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During spring break, I was one of 12 students who went to Costa Rica for the Caltech Y Alternative Spring Break trip. The group consisted of both undergraduates and graduate students across all majors, but everyone shared a strong love of the outdoors and protecting our planet Earth. Our goal was to volunteer with research scientists at Osa Conservation’s research center in Costa Rica to learn about it’s conservation efforts. From a fortuitous Internet search, I happened upon the Osa Conservation in September 2017. Working with my other trip leader, Nicholas Hutchins, and Greg and Camila from the Y, we began planning our nine-day Costa Rican adventure. We arrived in San José, Costa Rica’s capital, a city filled with colorful buildings and bustling markets. Our group started learning more about one another as we prepared to drive down to the Osa Coast the next day. On our bus journey, our tour guide pointed out a variety of tourist destinations along the coast. As we made our way to the Osa Conservation Research Station, our bus drove through rivers into the rainforest. The Osa Coast is a peninsula of Costa Rica and is covered with stunning rainforests, miles of sandy beaches, rivers, and swamps. With 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity in a very small region, the Osa Coast is known as one of the most biologically intense places on Earth. The area was deforested heavily to make way for pasture and cropland, but in the last 50 years, conservation efforts have added a thriving secondary forest to the area. For all these reasons, the Osa Coast really demonstrates how the impact of conservation can be seen within one’s lifetime. At Osa, we had a brief orientation where we learned what we would be doing throughout the week. We stayed in cabinas, small huts with an open façade where howler monkeys woke us every morning at 5 a.m. We volunteered at Osa for five days. All the volunteer groups ate breakfast together before beginning our projects. Our volunteer coordinator, Rachael, made sure we did a wide variety of projects throughout the week. We worked at the farm, weeding, planting, and even cleaning up after the goats! We learned how to make shrimp traps and set them in the river to study shrimp behavior. We hiked through the jungle to collect stingless bees for cultivating vanilla in the rainforest. We collected leaf litter from the primary rainforest to transport to reforestation plots. Perhaps everyone’s favorite project was helping preserve the sea turtles from predators. In the morning, we hiked along the beach looking for turtle eggs. Once we found them, we brought them back to the hatchery to keep them safe. One morning, our group got to release 120 baby sea turtles into the ocean. Throughout all these projects, we worked with different research scientists from all around the world and heard about their passion for conservation. I was impressed by how creative field science could be, for instance, making bee traps out of used soda bottles. Our group grew closer as we worked together in the humid heat and cooled off in the river and lagoons. Everyone was so enthusiastic and stepped up to help for every little task. I was very impressed by their stamina! Our trip ended with a fun day at Matapalo, a local beach, where we celebrated all the work we had done. On our return trip, a stopover in San Jose gave us a brief opportunity to explore the city before it was time to fly back home. After being involved with the Y for four years, this was my first Y international trip and a very memorable one. It was very gratifying to help the Osa Conservation research scientists on a multitude of projects and gain a deeper appreciation for the rainforest and our planet. We’re all incredibly grateful for the Frank and Elsie Stefanko fund that made this trip possible! - Aishwarya Nene, Immediate Past ExComm President ‘18 Read more of our Alternative Spring Break trips on Now@Caltech’s webpage: www.caltech.edu/news/alternative-spring-break-offers-students-valuable-experiences-81980

I used the Studenski Award to spend two months living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and studying pottery at the Brickhouse Ceramic Art Center in Long Island City, New York. Living in New York was a complete change of pace from Pasadena. The city was much busier and more crowded, which took a few weeks to adjust to. It was also much more heterogeneous. Traveling just a few blocks took me to completely different and distinctive neighborhoods. Once I began to learn my way around the city, the subway rides to and from the ceramics studio became a special part of my routine. Most days of the week, open studio hours started in the afternoon so I spent my mornings thinking about designs and sketching them out. After lunch, I took the 1 train to Times