Spring 2025 Staff
Faculty Advisor
Susan Varnot
Since joining UC Merced in 2007, Susan Varnot has been active in Writing Studies, including founding the UC Merced Creative Writing Collaboratorium, a multi-campus conference, and curating the Write! Look! Listen! reading and workshop series. She has also been active in general education, assessment and review processes, the UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal, student clubs and events, as well as other campus initiatives and projects. These areas of engagement and inquiry stem from her teaching and research interests in collaborative, integrative, anti-racist, and empowering pedagogy and praxis, creative writing, interdisciplinarity, poetry, and creativity studies.
Editor-in-Chief
Emily Le
Emily is a 3rd year at UC Merced studying Microbiology and Immunology. She joined the URJ to involve herself in the undergraduate research community and work with equally passionate students. She is currently a research assistant in a Developmental Biology lab, and she plans to apply for graduate programs after receiving her undergraduate degree. Outside of academics, she likes to drink tea and play video games.
Executive Editor of Operations
Yu Fang Tseng
Yu Fang is a 4th-year Psychology major who joined the URJ to actively engage with the community of student researchers at UC Merced, especially those early in their research career, and help promote diversity in academia. She plans to pursue a Clinical Psychology PhD in the near future. Her research interests are in the developmental etiology of ADHD, learning difficulties, and their preventions and interventions. She has a black and brown cat named Felix (nicknamed “Raggedy Cat”), who adopted herself into the family.
Director of Campus Outreach & Promotion
Christopher Finley
Christopher is a 4th-year English major and is graduating this semester. He first joined the URJ in the spring of 2023.
Digital & Operations Director | Editorial Data & Workflow
Zachary Gatto
Zachary Gatto is a Second Year student at UC Merced. Currently enrolled with a Human Biology Major, but may soon change majors. Primarily focused on the digital aspects of the journal and general upkeep and maintenance.
Editorial Training & Lead Copy Editor
Mitchell Bauer
Mitchell is a 4th-year English major and Writing Studies minor who joined the URJ to gain experience in editing and publishing. He enjoys the processes of writing and editing and seeks to bring out the best in his peers’ abilities in those areas as well as their research. He is also Lead Copy Editor of UC Merced’s undergraduate creative arts journal, The Vernal Pool. His focus is on creative writing, and after graduation he plans to work in publishing or another collaborative creative field while developing his own writing projects. Mitchell has 6 cats and 4 dogs, and he loves cats but hates dogs.
Managing Editor of Outreach
Kaisy Reynoso
Kaisy Reynoso is a 3rd year Writing Studies Major at UC Merced. She has been a member since last fall as Managing Editor of Outreach and Events and enjoys meeting new people to connect with. Her determination to succeed and learn with her peers has helped build an environment that challenges her peers to critically think about how to interact with others outside of our research journal.
Team Photographer
Andy Hernandez
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Editorial Data & Workflow
Cyrus Griffin
Cyrus is a 2nd year Applied mathematics major at UC Merced.
Art Director | Secretary
Micah Angela Lardizabal
Micah Angela Lardizabal is a 4th year Psychology major at UC Merced. This is their second and final semester on the URJ team and have once again taken on the roles of Secretary and Art Director. They like drawing, writing, video games, and crocheting when not working on assignments or looking for jobs.
Section Editors
STEM Section Editor, Natural Sciences
Emily Le
STEM Section Editor, Engineering
Andy Hernandez
STEM Section Editor, Applied Maths & Physics
Cyrus Griffin
Humanities & Arts Section Editor
Mitchell Bauer
Humanities & Arts Section Editor
Christopher Finley
