Inside This Issue
– Visiting with BTI Alumni at UC Santa Cruz – BTI Turned 11 This Year
– Welcome to BTI, Class of 2029! – Thank you, Mentors! – Thank you, Mr. Fabic! – Shadowing Mentors at Work – Senior Bonding Day at the Oakland Zoo
– The Sophomores Tour UC Santa Cruz – Upcoming Events – Contacts
Thank You for Your Generous Support
We are incredibly grateful to our community for your generous contributions to CAF and BTI this year. Thanks to your support, we are thrilled to announce that we have raised over $50,000, which will help us continue providing the educational experiences that make this program truly exceptional. Your commitment makes a lasting impact—thank you! It is not too late to contribute. BTI families are able to allocate a portion of their CAF donation to the BTI program. Here is the link to make a donation. We encourage you to support both BTI and CAF as generously as your pocketbooks will allow.
Visiting with BTI Alumni Attending UC Santa Cruz
During our sophomore field trip to the University of California, Santa Cruz, we had the pleasure of reconnecting with several BTI alumni who joined us for lunch on campus. Representing different BTI cohorts, many of them had never met before, but they quickly fell into conversation—comparing notes on science classes, professors, and college life at UCSC. It was wonderful to see our alumni supporting one another. Scroll down to check out the fun the sophomores had at UCSC.
From left to right:
Kai Xiong, Network and Digital Technology, Minor in Art and Design Games and Playable Media, BTI Class of 2024 Piet Rottinghuis, Biomolecular Engineering, BTI Class of 2023 Soniya Kamatkar, Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology, BTI Class of 2024 Dana Boudreau, Neuroscience, BTI Class of 2024 Sam Dechaine, Biotechnology and Politics, BTI Class of 2024 Lina Saleh, Biology and Legal Studies, BTI Class of 2024 Jordan Yee, Biochemistry, BTI Class of 2022 (Jordan is about to graduate from UCSC and is getting ready for the MCAT! Congrats, Jordan!) Archie Belov, Biomolecular Engineering, BTI Class of 2025
BTI Turned 11 This Year!
BTI celebrated its 11th birthday during lunch in Ms. Abdilla’s lab with cupcakes, party hats, and plenty of celebratory noise makers. In the spirit of giving back, students also created handmade birthday cards for Meals on Wheels to distribute to clients on their birthdays. It was a joyful way to celebrate our community while spreading a little kindness beyond campus.
Welcome to BTI, Class of 2029!
In April, we welcomed the future BTI Class of 2029 with a pizza party and celebration. Students enjoyed snacks, ice cream, games, and crafts, and each received a BTI tee shirt featuring our iconic logo. The S-T-U Quad was full of energy as many students connected for the very first time and began getting to know the community they’ll be part of over the next three years. We are grateful to Mari Strahorn for volunteering to serve as the parent representative for the Class of 2029!
We couldn’t resist sharing this throwback photo of some of our students from the Class of 2026 at their own welcome pizza party four years ago.
To the Class of 2029: enjoy every moment—it really does go by fast.
Thank you, Mentors!
Each year, every BTI junior is paired with a professional mentor connected to a field or career that interests them. Over the course of six months, students build meaningful relationships with their mentors through conversations about college, careers, goals, and life beyond high school. Mentors offer guidance on resumes and professional communication, help students think about future pathways, and host students for a workplace shadow day that gives them a firsthand look at their industry. We are deeply grateful to our mentors for the time, generosity, and expertise they share with our students. Their encouragement and insight have a lasting impact, and the relationships they build are one of the most meaningful parts of the BTI experience. Below is a list of this year’s mentors, along with photos from our end-of-the-year mentor breakfast.
Thank you, Mr. Fabic!
We are incredibly grateful to Mr. Fabic for serving as BTI’s mentor coordinator for the past four years. Coordinating one-on-one mentors for 54 students each year is no small task, yet he has approached the role with remarkable care, dedication, and enthusiasm. Beyond organizing the program itself, Mr. Fabic has built meaningful relationships with both students and mentors and has helped shape the mentor program into such a valued part of the BTI experience. This year’s end-of-the-year Kahoot game and slideshow—both created by Mr. Fabic—were the perfect way to celebrate the connections and memories formed throughout the year. As Mr. Fabic steps down from the role, Ms. Moynihan will be taking over. She has been leading the student side of the mentor program, organizing activities and reflection opportunities that help students connect more deeply with their mentors. Students wrote heartfelt notes of appreciation to Mr. Fabic. (They will enjoy having him as their senior English teacher!) Here are just a few:
Thank you, Mr. Fabic, for making our BTI mentor program such a huge success and for providing us with all the wonderful resources that came along with it. I have been able to network with incredibly smart professionals in the fields that interest me, and have received wonderful advice from my mentor. Thank you for making that possible. NK Thank you so much for organizing this mentor program! I enjoyed connecting with my mentor and learning about biotech applications in the real world. It was a really enriching experience to visit their company and learn about what they do. SH Thank you, Mr. Fabic, for organizing the mentor program this year! For some, it’s a great networking opportunity, for others, it was the reason they joined the program. Either way, your hard work significantly impacted the high school experience of many students, and we are all very grateful. ZR
Thank You, Mentors!
