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Naturalist App Biographies

Alyssa Valdez- Project Manager

 

Alyssa Valdez is a third year Earth Systems Science major and Project Manager of the Naturalist App Engineering Service Learning team. Being a part of this project expands her knowledge of the organisms that reside in the Vernal Pools Reserve and expands her knowledge of coding and application implementations. Valdez has a strong interest in sustainability and the environment and is currently an Eco-Rep at UC Merced. Valdez hopes to continue her career path in sustainability and one-day work for the US Green Building Council so she may continue to make a positive environmental impact. 

JULIA GIONET-GONZALES- Assistant Project Manager

 

Julia Gionet-Gonzales is a second-year Mechanical Engineering student and the Assistant Project Manager of the Naturalist App Engineering Service Learning Team. Being part of this project provides her with hands-on experience in developing an app. Gionet-Gonzales has a strong passion for hands-on engineering and hopes to work in industry after achieving her degree.

MICHAEL JOHN RUIZ – Intellectual Property Officer

 

Michael John Ruiz is a second-year Mechanical Engineering student and the Intellectual Property Officer of the Naturalist App Engineering Service Learning Team. The Naturalist App hopes to create a field guide for the Vernal Pool Reserve. Ruiz has worked on different robotic aspects and has designed engineering projects. Ruiz caught interest in Engineering Service Learning because of the opportunity to learn more about the designing processes and having a project positively affect the community. By helping design and improve the Naturalist App, Ruiz hopes to gain experience in a working environment and improving on working as a group to accomplish a similar goal.

Brendan Daddino – Communications Officer

 

Brendan Daddino is a third year Bioengineering student and the Communications Officer for the Naturalist Application Project Engineering Service Learning Team. Being a part of the Naturalist Application allows him to express his passion towards preserving the environment around UC Merced. In addition, Daddino is the President for the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers of UC Merced. Academically, Daddino is interested in how bioengineering can be applied to agricultural technology. Daddino hopes to be in the agricultural industry, making products that will not only help with production yields but also increase overall effectiveness.

Nicolas Limon – Procurement and Finance Officer

 

Nicolas Limon is a second-year Mechanical Engineering student and the Procurement and Finance Officer for the Naturalist App Engineering Service Learning Team. He chose this team because he is interested in how apps are made and hopes to broaden his skills by branching out into app development while also being able to go out to the vernal pools. Having a small background in coding, he hopes to help improve the app while also furthering his skills both in creating an app and in the Procurement and Finance Officer position since he already holds a Secretary and a Vice President position for clubs on campus.

Stephen Garcia - Team Leader

 

Stephen Garcia is a first-year Mechanical Engineering major and the Team Leader for the content team at the Naturalist App Engineering Service Learning Team. Garcia would like to be a mechanical engineer because he likes to operate and manufacture machinery to help make lives easier. His father is a maintenance engineer and was interested in the things his father fixed. The reason he joins the Naturalist App Team is that he wants the experience to work well with other people and the importance of working as a team. By learning valuable life skills, he will be prepared when working with other people in jobs.

Oliver Patricio – Team Member

 

Oliver Patricio is a third-year Mechanical Engineering student. He is a Team Member in the Naturalist App Engineering Service Learning project. Patricio plans to further improve his team working skills and gain experience by working on this project. He decided to work in the Naturalist App project in order to gain some knowledge on what the process of building an app is like because he plans on one day working on his own app. One of his professional goals is to be able to work for a well-known company like Tesla, Inc. or be able to own his own company.