Cui Heng Cao, aka "Cheer"

I am a fourth-year graduating student, a Golden Key honor scholar, a URSP scholar, an Economics/International Area Studies (East Asia) major working toward both College Honors and Departmental Honors. I transferred from Laney College in Oakland, I am deep into the fusion of diverse cultures, and here at UCLA, I found that AAP is the one of the most diverse communities on campus. As someone who has been exploring the U.S. culture for 4 years, I appreciate all the challenges I have encountered, which I take as motivation for moving forward. Striving to achieve a balance between study, work and extracurricular activities, my daily goal at UCLA is "living to the most" (a memorable encouragement from my Accounting instructor, Professor Ravetch.)

After graduation, I will work in Silicon Valley as a financial analyst and will enhance my career by enrolling in a part-time MBA program. My academic interests are in International Trade & Finance. In Spring 07, having been inspired by my International Trade Theory instructor, Professor Swanson, and my Macroeconomics TAs, I decided to complete a senior thesis on the role of foreign direct investment in China's regional economic growth.

Due to the regional development disparity in China, my thesis is designed to avoid the dependance on data aggregation, a dependance that most of the existing empirical studies have. Instead, my research focuses on the regional development characteristics by using panel data from 24 cities in two key Economic Zones - Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD).

During my yearlong thesis research, I have confronted numerous unforeseen difficulties in data collection, mathematics, and technology and have made critical mistakes which took me much effort to correct. Frustrations, challenges, confusions, motivations - all these I have had to deal with in the process of conducting my research. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my research advisor, Professor Swanson, to URSP, to my counselors, to the consultants in the Statistics Lab, and to my friends. Without them, my research could not have been completed.

Brandy Au

I feel very fortunate to have been exposed to research early on in my undergraduate career. Many of my peers don't have the opportunity to realize their potential in such a worthwhile activity (which is ironic, because UCLA can be considered a premiere research institution) or even meet the faculty who can push them in that direction. I am grateful because I had both. Whenever I can advocate undergraduate research to an individual or group who will listen, I try to. That encouragement and advocacy, I feel, is crucial to fostering the budding scholars who will be the academicians of tomorrow.

I don't know exactly how I stumbled across my current area of interest, but I love studying Chinese politics and international political systems. The field is very much dynamic and filled with cutting-edge research. This year I am working on my departmental thesis, which examines the role of the Chinese government in propaganda and education as vehicles for national identity and anti-Japanese sentiment within the youth population. It has been a very interesting study and I can't wait to finish the fruits of my labor, although the project will still be very much introductory by academic standards. I am very glad I decided to choose this topic because it opened up to me a topic I am seriously considering pursuing in graduate school.

Without the support of AAP and the McNair Scholars Program I would have been on a path very much different than the one I am on today. I might have missed my niche altogether. The most I owe to both is probably the fact that they allowed me to envision research as a career. It is rare to meet people who can truly claim they love their job, but I have a good feeling I will be one of those individuals in the future.

Cecilia Guevara

My name is Cecilia Guevara and am a fourth year English major. I'm a first generation college student planning to pursue a career in education. My family and I immigrated to the U.S. when I was still a toddler. Although it hasn't been a smooth road at all times, I'm proud to say that the obstacles I've encountered and overcome in the past have contributed to my success as a an undergraduate researcher. I'm thankful to have had the support of my family throughout my undergraduate career. In the future, I hope to attend graduate school to obtain my administrative credential and work to bring excellent and equal education to California public schools.

My thesis confronts the problem of father-daughter incest in Mary Shelley's Mathilda (1959; comp. 1819) and Lodore (1835). Although extensive criticism exists for Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, critics largely overlook these two lesser-known novels. Furthermore, current criticism focuses either on the sociopolitical implications of the father-daughter incest theme and its ramifications for a patriarchal society, or on the biographical parallels between the characters in the novels and Mary Shelley's life. Neither approach addresses in detail the emotional ramifications for the female incest abuse victim. My thesis demonstrates how the construction of Lord Lodore's masculinity contributes to the problem of father-daughter incest and how women in the novels develop a relational-self. The novels reject the male tradition that attempts to justify father-daughter incest. Ultimately, the egalitarian family triumphs because Lodore provides the character of Fanny Derham who embodies the autonomous mother figure. Presenting a stark critique of incest as it is defined through the male perspective, the main female characters in Mary Shelley's Mathilda and Lodore exhibit symptoms of modern day father-daughter incest victims (including guilt, shame, and depression), which both undercuts Mary Shelley's idealized vision of the nineteenth century bourgeois family and highlights the significance of the autonomous mother figure within this family.