Square, transferred to the E line, and grabbed a cold brew on the walk to the studio. I stayed at the studio for most of the open hours, sometimes until it closed in the evening, giving physical form to the ideas I had brainstormed in the morning. Although I suffered the disappointment of many collapsed forms, I didn’t give up and, more often than not, succeeded in creating the vessels I had set out to make. At the weekly classes, I asked the instructor to show me how to throw spouts, large bellied forms, and tall vessels. Then, I would spend the rest of the week creating with those techniques, adjusting, and trying again. He and the more experienced potters in the studio taught me new tricks and techniques that remain an integral part of my throwing process. Another major activity of my summer was attending ceramic workshops. I have always admired the Raku process that I have seen in online videos, but Raku workshops are hard to find and expensive. Being able to attend a Raku workshop in person with my own vessels was a wonderful experience. The process involves glazing a bisqueware piece, heating it in the kiln until it reaches 1600 °F, and placing the piece into a reduction atmosphere (in our case, a metal trash can filled with sawdust) for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, the piece is cooled and the soot gently removed in water. The lingering smell of burning sawdust and the totally unpredictable reveal is a truly magical process. During my time at the Brickhouse, I met several ceramicists from totally different backgrounds – a graphic designer who, after discovering her passion for ceramics just months ago, was pursuing a career in production pottery; an MFA graduate who now teaches pottery at a high school and work-studies at Brickhouse; and a fine arts graduate who showcases in museums around the world. They gave me insight into the career paths of fine art and production pottery. Although I am still in the process of figuring out exactly what I want to do in this field, these artists helped me refine my future goals. I am very grateful to the Studenski Fund and the Caltech Y for giving me this opportunity. It was an eye-opening and totally new experience. I was able to work at a studio as much as I wanted and work on projects for my own development. I now know what it’s like to live in a city like New York and take classes at a for-profit studio. I have a much better idea of what it would be like to pursue pottery as a career. It wasn’t easy, but I learned so much about ceramics and my own path, and I made connections with people, mentors with whom I will stay in contact for a long time. To see more of Jessica’s work, you can follow her on Instagram @skargogh or visit her Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/skargoghshop - Jessica Cheng, Studenski Awardee 2017, BS ‘18

In December, six Caltech students travelled to Gandhinagar, India for the India Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN)’s India Ki Khoj program. India Ki Khoj is an immersive program in which Caltech, IITGN, and Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) students gather at IITGN to listen to lectures on Indian culture and society, visit historical sites throughout Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, and interact with each other to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of each other’s cultures. It is not every day that you can sit in a room with people from nearly every region of India and Japan! Lectures varied from interactive discussions about Indian philosophy to classical song and dance performances to examples of religion’s impact on Indian art. My personal favorite was Professor Rita Kothari’s talk about Indian cinema. She specifically focused on the fantasy-like plots of Bollywood movies and how they both reflected and impacted the social norms of Indian society. She argued that for many Indians, Bollywood represented an alternate world with seemingly perfect lives, and acted as an escape from reality. However, fantasy can be problematic. Like the American entertainment industry, Bollywood suffers from lack of representation and can be ignorant of social issues. Kothari, however, is hopeful for the future, with a younger generation of directors creating more meaningful, less-stereotypical Hindi films. Clearly, these lectures challenged many beliefs I held about Indian society. Most days, we filled the time between lectures with field trips, sometimes including a traditional Gujarati lunch or dinner. Two of these trips made a big impression on me: the Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum and the Palaj village. The Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum was almost an Ahmedabad version of Pasadena’s Huntington Library! It used to be the home of a textile entrepreneur, but now displays the artwork of Nobel Laureate