professors on joining their research labs. Thankfully, the program provided me with information for opportunities in undergraduate research such as how to approach professors for research opportunities, where to find laboratories and research projects, and connected me with a professor who is currently running a research lab in my field of interest. Moreover, the program provided informational sessions and workshops for the RMI research internship for undergraduate students. Even though I was not selected, I was grateful for the guidance the program provided since it was useful for future applications to other internship and research opportunities I applied to such as CUIP and STEM Diversity program.  

    Even with my lack of knowledge in how to be successful in the quarter system, the program helped me become successful by preparing me for the fast-paced studies through workshops in time management and course selection. They helped guide me through setting up a  detailed google calendar that contained my schedule for classes, study time, sleep and work. This method has been helpful during this academic year since it allowed me to allocate an efficient amount of time to my studies which kept me ahead in courses. In addition, they also provided the opportunity for one on one counseling to answer academic questions and develop an education plan for the next two years. This provided me with insight on what classes to take together, how many units per quarter I should take depending on other commitments and provided an explanation of the course structure between discussion and lecture. As if they couldn't be any more helpful, the program highlighted important resources such as LSS, MSI tutoring and how to sign up for these resources. My experience with MSI tutoring has been nothing but helpful and imperative to my academic success, notably in my STAT 131 course. Lastly, EOP provided other support programs such as MEP, SEMILLA, Slug Support, Textbook Lending Library (TLL) and STARS. I am currently a part of MEP and STARS and their support is well founded. I thank the EOP STEM community for their recommendations. The EOP STEM Transfer Virtual Program Summer experience is imperative to transfer students looking to be successful at UCSC. I for one would not be as successful in my academic career without their dedicated support."