Peer STEM Transfer Mentors
Ellie Bui
Biological Sciences Major
Transferred from: Irvine Valley College
Future Career Goals: I am planning to attend medical school after taking a gap year post graduation to become a physician.
Campus Involvement: Research, Campuswide Honors Collegium, REAL Self Care Club
Favorite Pastimes/Hobbies: I love going to the beach, trying new food, baking, hiking, binge watching series and reading.
Ask Me About: Anything from transferring, adjusting to a 4-year university on a quarter system, study skills, time management skills, research, volunteering, life as a pre-med, how to take care of yourself and de-stressing tips. You can also ask for food and dessert suggestions since I have a list of all my favorite places haha. I identify as a first generation immigrant who moved here from Vietnam 6 years ago so feel free to ask about my transition or we can talk about how I learned English mostly from Disney Channel!
Patrick Kelley
Mechanical Engineering Major
Transferred from: College of Marin
Future Career Goals: I hope to enter the field of Automotive/Vehicle Dynamics Engineering, specifically focusing on autonomous and electric vehicle development among other next-gen forms of transportation
Campus Involvement: Baja SAE (off-road race car project), KUCI Radio DJ, STEM Transfer Mentee (19-20)
Favorite Pastimes/Hobbies: Outside of engineering work, I am an avid musician and love to write, record, and produce original music. I also love getting outdoors and going hiking, camping, and mountain unicycling!
Ask Me About: You can ask me about STEM career development as a transfer student, how to effectively leverage LinkedIn and other networking platforms, resume building, job searching/interview prep, as well as balancing technical and artistic interests. I live off-campus and am also able to give advice on commuting/housing search. Happy to answer questions about these topics or anything else!
Subham Kshetri
Computer Science Major
Engineering Major
Transferred from: Mount San Antonio College
Future Career Goals: I want to establish myself in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) by completing by graduate studies with specialization in embedded systems.
Campus Involvement: Campuswide Honors, Associated Students – UCI (ASUCI)
Favorite Pastimes/Hobbies: Vice-President of Applied Machine Learning group (AML)
Ask Me About: What it means to be a first-generation student as well as a low-income student transferring from a community college! I know the adversities that students like me had to face and would be more than happy to guide anyone with similar background. I can also give tips on time-management and staying motivated. Further, you can also ask me about getting involved in the campus, finding the right resources for you, or getting involved in campus research or projects.
Lucille Grace B. Ortiz
Biological Sciences Major
Transferred from: Cerritos Community College.
Future Career Goals:
I plan to attend medical school after taking a gap year or two to explore more opportunities within the medical field and hope to one day specialize in Pediatrics.
Campus Involvement:
I am currently part of the Emergency Medicine Research Associates Program (EMRAP) and a liaison for one of the studies that focuses on necrotizing soft tissue infections.
Favorite Pastimes/Hobbies:
I enjoy collecting vinyl records, dancing, walking with my dog, gardening/taking care of plants, and resistance exercising/training.
Ask Me About😐
You can ask me about transferring from a community college to a university, balancing school, work, and social life. You can also ask me about deciding what to do after UCI, applying to medical schools (creating a timeline for MCAT and applications), looking for
research/internship opportunities, preparing for interviews, networking, and building resumes/cover letters. I’m also open to discussing self-care and mental health. Feel free to ask me about anything. I will do my best to listen and help!