Rabindrananth Tagore’s family. The museum’s architecture was gorgeous, and the works were full of history. I could have stayed there for days! The Palaj village, on the other hand, gave us a taste of authentic Indian life. We saw their farmland, played with the village kids, talked to IITGN students who volunteered there, and learned about the village’s education system. It was truly an eye-opening experience that reminded me of the privileges of suburban American life. Furthermore, the traditional thalis style meals were fantastic, and provided significant diversity to my typically mundane vegetarian diet. Although the lectures and field trips were important, others and I felt that the interactions with IITGN and JAIST students were the most impactful part of the trip. It is not every day that you can sit in a room with people from nearly every region of India and Japan! While there were several cultural aspects that we got to educate each other on, I was amazed at everything that we bonded over! If nothing else, India Ki Khoj taught me how oddly similar our world is. Though we live completely different lives on separate continents, we can all bond over the same jokes and TV shows. While seemingly trivial, it reminded me that no matter what, we are all human at our core, and every culture and experience should be approached with an open mind. That being said, I am eternally grateful to the Caltech Y and IITGN for this opportunity; I will cherish this time in India and with the IIT and JAIST students for the rest of my life. - Hazel Dilmore, Undergraduate Student

The Lucy Guernsey Service Award is given in honor of Lucy Guernsey, the Caltech Y Executive Director from 1989-1991 in recognition of her leadership, dedication to students, and diligence to furthering the Y’s commitment to volunteerism. The selection criteria for the award includes exceptional service to the Caltech Y and the community, involvement with on- and off-campus service projects, as well as leadership in community and volunteer service efforts. This year, the Caltech Y selected three graduate students as the Lucy Guernsey Service Award recipients: Amy McCarthy, Michael Anaya, and Zoila Jurado Quiroga. All three of them are Rise Program tutors, have served on the Rise Advisory Committee, and care deeply about serving their community. Amy, Mike, and Zoila are so much more than just tutors; they’re also leaders and mentors. Amy McCarthy has been a Rise Program tutor for six years, the longest of any tutor in the history of the program! One of the things I like best about Amy is how she helps her students prepare for tests. If they are going to take an AP test, she buys a prep book (at her own expense), takes it apart, and makes smaller folders that focus on the different sections of the test. This helps make studying for a daunting test less intimidating and more manageable for her students. Michael Anaya has been a tutor for five years, has led tutor workshops and, is an exceptional tutor. I try not to ask Mike to substitute too much, because every time I place him with a new student, that student will ask for Mike to be his regular tutor, but there is only one Mike to go around! Mike is extremely patient and very friendly and his students feel comfortable immediately. He also makes our advisory committee meetings much more fun! Zoila Juardo Quiroga has been a Rise Program tutor for three years and has been instrumental in starting the Rise Program at Muir High School. This year, we took the Rise Program to Muir’s campus. Zoila helped with the orientations for the Spanish-speaking parents and when we became a little short staffed at the Caltech Y, Zoila stepped up and accepted responsibility for the Muir Program. She coordinates with the tutors and the students to ensure the program runs smoothly. Amy, Mike, and Zoila are so much more than just tutors; they’re also leaders and mentors. Their inputs at advisory committee meetings and contributions to the Rise Program have been outstanding, and we are honored to present them with the Lucy Guernsey Service Award. - Liz Jackman, Assistant Director of Student Programs

