Project Protect Biographies for Spring 2018

Saigeetha Bhaskar – Project Manager

Saigeetha Bhaskar is a first year undergraduate Bioengineering student. Bhaskar is the Project Manager for Project Protect. Bhaskar passionately involved for two semesters.  She chose Project Protect because it gave her the opportunity to do community outreach in a field she is passionate about. Previously, Bhaskar was a part of the coding team in 2017 for Project Protect, an aerospace Boeing intern in 2016, and president of her high school’s FRC (First Robotics Competition) team in 2017. She found her passion for merging engineering with medicine and wants to contribute to this field. Bhaskar enjoys travelling, spending time with family, transposing music, and practicing dance.

Arnold Vasquez- Assistant Project Manager

Arnold Vasquez is a first year Sociology student and APM for Project Protect. His professional interest is aiding the youth in need by volunteering in kitchens and drives. Academically, Vasquez is interested in in the technology of prosthetics and pacemakers. As Assistant Project Manager for Project Protect, Vasquez is focusing on assisting the elderly with limiting antibiotics within the Merced community. Growing up in Compton, he would witness the struggles of providing healthcare to low income residents. In applying the skillset from UC Merced, Vasquez’s philanthropic desire is bringing an impact to the unfortunate by providing quality healthcare to those with heart problems.

Sang Lee – Communications Officer

Sang Lee is a third-year student working towards her Bachelors of Earth Systems Science. She holds the position of the communications officer in the Project Protect Engineering Service Learning Team. Sang is passionate about helping others and has joined the team to break down the language barriers in her multicultural community. She plans to pick up team cooperating skills in hopes to apply them in future environmental projects. Sang hopes to use this experience to build a business background for strong communication with her future clients as an environmental consultant.

Edgar Garcia – Intellectual Property Officer

Edgar Garcia is a first year Computer Science and Engineering major and the Intellectual Property Officer of the Protect Engineering Service Learning Team Protect. Being part of this project provides him the opportunity to help the non-English community in Merced. Academically, Garcia is interested in algorithms and the applications of physics in computers. With these interests Garcia hopes to get into the cyber security field and work with quantum computers to help improve cyber security. Garcia is currently seeking internships to help to make his way into the field.

Michael T. Andemeskel – Team Leader

Michael T. Andemeskel is a senior Computer Science major on the App team. He has designed, implemented, and launched multiple Android apps. He brings Android expertise and general software engineering knowledge to the team. He chose this course because he enjoys building tools that help people. Outside of class, his interests center around entrepreneurship. He is a part of two different startups tackling diverse problems from baby translation to crop yield prediction. He has also delved into poetry and windsurfing - his favorite poems being Stevenson's 'Summer Sun' and Hopkins' 'The Windhover'.

Daniel O’Connell- Team Leader

Daniel O’Connell is a fifth year Environmental Engineering student pursuing a career in conservation and environmental systems analysis. As team leader of the Quality Assurance, O’Connell is looking to assist the launch and delivery of the project. O’Connell has worked for several years as a team manager with LA based non-profit, Environment California. O’Connell has a strong passion for scientific study and environmental conservation. O’Connell chose this project because it reaches not only the local community but his own family. Both of his grandparents are Spanish-speaking individuals that although have advocacy when it comes to medical issues, O’Connell can deeply be understanding the overlying problem.

Daniel Reyes - Team Leader

Daniel Reyes is a fourth year Computer Science and Engineering major and the team leader of Project Protect Engineering Service Learning team. Reyes joined the team to use the skills he has acquired to help solve language barriers in a growingly diverse community who have trouble filling out forms and communicating with doctors. The experience and knowledge acquired while working in this project will help him better understand how multiple teams work together to complete and common goal. Reyes plans to pursue a career in User Interfaces and backend systems in businesses who focus on improving daily life.  

Jesse Sandoval-Team Member

Jesse Sandoval is a first year Mechanical Engineering major and a member of the Quality Assurance team for Project Protect App. This is Sandoval’s 1st semester in Engineering Learning Service. He chose Project Protect because it would give him the opportunity to help and give back to the community by simplifying the language barrier in multi-ethnic backgrounds. His professional goal is to work in the aerospace industry as an engineer.  Sandoval is a Private Pilot, so in his spare time, you can find him at an airport flying single-engine airplanes or at the gym working out.

Neel Patel – Team Member

Neel Patel is a first-year student pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering. Patel is a passionate member of the Engineering Service Learning Project Protect app development team. He chose to be part of this project because it gave him the opportunity to make a difference in the medical field and aid the underserved community while using his knowledge in software development. His future goal is to work in the health care sector as a Data Analyst or a Software Developer. On his spare time, Patel likes to travel, spend time with family, and play tennis.

Gabriel Irizarry Torres – Team Member

Gabriel Irizarry is a first year Computer Science and Engineering student pursuing a career in the tech industry.  As a team member on the Project Protect Engineering Service Learning team, Irizarry is working on the coding team hoping to help facilitate the coding team’s needs.  Irizarry is working at the UC Merced Yabolakov Dining Center to gain experience in a work place environment.  Irizarry is hoping to gain a greater knowledge in coding and working in a team environment by being part of the Project Protect team.