Day of Science 2026
- ccopstanford
- Mar 14
- 6 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
On Saturday, February 28th at the College of San Mateo (CSM), students from all over the Bay Area gathered for the 4th Annual Day of Science, hosted by the Stanford Community College Outreach Program (CCOP) and the CSM Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program. Over the course of an enriching day of programming, around 200 attendees were introduced to researchers and professionals that shared stories of attending community college (CC), and how their time at CCs enabled their paths to success.
Opening Remarks
Olivia Viveros, CSM’s MESA director, opened Day of Science by encouraging students to go the extra step to pursue opportunities in STEM. This sentiment was echoed by Danni Redding Lapuz, the CSM VP of Instruction, who invited attendees to celebrate the power and opportunity that happen when we bring together diverse groups. She further emphasized
that the power of research resides in finding and answering questions, and that the unique perspectives and voices of community college students are needed in this work. Celeste Sanchez, the CCOP Lead for Day of Science, then introduced the day’s program and encouraged attendees to ask questions, network, and make the most of the event.
Community College research talks: Lauren Hong & Juliet Tran
Lauren Hong, a former Stanford CCOP Microfluidics intern and CSM student, is preparing to transfer to one of the UCs to continue her studies in Biology and Chemistry, after which she plans to pursue medical school. She gave attendees an overview of her research journey within the Microfluidics internship, as well as a Bioengineering internship at UC-Irvine. One takeaway from her research was the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in biological research, which allowed her to gain perspective in unexpected areas. Lauren’s introduction to research came at last year’s Day of Science, where she was inspired to find her place in research despite the limitations in opportunities that she felt as a CC student. She encouraged students to persist past rejections and to keep trying.
Juliet Tran, a West Valley and Mission College 2nd-year student, shared her experience as a CCOP-CORE intern at Stanford University Mass Spectrometry. Under the mentorship of Dr. Megan Danielewicz, Juliet began her internship as a full-time researcher in the summer and continued her work part-time in the fall. She is on the pre-medical track. During her experience with CORE, Juliet appreciated the group workshops on how to do research (reading papers, presenting your research) and the transfer support sessions. She also shared lab photos which gave attendees the chance to envision her lab work more concretely. She stressed that it’s okay to not understand things at first, but don’t give up. Her parting words to attendees:
"It matters more how you spend your time, not where you spend it, and if you put in hard work you will do well!"
Both presenters emphasized the power of networking and doing your own research online on the research within the lab you work in, as well as overcoming imposter syndrome and feeling like you belong.
Stanford Trainee talks: Jairo Reynoso, Lidia Mergelian & Peter Martin
Jairo Reynoso, a senior undergraduate at Stanford, presented a lively talk entitled “Finding my signal in the noise." A Bioengineering major jointly pursuing a coterminal masters degree, Jairo restarted his educational journey at Victor Valley College after recovering from health circumstances that interrupted his education. He shared tips on finding research as a transfer student, and presented his research on tracheal acoustic monitoring along with his capstone developing a microfluidics device for NASA. He encouraged students to try to find their niche, and that the best thing you can bring to a transfer application is your true self. Jairo affirmed that CC provided technical discipline that his work rests on today and that:
“If you’re studying science, you’re a scientist!”
Lidia Mergelian is a Life Science Research Professional (LSRP) at Stanford. Her educational journey began at Sacramento City College, and she later transferred to UCLA to obtain a degree in Microbiology & Immunology. Lidia gave a lively presentation filled with tips for fellow CC students. She spoke about how the challenges of growing up in an immigrant family allowed her to develop an incredible resourcefulness. She encouraged students to take classes that interest them, since CC is a great time to figure out your path and develop your goals. She also emphasized the importance of developing good study skills that will be extremely useful when students transfer. Finally, Lidia shared resources that she wished she knew in CC, and internship programs exclusively for CC students like the one she attended at UCLA.