I used the Studenski Award to spend two months living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and studying pottery at the Brickhouse Ceramic Art Center in Long Island City, New York. Living in New York was a complete change of pace from Pasadena. The city was much busier and more crowded, which took a few weeks to adjust to. It was also much more heterogeneous. Traveling just a few blocks took me to completely different and distinctive neighborhoods. Once I began to learn my way around the city, the subway rides to and from the ceramics studio became a special part of my routine. Most days of the week, open studio hours started in the afternoon so I spent my mornings thinking about designs and sketching them out. After lunch, I took the 1 train to Times Square, transferred to the E line, and grabbed a cold brew on the walk to the studio. I stayed at the studio for most of the open hours, sometimes until it closed in the evening, giving physical form to the ideas I had brainstormed in the morning. Although I suffered the disappointment of many collapsed forms, I didn’t give up and, more often than not, succeeded in creating the vessels I had set out to make. At the weekly classes, I asked the instructor to show me how to throw spouts, large bellied forms, and tall vessels. Then, I would spend the rest of the week creating with those techniques, adjusting, and trying again. He and the more experienced potters in the studio taught me new tricks and techniques that remain an integral part of my throwing process. Another major activity of my summer was attending ceramic workshops. I have always admired the Raku process that I have seen in online videos, but Raku workshops are hard to find and expensive. Being able to attend a Raku workshop in person with my own vessels was a wonderful experience. The process involves glazing a bisqueware piece, heating it in the kiln until it reaches 1600 °F, and placing the piece into a reduction atmosphere (in our case, a metal trash can filled with sawdust) for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, the piece is cooled and the soot gently removed in water. The lingering smell of burning sawdust and the totally unpredictable reveal is a truly magical process. During my time at the Brickhouse, I met several ceramicists from totally different backgrounds – a graphic designer who, after discovering her passion for ceramics just months ago, was pursuing a career in production pottery; an MFA graduate who now teaches pottery at a high school and work-studies at Brickhouse; and a fine arts graduate who showcases in museums around the world. They gave me insight into the career paths of fine art and production pottery. Although I am still in the process of figuring out exactly what I want to do in this field, these artists helped me refine my future goals. I am very grateful to the Studenski Fund and the Caltech Y for giving me this opportunity. It was an eye-opening and totally new experience. I was able to work at a studio as much as I wanted and work on projects for my own development. I now know what it’s like to live in a city like New York and take classes at a for-profit studio. I have a much better idea of what it would be like to pursue pottery as a career. It wasn’t easy, but I learned so much about ceramics and my own path, and I made connections with people, mentors with whom I will stay in contact for a long time. To see more of Jessica’s work, you can follow her on Instagram @skargogh or visit her Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/skargoghshop

During spring break, I was one of 12 students who went to Costa Rica for the Caltech Y Alternative Spring Break trip. The group consisted of both undergraduates and graduate students across all majors, but everyone shared a strong love of the outdoors and protecting our planet Earth. Our goal was to volunteer with research scientists at Osa Conservation’s research center in Costa Rica to learn about it’s conservation efforts. From a fortuitous Internet search, I happened upon the Osa Conservation in September 2017. Working with my other trip leader, Nicholas Hutchins, and Greg and Camila from the Y, we began planning our nine-day Costa Rican adventure. We arrived in San José, Costa Rica’s capital, a city filled with colorful buildings and bustling markets. Our group started learning more about one another as we prepared to drive down to the Osa Coast the next day. On our bus journey, our tour guide pointed out a variety of tourist destinations along the coast. As we made our way to the Osa Conservation Research Station, our bus drove through rivers into the rainforest. The Osa Coast is a peninsula of Costa Rica and is covered with stunning rainforests, miles of sandy beaches, rivers, and swamps. With 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity in a very small region, the Osa Coast is known as one of the most biologically intense places on Earth. The area was deforested heavily to make way for pasture and cropland, but in the last 50 years, conservation efforts have added a thriving secondary forest to the area. For all these reasons, the Osa Coast really demonstrates how the impact of conservation can be seen within one’s lifetime. At Osa, we had a brief orientation where we learned what we would be doing throughout the week. We stayed in cabinas, small huts with an open façade where howler monkeys woke us every morning at 5 a.m. We volunteered at Osa for five days. All the volunteer groups ate breakfast together before beginning our projects. Our volunteer coordinator, Rachael, made sure