Tiven Buggy, a 2020 graduate of the UC Davis College of Engineering's civil and environmental engineering master’s program, now serves as director of water and sanitation for the nonprofit Puente, based in Constanza, La Vega, Dominican Republic. In this role, Buggy relies on data collection and analysis technology to help solve water crises in remote parts of the region. His passion for improving access to clean water ignited during his time in the Peace Corps and continued to be fueled by his global experiences while at UC Davis.

Alumni engagement is one of the most powerful tools the field of international education has, but it is an often-overlooked piece of the education abroad experience. University of California-Davis (UC Davis) recently expanded the traditional returnee conference model and created the Global Learning Conference, which was open to all students interested in solving global issues—whether they had done a formal study abroad program or not. By actively bringing together study abroad participants, international students, first-generation college students, and students who have navigated intercultural spaces, the conference expanded each attendees’ network and knowledge in myriad ways. The conference launched in 2020 with more than 150 attendees, and participation is expected to double this year.  

The Cal Aggie Alumni Association, or CAAA, of the University of California, Davis, today (Feb. 23) announced the recipients of its 48th annual Alumni Awards, including Scot Marciel ’81 for the Emil M. Mrak International Award.

After completing her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UC Davis' College of Engineering, Nisha Marwaha accepted a job at the nonprofit WorldFish, based in Malaysia, to help improve fisheries and aquaculture. Read on to learn about her water scarcity research and how local partnerships help support the global UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Nina Forest, who graduated in June 2020, is headed toward graduate studies and a future career in the U.S. Foreign Service with the support from a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship

A recent UC Davis College of Letters and Science graduate has been awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship, a decades-old British government program that pays for American students to pursue advanced degrees at British universities. Valencia Scott (B.A., anthropology and international relations, ’20) will pursue a doctorate in criminology at the University of Oxford, where she will focus her studies on the criminalization of Black immigrants. She is planning a career in international human rights law.

From mitigating food insecurity to coordinating COVID-19 treatment trials, UC Davis alumae Michelle Lee and Emily Fehrman are putting their degrees—and global learning experiences working alongside communities—to work during the pandemic.

Jesse Rodriguez, B.A. ’13, MBA ’19, was exposed to the importance of global education after he completed a capstone project in Chile for his MBA program.

UC Davis alumnus and ant morphologist Brendon Boudinot, who received his doctorate in entomology in June, is the recipient of the coveted Robert E. Snodgrass Memorial Research Award from the Entomological Society of America.