Patty Lam

I am a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Sociology and minoring in Global Studies. I decided to do a departmental honors thesis project because in addition to being the first in my family to graduate college, I wanted to challenge myself further by doing something non-traditional. I moved to the United States when I was ten years old. This sparked my interest in studying how things have changed or stayed the same in the city of Monterey Park since I moved to America. I am actively involved on campus. Currently, I serve as the President of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a nation-wide honor society that focuses on leadership development through community services. Other campus involvements I have participated in include the Volunteer Income Tax Assistant and Bruin Leaders Projects. I plan to work immediately after graduating in June 2008 to support my family, but I will definitely attend graduate school in the future; I'm interested in Public Policy.

For my project, I will examine the social interaction that takes place at the Monterey Park Library. Specifically, the goal of the research is to find out how the library serves as a social network for the community, including many recent Chinese immigrants. In my Comparative Immigration class, I learned that social networks help lower the risks of migration. Through social ties, immigrants are able to access useful resources such as finding housing and employment. Social networks are also beneficial to immigrants who have occupied ethnic enclaves for long periods of time. Such immigrants, including those who have become entrepreneurs, often use referrals to hire immediate arrivals. I decided to write my Honors Thesis on this topic because I live in the city of Monterey Park and would like to explore the social relationships among immigrant groups. Some questions I considered were: Do recent arrivals feel the same way as I felt when I first began my journey here? Are institutions such as ethnic enclaves and local cities doing more to help immigrants assimilate? At the end of the project, I'd like to learn more about the various types of social networks and how immigrants utilize them.

Susan Bae

Hi! My name is Susan Bae and I am a third year undergraduate. I am a history pre-med student, participating in research in both the sciences and social sciences. I have been working with Dr. Milan Fiala. Through him I learned the gravity of Alzheimer's disease and the critical need for developing a method to test for the condition. I have been testing and selecting for significant cell surface markers' expressions that could possibly be used as a method for determining predisposition for Alzheimer's. And for this research, I am fortunate to be one of UCLA's Undergraduate Research Scholars Program scholarship recipients this year. Furthermore, under the guidance of Dr. Teo Ruiz, I will begin my Departmental Honors Thesis in history. My proposed thesis will concentrate on the innovative work of Paracelsus who was a physician during the 16th century.

I became a member of AAP as a PLUS student in my freshman year. The support that AAP has given me is immeasurable. Today, I am still part AAP as a Physics 10 tutor and a Wilson Scholar.

Anais Martinez

I am a fourth year student at UCLA with a double major in Political Science and History. I am also a part of the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program working with a fellowship from the Ingram Family Estate. I am in the process of completing my senior thesis under the guidance of professor Mark Sawyer. My paper explores issues of identity and possibilities of democracy in the transitioning nation of Cuba. I was able to present my research earlier this year at the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research at Cal State LA.

My research interests arose from the relationship between the United States and socialist countries. My paper abstract was written in the months before power in the country changed hands from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul. I hypothesized how a change in power might lead the direction of Cuba, and the steps already initiated in Cuba that may point toward democratization. This includes high literacy rates and the development of a dual economy based on the peso and the dollar. The concept of a successful communist country is controversial and threatens the American rhetoric of promoting democracy worldwide. I hope to understand the steps the Castro regime has taken to provide equality among the populace and the problems the United States has in associating itself with a nation progressing following a theory contrary to that promoted as the only way to run a nation.