we did a wide variety of projects throughout the week. We worked at the farm, weeding, planting, and even cleaning up after the goats! We learned how to make shrimp traps and set them in the river to study shrimp behavior. We hiked through the jungle to collect stingless bees for cultivating vanilla in the rainforest. We collected leaf litter from the primary rainforest to transport to reforestation plots. Perhaps everyone’s favorite project was helping preserve the sea turtles from predators. In the morning, we hiked along the beach looking for turtle eggs. Once we found them, we brought them back to the hatchery to keep them safe. One morning, our group got to release 120 baby sea turtles into the ocean. Throughout all these projects, we worked with different research scientists from all around the world and heard about their passion for conservation. I was impressed by how creative field science could be, for instance, making bee traps out of used soda bottles. Our group grew closer as we worked together in the humid heat and cooled off in the river and lagoons. Everyone was so enthusiastic and stepped up to help for every little task. I was very impressed by their stamina! Our trip ended with a fun day at Matapalo, a local beach, where we celebrated all the work we had done. On our return trip, a stopover in San Jose gave us a brief opportunity to explore the city before it was time to fly back home. After being involved with the Y for four years, this was my first Y international trip and a very memorable one. It was very gratifying to help the Osa Conservation research scientists on a multitude of projects and gain a deeper appreciation for the rainforest and our planet. We’re all incredibly grateful for the Frank and Elsie Stefanko fund that made this trip possible! Read more of our Alternative Spring Break trips on Now@Caltech’s webpage: www.caltech.edu/news/alternative-spring-break-offers-students-valuable-experiences-81980

For our Spring Friends dinner, we were honored by a very special guest, Martin Chalifour, Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Music Coach at Caltech. Mr. Chalifour spoke to our audience about the importance of keeping music alive in the hearts of our scientists. He even performed with his Caltech student team for our guests as a special surprise! On behalf of our students and the Board of Directors, we thank Mr. Chalifour for being involved with Caltech’s performing arts and continuously mentoring and inspiring our students to do great science through his love for music! Some photos from the evening are on our Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/caltechy/albums/72157694899203061/with/27135199577/ We look forward to seeing our friends at our next Caltech Y event in the Fall! If you would like more information on becoming a Friend of the Caltech Y, please visit https://caltechy.org/support/

A select group of students from the Bay Area Tech Policy Trip, and past Washington DC Science Policy Trips, joined Dr. Regina Dugan for an informal conversation on Tech Policy. It was an opportunity to discussions a wide range of highly relevant, cutting-edge issues straight from current events headlines with someone uniquely qualified to have an opinion on challenges increasingly present at the crossroads of technology, policy, and the world. Regina Dugan led world-class, international teams, from $100 million to multi-billion dollar efforts at Facebook, Google, Motorola, and as the first female Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

We are very happy to announce that the Caltech Y Rise Program is one of 33 local non-profit organizations receiving a grant this year from the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. The Rise Program provides tutoring and academic mentoring to more than 85 junior and high school students receiving a C+ or lower, or experiencing steadily declining grades, in math and/or science. As online platforms are increasingly being used in schools, we have identified a need to upgrade our tools to enrich students’ learning experience. This grant will fund the purchase of four iPads so that students will be able to readily access ALEKS at tutoring. ALEKS is an online platform students are required to use for their math classes. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation annually provides grants to other non-profit organizations in the Pasadena area, contributing to the civic, cultural, and educational advancement of the local community. To date, the Foundation has given a total of more than $3 million to more than 200 organizations, funding sports and recreation activities, visual and performing arts, and volunteer motivation and leadership development projects and programs. We thank the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation for their contributions to Rise and to the community.