Sergio Baranzini, UC San Francisco Melissa Bilardello, Precision for Medicine Matt Blumberg, KidGigs, Inc. Patty Carlos, Jasper Therapeutics Manoj Charati, Merck Natasha Chaturvedi, BioVertical Solutions Dawn Colburn, Bolt Biotherapeutics Ahmad Danesh, UC San Francisco Amanda Dang, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Steve Del Cardayre, Switch Bioworks Emily Drayer, Altos Labs Saniya Fayzullina, GRAIL, Inc. Julie Fogarty, Gilead Science, Inc. Maurizio Franzini, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Kevin Foley, Siolta Reina Fuji, Genentech, Inc. Karen Grinker, Genentech, Inc. Hisham Ismail, Accord BioPharma Maarten Hoek, Maze Therapeutics Sandy Kan-Tang, Truebinding Ilona Kevet, Apple Inc. Rabia Khan, Maze Therapeutics Sandhya Kharbanda, UC San Francisco Manu Kumar, Site Therapeutics Jeffrey Kumer, PerkinElmer Informatics Jim Lalonde, eXoZymes Eric Lansdon, Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Thank You, Mentors!
Tony Liang, PTM Therapeutics Kui Liu, Retired-Johnson & Johnson Grace Mackey, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Janille Maragh, Exponent Sejal Mehta, Genentech, Inc. Armen Mekhdjian, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Rachel Padget, Cytokinetics Rajita Pappu, Genentech Cinthia Pastuskovas, Denali Therapeutics, Inc. Victoria Rogers, Retired, CooperVision Barry Rowland, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Susannah Salin, SallinSearch Mike Singer, Foresite Labs Kate Skrable, Pfizer Richard Smith, Kite Pharma Dan Spiegelman, Retired, BioMarin Eric Stefanich, Genentech Terry Stelter, Mazzetti Lakshmi Subramanian, Ideaya Biosciences Roopa Sunku, Oracle Trevor Swartz, Genentech, Inc. Jeff Tepper, Tepper Nonclinical Consulting Suki Toguchi, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Stephanie Threatt, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Kim Tran, Cytokinetics Jenny Uyei-Hinkston, IQVIAJennifer Yang, JY Consulting, LLC.
Senior Bonding Day at the Oakland Zoo
Our graduating seniors enjoyed a much-needed chance to relax and spend time together during this year’s field trip to Oakland Zoo. Between final projects, exams, and graduation preparations, the trip offered an opportunity to slow down and enjoy each other’s company outside the classroom one more time. Students explored the exhibits, visited the animals, and took in the beautiful views from the Landing Café. More than anything, the day was a celebration of the community this class has built together over the past three years—and a reminder of how quickly the journey has gone by.
The Sophomores Tour UC Santa Cruz
The BTI Class of 2028 spent the day exploring the University of California, Santa Cruz and discovered some memorable fun facts along the way—including that the campus is large enough to fit 20 Disneylands, serves around 20,000 students, and houses more than 1.5 million books. After touring the beautiful, tree-filled campus, students attended a Q&A panel with current UCSC students and then shared lunch together in the College Nine/John R. Lewis Dining Hall. The visit sparked plenty of excitement about college life—from academics and research opportunities to clubs, campus traditions, and extracurricular activities. We have a feeling UCSC may be receiving quite a few applications from the BTI Class of 2028.
Contacts
BTI Directors – Ms. Abdilla: jabdilla@seq.org and Ms. Gold: sgold@seq.org Current Mentor Coordinator – Mr. Fabic Cortez: ocortez@seq.org Mentor Coordinator for 2026-2027 – Ms. Moynihan: lmoynihan@seq.org Class of 2026 Reps – Angera Kuo: angekuo@gmail.com and Ranjan Ray: ranjan_ray@yahoo.com Class of 2027 Reps – Nanette Boerner: nanetteboerner@gmail.com Class of 2028 Reps – Amy Mehdizadeh: aj.woodman@gmail.com, and Nadine Nelson: nadine.beverly@gmail.com Class of 2029 Rep – Mari Strahorn: mari.strahorn@gmail.com BTI/CAF Liaison – Kaushik Das: kaushik.das@carlmontacademicfoundation.org