2023 Celebration of Excellence Business & Social Sciences

Gabe Shain

Nominated by: Professor Julie Jenkins

I am so pleased to be giving Gabe, one of our Anthropology majors, an Excellence Award this year. Gabe contributed to the Ethnography of Foothill project by conducting research on how community is formed and maintained in the Horticulture Department. Gabe did an amazing job in conducting interviews and observations, writing up his conclusions, and presenting it at the RSLS. I also wanted to acknowledge that Gabe is incredibly skillful at creating community too- particularly the kind of communities that he wants to belong to by being totally honest and authentic. As a member of one of my classes, I can’t help but think that Gabe really set the tone in helping develop networks of support that allowed us to learn a little more deeply. Congrats, Gabe!

Tamar Grosskopf

Nominated by: Professor Kathryn Maurer

I am nominating Tamar for all around excellence! I had the privilege of being Tamar's instructor in both Fall 2022 and Winter 2023, and was impressed with her work ethic, curiosity for a broad range of subjects, and passion for learning. Her assignments were always prepared with care, going above and beyond stated expectations, her exams were exemplary, and her contributions to classroom discussions made us all think more deeply about the topics. She was always willing to help her peers and the instructor with any request! It's also been fabulous watching Tamar contribute to the revival of The Script and become an Ambassador for the Global Experiential Learning Florence program (where she is now so won't be able to accept the award in person).

Jonatan Naranjo

Nominated by: Professor Samuel Connell

The torch has been passed in anthropology and Jon is running with it. His passion for the community and our student well-being has been evident from the moment he arrived on campus. It is my sincere hope that he jumps into academia in the future, with his keen mind and helpful demeanor he should go far!

David Kim

Nominated by: Professor Brian Evans

David has been an absolute star. He got either an A or an A+ in all the courses I teach - typically with the top score. But what truly sets him apart is his service to others. He has always been there to help others in all sorts of ways. He volunteered to be a student TA in my online Microeconomics class for several quarters - this was unpaid. He is currently in Guatemala as a member of the FH Teacher Corps - again volunteering his time to help others. Thank you David for everything you have given Foothill.

Heather Yee

Nominated by: Professor Bill Ziegenhorn

Heather has been an exceptional student. She has excelled throughout the year in my U.S. history survey series of classes. She is currently working on a review and analysis of a monograph on the Spanish flu of 1918. Last quarter, she volunteered at the Museum of American History researching information on and writing labels for some of the artifacts in their collection. She plans on transferring next fall to UC Santa Cruz and pursuing a major in history with the goal of possibly teaching or working in the field of public history.

Niko Razavi

Nominated by: Professor Mona Rawal

Nikolas aka Niko, is a student who is very respectful to the faculty, he participates in the Foothill community at a deeper level and is sensitive to the needs of our community as well. Niko has excelled not only in his course work in my Hum 5 class, but he does have a very strong presence as a community member who cares for his fellow students and also brings very engaging conversations in his class participation.

Leo Kim

Nominated by: Professor Eta Lin

I am enthusiastically recognizing Leo Kim for the BSS Excellence Award in Psychology. My first interaction with Leo was over the holiday break last year when he contacted me via email from South Korea to inquire about classes. He enrolled in my Statistics class and did he excel! Leo received the top scores on the exams, seamlessly learned the computer statistical package SPSS, carved time out of his busy schedule to help his fellow peers. Not surprisingly I asked him to serve as an embedded tutor for my Statistics and Research Methods classes. My students were so appreciative of his positive energy, patience, and constant support. Leo also has a keen interest in conducting research, and he serves as a research assistant on various projects ranging from allyship to social media usage at Stanford University. He is also conducting his own project on social media usage and its impact on the mental health in younger adults. At Foothill, he also works as an embedded tutor for the Math Performance Success Program and the English department, serves as the co-president of the Data Science & Artificial Intelligence Club (e.g., promoting diversity in STEM-related disciplines, using technology for the greater social good) and the Founding Director of OwlHacks, serves as a student advisor to the Science Learning Institute, and he volunteers as a tutor for English and math for Dreamcatchers, which is a program for low-income middle school students. I am impressed and amazed by his ability to successfully balance the responsibilities of school, tutoring, extracurricular activities, interning, and community volunteering. In the fall, he will pursue a Computer Science and Psychology major at Yale University.