The Rise Program is excited to announce a new scholarship for Rise Program seniors attending college in Fall 2018. This inaugural scholarship was established with the Tom M. Apostol Fund for Science and Math Outreach in honor of Tom Apostol, a Caltech Mathematics professor, recognized for the clarity of his exposition of mathematical and scientific concepts. He was passionate about mathematics education and founded Project MATHEMATICS!, which produced videos, illustrating key mathematical concepts, used in high school and community college classrooms. Scholarship recipients were selected based on demonstration of outstanding academic and personal growth. This year the committee selected four recipients to receive the Rise Program Scholarship. Nina Kasparian | Award Amount: $1,000 | Attending: Cal State Northridge “Before joining the program, I was intimidated by what my high school classes would entail and the challenges they would pose. Working with tutors who are so dedicated in their studies gave me the motivation to work hard and overcome any difficulties. I thought to myself, ‘I could do this, too.’ My tutors at Caltech helped me realize that I was simply limiting myself when, in reality, I had the potential to do much better. If you compare my grades from my freshman year to sophomore year to junior year and now to senior year you can see an increase in my grades and overall GPA. I definitely think it had to do with my tutors’ help. I took my classes and grades seriously and even started taking more challenging classes. I became more and more enthusiastic about my future in college.” Blair Wright | Award Amount: $1,000 | Attending: San Francisco State University “The most important quality that I gained from the Rise Program that impacted my life the most would definitely have to be my confidence. I wasn’t always a confident person, but that changed due to my experiences. Thanks to my tutors, I was encouraged to try my best and was assured that I was able to do whatever I wanted. No task would prove to be too difficult. Whether it was wrapping my head around homework assignments, or doubting myself over a poor test grade, I learned to have the mentality that I can overcome any doubt I have in myself. The Rise program has been one of the best opportunities I could have received. I am very grateful to have been a part of the program.” Chris Flores | Award Amount: $500 | Attending: Pasadena City College “My tutors that I’ve worked with have fortunately been super helpful as they prepare me for tests, help me with my homework, and give tips as to how to have a good work ethic. They also provide a safe, relaxing environment and give good examples of people skills which is something that I feel will be very important in the future. I thank Rise for giving me the courage to know that I can do anything I set my mind to and for helping me see the big picture as I set goals in my life.” Michael Magrdchian | Award Amount: $500 | Attending: Cal Poly Pomona “Everybody has an event that shapes them into who they are today, for me it would be my mother pushing me to join the Rise Program. Upon arrival, I never truly got my head around the opportunities one can come across trying in school. I would listen and take in all this knowledge of biological cycles and trigonometry problems, but what I lacked was the self - confidence and determination to actually apply what I’ve learned in my classwork. I carried a middle school mentality, not seeing the bigger picture of what an education can do for you, until the end of my second year at Rise. During my sophomore year, I came to the realization that with hard work and dedication one can achieve success in any path one desires.”

The Spring Team kicked off third term with the Caltech Y’s annual Make-A-Difference Day. On Saturday, April 9, 265 eager volunteers gathered to participate in a variety of community service projects on one of 12 different teams. Thanks to our sponsors TIAA and the Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union “Make-A-Difference Day 2018” t-shirts were distributed, breakfasts were provided, and sack lunches were made available. The teams were also welcomed back to campus with an ice cream social. It was another successful volunteer effort. At the sites: Seven students, under the direction of Zoila Jurado Quiroga, got their hands dirty gardening at the Boys and Girls Club in Pasadena. Ten volunteers got active playing sports with children at KEEN (Kids Enjoying Exercise Now) led by Gloria Ha and Chloe Hsu. At the LA Arboretum, 15 volunteers including students and alumni under Jenny Hsin and Evan Yeh, worked hard on weeding and cultivating. At Kids Reading to Succeed 7 students led by Kavya Sreedhar and LC Chen read to children. Hazel Dilmore and Nicholas Hutchins led a group of 14 students that traveled to downtown Los Angeles to the LA Regional Food Bank to sort and pack food. F Five students cleaned out cages at Lifeline for Pets with Michelle Zhou and Noah Huffman. Twelve student volunteers did trail maintenance, followed by a short hike, in Monrovia Canyon with Ben Herren and Janice Jeon. A team of 5 – with regulars Katherine Guo, Anushka Rau, and Miranda Schwacke – mentored youngsters with Robogals. Ten students went to work at Ronald McDonald House led by Sunny Cui and Sirisha Gudavalli. In an exciting new twist, members of TIAA (one of our sponsors) joined students and alumni to form a group of 26 that assembled tiny libraries for PUSD under the direction of LA Works. In what has become a tradition for Make-A-Difference Day, our largest group of volunteers, 144 students, alumni, and staff helped with the State Science Olympiad tournament right on the Caltech campus. We would like to thank our MAD Day sponsors, the Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union, the George Housner Fund, and TIAA for their support. Of course, let’s not forget our central team of volunteers, coordinating registration and transportation, our team of 14 from the Y staff and Y Board who held down the fort at the Y office. Once again, the efforts of enthusiastic Y volunteers truly made a difference among participants and within the community.