I hope to attend graduate school in the future to continue my research in democracy, socialism, and US policy goals. In my last year of class work at UCLA, I was introduced to new theories and perspectives in American politics, understanding urban and suburban development and governmental institutions. These new experiences have inspired me to consider internship opportunities working hands-on with policy amongst policymakers. Aside from my research at UCLA, I am also involved with Phi Lambda Rho Sorority, a Chicana/Latina-based sorority with specific emphasis placed on cultural and academic objectives. Over the summer, I traveled abroad to Europe and completed a short-term independent research project under the guidance of professor Giulia Sissa understanding the issues of emerging violence in the wine regions of France. During the school year, I worked on campus at the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty, assisting with data from the first-ever national day laborer survey.

Jamie Zimmerman

Jamie is a current senior at UCLA, majoring in Anthropology and pre-medicine. Her goal is to one day serve as a doctor in underserved communities, both at home and abroad.

During the summer after her freshman year, Jamie had the opportunity to spend 2 months living and working in the rainforest of Peru, where she collaborated with a local healthcare non-profit organization. It was that experience that helped her discover her passion for international work, and sparked her interest in pursuing a medical education. Last December, she received early acceptance to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where she plans to begin her medical studies upon graduating from UCLA in June.

AAP has been an invaluable part of Jamie's experience at UCLA. Jamie is extremely grateful for the guidance offered by tutors (who helped her survive those pre-med classes!), the warm and welcoming community, and the numerous educational opportunities. (During her second year, Jamie gained her first research experience with the AAP Undergraduate Research Fellows, working with faculty mentor Brenda Stevenson (Professor of History and African American Studies) to research the origin and history of black-to-white "passing" in the American South.

Additionally, Jamie has focused on the plight of those affected by forced migration - whether spurred by economic pressures, global climate change, or international conflicts. Last summer, Jamie lived in a refugee camp in Zambia, where she collaborated with an operating partner of the United Nations to create a documentary film about refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. During Spring break, Jamie will serve on the U.S. Campaign for Burma's delegation to the Thai-Burma border, where she will use her background in filmmaking to gather footage about the crisis there. Additionally, Jamie is currently conducting research with author and Professor Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel) about refugee situations in several regions around the globe, in preparation for a seminar Jamie will teach next quarter, entitled, "Multimedia Exploration of the World's Refugees."

Growing up, Jamie was raised by her single mom, attended 15 different schools and faced poverty and abuse. Fully self-supporting since age 15, during the summer before college, she lived in a garage to save the money necessary to attend UCLA. "I am so grateful that some of my dreams are now coming true. Without the support of extraordinarily caring and dedicated faculty members like La'Tonya Rease-Miles, I would truly not be where I am today."

Min Hee Kim

I am a fourth- year student at UCLA working on completing my major in Comparative Literature and currently working on my Departmental Honors under the guidance of my thesis mentor Professor Ross Shideler. The study is rooted in exploring Korean Americans and their social and political relationship with Western culture. Koreans have always been shadowed by Japanese and Chinese culture, and their identities as Korean Americans have been a recently recognized phenomenon.

My project will explore the deep social and cultural roots of Koreans and then show how the attitudes of Koreans and Korean Americans themselves are changing in 21st century America. I will be using two literary texts, Native Speaker by Chang Rae Lee and East Goes West:The Making of an Oriental Yankee, by Younghill Kang and incorporating essays titled "Imperialism/Nationalism" by Seamus Deane, "Race" by Kwame Anthony Appiah and "Gender" by Myra Jehlen. With these two texts and the three essays found in Critical Terms for Literary Study edited by Frank Lentricchia and Thomas the McLaughlin, I am interested in comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of how personal perceptions and societys constructed racial viewpoints have changed from the 1930s, when Koreans first migrated into the United States, up to the present. From my research, I hope to obtain a better understanding of the social constructs that restrict or liberate Korean American identity in America and how those notions are ever changing.

In the future, I plan on attending law school. But before doing so, I want to work for a publishing company and involve myself in social and political services to voice minority rights within various Los Angeles communities. I believe that education and serving those who are less fortunate than oneself are essential, and therefore I hope to exemplify these qualities by attending law school so I can one day help others who are in need. I have been a member of the Pre law Society and, off campus, have interned with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), and most recently traveled to New Orleans for a publishing internship with Pelican Publishing Company.