Lillian A. Swedlow

Nominated by: Professor Ben Stefonik

Lily Swedlow, an aerospace engineering major, is an invaluable member of the Foothill community. Lily loves Foothill. She has attended other community colleges but found her home here and explained to me that she fell in love with the sense of community she found in the clubs and the Science Learning Institute (SLI). Lily is not only an outstanding student, but she is a skilled community-creator. She co-founded the Astronomy Club, the ADHD Club, and Project Playground, which provides support to students who are interested in pursuing research and service leadership projects. Lily works for Pass the Torch and the SLI, and she holds leadership positions in several clubs on campus. She is a leader among the student body and continually seeks out opportunities to make positive contributions to our campus life. And on top of it all, Lily is kind, caring, funny, and compassionate. She exemplifies excellence through her commitment to our campus life, and I am proud to nominate her for the BSS Excellence Award.

Seymour Keola Asing

Nominated by: Professor Eta Lin

I am happy to recognize Keola Asing as a recipient of the BSS Excellence Award in Psychology. She took both my Social Psychology and Research Method classes. Keola did well on her assignments, quizzes, and exams, but more importantly she was always engaged in class discussions, asked insightful questions, demonstrated a high level of maturity, and has a deep sense of social responsibility. When she took my Research Methods class, she and her group members were particularly interested in college students’ perceptions of issues concerning modern redlining, healthcare, access to nutritional foods and technology, and crime & safety in their communities. Despite some group challenges, Keola practiced patience and understanding, and she focused on the task at hand, which was to complete a powerful and impactful research project on social justice issues. In addition to being a high achieving student, Keola is involved in various college clubs and community organizations. At Foothill, she has served as the AAPI Heritage Month Chairperson, the Vice-President of the Debate Club, and the President of the InterClub Council representative: People of the Pacific Club. For the past two years, Keola has volunteered in “Brown Bag” events to distribute healthy foods to low-income seniors in Japantown, and she was the co-lead project organizer for “Her Drive, Co” (e.g., raised funds, delivered hygiene products to domestic violence survivors). At Friends Quaker Meeting House, Keola volunteers as an early childhood educator, and she is teaching English through the Teacher Corps program in Guatemala. I cannot think of a better teacher and role model for our young people! I commend Keola for her dedication and commitment to giving back to her local and global communities, and for her strong desire to care for her fellow human beings. In the fall, Keola hopes to transfer to Barnard College.

Tarika Modi

Nominated by: Professor Florina Petcu

Tarika Modi impressed me from the moment I met her in the General Psychology class last year. She was curious, respectful, and passionate about psychology. Her maturity led me to believe that she was already a seasoned college student, but she will start attending Scripps College this upcoming fall. Tarika is an intelligent but modest student, she works hard but goes out of the way to help others. Tarika’s initiative and kindness set her apart from other students. She followed my recommendation for the class to use a study guide, but she took it a step further and partnered up with another student to create study cards for all her peers. Her generosity was inspiring! It is not often that a student chooses to thrive from the success of others. Overall, she continues to be an excellent student and person that makes a professor’s job meaningful.

Senja Johnson

Nominated by: Professor John Fox

When the pandemic devastated the on-campus community at Foothill College, we needed students to rebuild the on-campus presence, and not just in the classroom. Senja Johnson was one of those students. Not only did she excel in two of my classes, but when we had to rebuild the student clubs, she was one of those who stepped up to lead the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club. She came to Foothill determined to excel and she has done so because of her dogged determination and strong academic abilities. What I love about Senja is her grit--won't stop until she finds the answer, whether it's a problem posed in class, a matter in the club, or her academic career-- a trait I consider vital to success. Now she is off to thrive at UC San Diego, where she will continue to make a difference in the lives of others. Her grit, compassion, intelligence, organizational skills, and intellect are among the many reasons I grant her the Excellence in Sociology Award.