Peter Martin, a Stanford graduate student in Developmental Biology, shared his path to Biology. After serving in the army, Peter attended the City College of San Francisco and transferred to the University of Nevada-Reno for a degree in Public Health. Upon realizing he wasn’t passionate about that field, he returned to CCSF and furthered his interest in cell signaling by becoming a developmental biology major at San Francisco State University. During the Propel post-baccalaureate program at UCSF, Peter solidified his desire to pursue a PhD, which led him to stay local while moving to Stanford, where he studies embryonic resilience. During the Q&A following his presentation, Peter answered questions on finding his way and exploring his passions over the course of a non-linear path, which ultimately led the way to his research focus.
Keynote address by Nicole Horsely
The 2026 Day of Science featured speaker was Nicole Horsely, a fifth-year student in the Molè lab at Stanford pursuing her PhD in the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Program. Nicole’s journey began in community college but she soon joined the Air Force for six years, which eventually led her to the University of Washington. After sharing her educational path, Nicole introduced attendees to her research in the field of embryology. During the audience Q&A, she spoke about the importance of developing resiliency, and how to navigate and choose between different opportunities. Her parting message to attendees:
“You never know how things will end up, just keep trying. Don’t give up!”
Lunch Breakout Discussions
Over lunch, students joined breakout groups based on their career interests and got to ask questions and network with working professionals and graduate students within their respective fields. The breakout sessions featured the following panelists:
Industry and Tech with Cristian Aviles, Avery Etaghene, Jonathan Gong, Erin Murphy, and Shergaun Roserie, moderated by Francesca Cohn.
Biosciences with Ashlie Barillas, Adriana Bibo, Rosa McGuire, and Lauren Ward, moderated by Peyton Dooley.
Medicine with Teni Anbarchian, Robin Cadd, Jared Hysinger, Samiha Reza and Alice Serenska, moderated by Sam Johnson.
Engineering with Ayan Delmar, Sebastian Fernandez, Kyle Keen, Jacob Ruiz, and Reva Siu-Masset, moderated by Kennedy Outlaw.
Afternoon opening remarks
After returning from networking with their discussion panelists, students were greeted by Alex Guiriba, the CSM VP of Student Services, who is a proud CSM alumnus. Alex took the opportunity to acknowledge the many community colleges represented by their students at Day of Science, and to recognize the CSM MESA team members who greatly contributed to the success of the event.
Career Panel
Students then attended a career panel of STEM professionals who began their journeys as community college students. The panelists included:
David Argudo, PhD, an Instructor of Physics and Engineering at Gavilan College.
Tara deBoer, PhD, the CEO of BioAmp Diagnostics, Inc.
Evan Jimenez, a Staff Engineer at Summit Engineering.
Teni Anbarchian, PhD, a 5th-year Medical Student at Stanford University.
Kiarash Shamardani, PhD, a Science Advisor in IP Litigation at Orrick.
Key topics that emerged amid an engaged Q&A were the importance of building consistency
and motivation, and to never stop trying, because success is not innate but the product of enduring hard work. Panelists also shared their advice for CC students today, which included making efforts to develop consistency by trying something new and sticking to it for 30 days, and figuring out their broader goal, their “why,” to empower them to navigate job applications, interviews, and transfer applications.
Resource Fair
Students then had the opportunity to interact with many of the day’s panelists and additional community partner programs at the inaugural Day of Science Resource Fair. The organizations represented at the fair were the CCOP-CORE Internship Team, the Stanford Microfluidics Summer Internship, the Stanford Cancer Institute Summer Internship, Science Small Groups @ Stanford, the CSM MESA program, the PUMAS Summer Internship (Gladstone Institutes), Diversity by Doing Programs (like DxD Health Tech), and the CCOP Transfer Bootcamp. Discussions were lively and spirits were high as students explored these unique opportunities available to community college students.
Concluding remarks
We would like to express our immense gratitude for the event organizers and volunteers who made the 2026 Day of Science possible as well as the student attendees for bringing their enthusiasm, curiosity and insight. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to our funding sources and partners who share our belief in the power of creating opportunity in STEM, specifically the Office of Community Engagement at Stanford and the Stanford Cancer Institute. We are especially grateful to the College of San Mateo for hosting the event, and to Olivia Viveros and the MESA team for their collaboration and support. Their contributions were essential to making this event possible, and we look forward to continuing our shared mission to build pathways for community college students pursuing STEM careers.
-- Lilli
