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Naturalist App Biographies for Fall 2016

	Armando Leon - Project Manager Leon is a third-year Computer Science and Engineering student. Leon is the Assistant Project Manager of the Engineering Service Learning team, Naturalist App. He chose it because it gave him the opportunity to make an impact in the community of Merced. In the present, Leon is a resident assistant working for the housing and residence where he helps organize events and workshops to improve students academically and professionally. He has a strong desire to learn robotics and wishes to attend graduate school in the future to study robotics.
	Sabrina Lauv, Assistant Project Manager Sabrina Lauv is a second year Computer Science and Engineering student. Lauv is the assistant project manager of the Engineering Service Learning Team Naturalist App. She chose it because she believes making an app for the Vernal Pool reserves is a fun way to encourage community interest in sustainable living and protecting natural reserves. As a Computer Science student, Lauv has been eager to learn different programming languages and hopes working with the Naturalist App will help her improve her skills. On her free time, Lauv also enjoys learning about various living creatures and hopes to combine her interest in nature and technology.
	Erick Mercado - Communications Officer Erick Mercado is a first year Bioengineering student. Erick is the communications officer of the Engineering Service Learning team, Naturalist App. He chooses it because it gave him a meaningful opportunity to learn leadership skills and gain experience. Interested in working on a group project that has major benefits, he is motivated to learn about the life of an engineer on campus with the Engineering Service Learning class at University of California, Merced. He is willing to go through this endeavor as a university student to better help him out understand his major. He has a strong desire to finish his bachelors in Bioengineering to later help with the production of prosthetics in the future.
	Teryn Batiste - Intellectual Property Officer Teryn Batiste is a fourth year student pursuing her Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and Engineering. Batiste is the Intellectual Property Officer and team member for the Naturalist App, an Engineering Service Learning Team. She is interested in pursuing a career in mobile application development and believes working with the Naturalist App team will provide her with the skills she needs to enter into this field. Batiste enjoys creative writing, learning about the cosmos and trying new things.
	Marina Medina - Procurement and Finance Officer Marina Medina is a fourth year mechanical engineering student at UC Merced. For the Fall of 2016 Medina is the Procurement and Finance Officer of the Engineering Service Learning team, Naturalist App (Nat. App). Because of her past experiences of managing other organization’s finances, she decides that she would be an excellent fit for Procurement and Finance Officer for the Nat App Team. Medina is an advocate for women pursuing a S.T.E.M. field career and so she believes that her involvement in designing the Nat. App will encourage women to continue pursuing their goals. Besides her involvement on campus, she also enjoys hiking with her dog given free time.
	Kc Castillo - Team Lead Kc Castillo is a first year student majoring in Computer Science and Engineering. He is the team leader for the Naturalist App, a service learning group. He enjoys the thought of helping to create an App. that will impact the community of Merced and help inform them of the Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve. He is from Los Angeles and is trying to adapt to the different environment that surrounds him. On his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends, as well as playing video games, and going to the park to play baseball.
	Aurora Trejo - Team Lead Aurora Trejo is a fourth year undergraduate student at the University of California, Merced pursuing a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a minor in Environmental Science and Sustainability. She serves as the design team leader for the Naturalist App, responsible for the educational content, graphics, and ensuring optimal app use with the Merced Vernal Pools and Grasslands Reserve. Her experiences at UC Merced, from participation in the Yosemite Leadership Program to the first cohort of the California Ecology and Conservation field studies course through the UC Natural Reserve System, cultivated a passion for improving personal connections to the natural environment and working to create solutions in conservation management.
	Carlos Rocha - Team Member Carlos Rocha is a first year student with a goal of completing his bachelors in computer science and engineering. Rocha is an outgoing person that likes to have fun with others and on his free time he hangs out with his friends. He is a team member of the app team for the naturalist app. Rocha gained interest in this because he wants to help inform the community about the Vernal Pools and Grasslands Reserve. With this new experience he hopes to make the most of it and be beneficial to the community.
	Tristian Corona - Team Member Tristian Corona is a freshman at the University of California, Merced. He is on a journey towards graduating as a mechanical engineer. For the fall semester, he is in the naturalist app class along with other classmates to which they are conducting an app for the reserve of Merced. Taking the role as member of the designing the app, it is through the great experiences that allows him to be a great team member working with others. Since he has been in an internship where there needed to be teamwork done on creating a homemade trap. He loves to spend his free time with family and friends. This can be just having a gathering and enjoying a view or watching a movie together.
	Patrick Tran - Team Member Patrick Tran is a second year Computer Science and Engineering student. He is a team member for the Environmentalist Application. Academically, Tran is a hard working student and has progressed one semester ahead than most of his peers. He chose the team because he wanted to challenge himself by working on the environmentalist application in hopes of creating an extremely user friendly and interactive application to educate people about the nature reserve near UC Merced. Tran enjoys spending his free time tutoring people and learning about automation and cyber security.
	Kwun Li - Team Member Kwun Li is a first year Computer Science and Engineering student from San Francisco. Li is a member of the Naturalist App group, an Engineering Service Learning team. He chooses it because it gave him the opportunity to make an impact to the environment in Merced, and also to gain experience in app development. He wishes to use the knowledge and experience he gains to further impact him in his career in Computer Science and Engineering. In his free time, Li enjoys playing video games, practicing on the piano, and walking outside admiring the beauty of nature.
	Ever Moisés Carbajal Flores - Team Member Ever M. Carbajal is a first year Mechanical Engineering student at UC Merced. Ever, preferable being called Moisés is a first generation college student who is in the Graphic Design team for the Engineering Service Learning “Naturalist App” class. Carbajal is a person who enjoys embracing new challenges, exploring new places, and meeting new people. He likes working as a group as long as every individual completes their part of the task. He joined the Graphic Design team to show his creativity and make the app more appealing to the audience. Carbajal enjoys gaming, music, and drawing.