The Goleta Chamber of Commerce has announced their Goleta's Finest Winners and Kathy Ramirez-Gijon is the 2019 Student of the Year!  Kathy will be honored at the 70th Annual Goleta's Finest Community Awards Gala Saturday, November 23rd at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara at 6:00 p.m.

Kathy has been a student in several CSEP led high school STEM enrichment programs such as School for Scientific Thought and the Institute for Energy Efficiency Apprentice Researcher.  As an apprentice in summer 2019, Kathy interned for 6-weeks in the Mechanical Engineering department's Hawkes Group with graduate student mentor, Charlie Xiao designing and testing an efficient actuator for a liquid to gas phase change robot.  In addition to the lab research, Kathy also learned about the dynamic research environment at UCSB, worked with a team of high school students, and further developed her science communication skills.  Kathy is not only an engineer in training, but also a volunteer, an athlete, a teacher, a friend, a daughter, and a dedicated community member.  We celebrate her current success and look forward to her bright future.