Amanda Vazquez

Nominated by: Professor Dolores Davison

I was fortunate enough to have Amanda in two classes this year, and was privileged to get to know her through my drop-in hours. As the mother of two babies under the age of 3, with a husband deployed overseas, Amanda still made time to make sure I was doing okay and to keep me apprised of everything happening so that she didn't fall behind. She is an exceptional student and an even better person, and I am honored to have had her in my classes.

Gabriel Dominguez ~ Intern of the Year Finalist

Internship supervisor Hannah D’Apice, faculty Christine Min Wotipka, Stanford University Graduate School of Education

Comparative Research on Higher Education in 88 Countries

"Over the past year as an intern, I've been very impressed with how Gabriel has balanced his RA responsibilities on top of his multiple part-time jobs, while maintaining consistent communication about his research progress and overall schedule.

Gabriel has also completed work thoroughly across the multiple tasks he's been assigned. Early on, this included reviewing university websites to determine if they had programs or policies related to Indigenous peoples. More recently, that has included reviewing reports from the UN and international organizations. Across tasks, Gabriel takes detailed notes and comes prepared to our meetings with a report of what he's collected, what he found interesting, and what he had questions on.

Gabriel has absolutely demonstrated engagement with the research. He conveys his interest in the topic not only through his thorough work, but also through his ability to make connections across the different tasks. For example, now that we are going through census data on Indigenous populations, Gabriel is able to identify which countries name specific Indigenous groups—based on prior data collection from universities and international organizations—versus which countries use pan-ethnic designations that fail to acknowledge different Indigenous groups/tribes.

Finally, Gabriel has gone above and beyond as an intern. For example, when reviewing reports from international organizations, my main interest as a supervisor was to see whether/how they reported population data. Gabriel not only noted this data, but also pointed out common themes the reports covered overall, and how these changed over time. For example, reports from the 1980s tended to note violence against Indigenous groups, while later reports in the 2000s began noting advances Indigenous peoples were achieving in their national contexts. This thematic information was not necessarily asked for by me as a supervisor, but will be incredibly valuable for a larger understanding of how Indigenous groups have been recognized and portrayed in official records over time."

Talya Kass ~ Intern of the Year Finalist

Internship Supervisor Josephine Tan, faculty Deborah Gruenfeld, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Organizational Behavior

Psychology/Organizational Behavior Research on Hand Movement Gestures during Political Debates

"I have been very impressed with Talya's quality of work. She is extremely detail oriented and it shows in the work that she is passionate about the tasks I give her. She takes initiative in her work and has always taken the opportunity to clarify if she ever needs more information. I give her the freedom to set her own deadline and she has always delivered quality work in a timely manner (and at times even faster than what I expected). Her enthusiasm for research is infectious and inspires me to become more engaged with the research as well.

One notable example of her going above and beyond what was asked of them, was when I tasked her to make experimental stimuli for one of my surveys. I asked her to help me craft 5 videos, all with differing social interactions that are rather complex to do. Talya not only completed it successfully but also found a way to improve upon the original request, and took the time to ensure that the result was better and more effective for the resulting participants who took my survey. Additionally, in another instance, I asked her to help me look through a survey I wrote up and to spot any mistakes I may have made. She took the time to take the survey multiple times, screenshot any issues she encountered and provided comments and suggestions for each, which was beyond what I expected. These examples clearly demonstrate Talya's immense dedication to her work and her passion for research."

MANY THANKS TO

Our donors and fundraisers for all of their generosity and hard work:

• FHDA Foundation Staff
• Dr. Judy Miner
• Dr. Bruce Swenson

Our administrators President Kristina Whalen, Kurt Hueg VP of Instruction, Ram Subramaniam Associate Vice President of Instruction.

Our fabulous faculty who spend countless hours nurturing our students.

Families and friends for encouraging our students as they pursue their academic endeavors.

Special thank you to our BSS Celebration of Excellence Committee: Brian Evans, John Fox, Eta Lin, Kerri Ryer, Bill Ziegenhorn, Julie Jenkins, Mona Rawal, Alex Collins, Dolores Davison