Putting others First
Meet Faculty and Staff Who
Volunteer in Their Communities
It’s right there in UC Merced’s stated mission, alongside teaching and research.
Public service.
For the university, it means leveraging research and outreach to lift up society and influence public policy. It means expanding opportunities for Valley students to attend this university and, in turn, give back to their communities with new knowledge and ideas.
But public service also occurs on a smaller but no less influential scale, with numerous UC Merced employees people volunteering time to serve their communities. People like Pam Moody, who rescues and helps find homes for abandoned or neglected dogs and cats. Or Adam Miller, who coaches linemen on a football team for seventh- and eighth-graders. Or Mayya Tokman and Angelo Kyrilov – married professors who created a space that ignites children’s imaginations.
Inside UC Merced asked the campus community to share their “giving back” experiences. Those who responded, as you’ll see, represented an inspiring breadth of service. In future editions of Inside UC Merced we will take a closer look at some of these volunteers and the lives they touch.
Linda Chang
President, Merced Breakfast Lions Club
Serving selflessly requires a passion that is fulfilled by giving to others through actions you know will make a difference in their life. This is my motivation to serve with the wonderful members of the Merced Breakfast Lions Club.
Chang, a Merced native and 2016 graduate of UC Merced, added to a long resume of community service when she was installed as club president in June. Chang, who works as a help desk dispatcher with Facilities Management, leads the Lions Club in its numerous projects, such as food distribution, youth programs and public facility upgrades.
Mayya Tokman and Angelo Kyrilov
Founders, Kids Discovery Station
We opened Kids Discovery Station because as educators and Merced parents, we want all the children in our community to have more opportunities to be inspired, to find their passion, and to share the joy of discovery with their families.
– Mayya Tokman
In September 2021, Tokman and Kyrilov, professors of applied math and of computer science and engineering, respectively, opened Kids Discovery Station in Merced. It offers interactive exhibits and educational programs designed to spur curiosity and to inspire children to explore our diverse world. In its first year, the children’s museum hosted more than 18,500 young and grownup visitors, including more than 3,500 local schoolchildren who came to the museum on field trips.
Pam Moody
Animal rescue
I got pulled into rescue because of the overwhelming numbers of abandoned, stray and neglected cats and dogs in our region. The situation persists many years later, but it is gratifying to have helped hundreds of animals find loving homes.
Moody, a senior analyst in the Academic Personnel Office, helps find homes for abandoned cats and dogs in the Merced, Atwater and Modesto areas. She works with the Merced County Humane Society and Last Hope Cat Kingdom.
David Hambley in the title role of Merced Shakespearefest’s “Titus Andronicus.”
David Hambley
Local theater performer
Involvement in local theater productions is typically a time-consuming and effortful process, but very rewarding. It takes me into a creative process with many smart, imaginative, and warm-hearted fellow thespians, with the hope of providing an enriching experience for local audiences.
The role of Atticus Finch in Gallo Center’s production of “To Kill A Mockingbird” was the latest in a long line of stage appearances by Hambley, a lecturer in applied math. He performs for and serves on the board of Merced Shakespearefest and has trod the boards for Playhouse Merced and Prospect Theater Project.
Adam Miller
Youth football coach
After many years of begging my son to play a sport I could coach, this year he said he wanted to do football. I figured this would be a great way to help the kids and spend time with my boy. I enjoy helping motivate the players and they enjoy trying to take down the big coach.
Miller, the assistant director for conference and event services, coaches linemen for the Merced Bears Youth Football varsity team, a club squad of mostly seventh- and eighth-graders that include his son.
Tom Hothem instructs young riders at a bicycle safety event in Delhi.
Tom Hothem
Bicycling advocate
I volunteer to work alongside my Merced neighbors, many of them chronically underserved but all abundantly resilient, to promote healthy active transportation options in the city and county. It inspires me to be part of something positive, hopeful and immediately within our range of potential.
Two-wheeling is in Hothem’s blood. “I’m unsure I’ve ever held a job to which I didn’t cycle,” says the Merritt Writing Program lecturer and founding UC Merced faculty member. He is the education and outreach coordinator for the Merced Bicycle Coalition and recently served on the city of Merced’s Bicycling and Pedestrian Advisory Board.
Sam Yniguez
Fundraising bingo caller
Every parent wants their children to have a memorable school experience, and when the kids find something that interests them, like band, it’s important to do all you can to support it. Also, by the time kids reach high school they tend to want to be around their parents less. Being an active band booster has provided an opportunity to remain involved in my children’s lives throughout high school.
Golden Valley High School’s Band Boosters club provides support to the young musicians and color guard. The club meets regularly in the school’s cafeteria and hosts fund-raising bingo games. Club member Yniguez, UC Merced’s director of public relations, calls out the letters and numbers.
Amanda Preston-Nelson
Food bank support
We began the partnership to bring food to Collegeville families, as many of them are unable to get to the food bank themselves. I volunteer because, years ago, I was the child from the family who needed the help.
Every other week, Preston-Nelson, associate vice chancellor/controller for Business and Financial Services, goes to Collegeville Elementary in Stockton to help assemble hundreds of bags of goods for families in need. The Escalon Unified school partners with Second Harvest Food Bank to distribute the food.
Merced Girl Scout Troop leaders Kerry Clifford (top left) and Heather Devrick, along with their Scouting daughters (from left) May and Ann Clifford, and Penelope and Cordelia Devrick.
Several campus colleagues
Scouting
We have participated in community cleanups, collected canned food for People’s Pantry and performed flag ceremonies, among many other events. But really it’s about providing an outlet for youth to develop skills, perform service, make friends, and get outdoors and be healthy.
– David Gravano
My favorite lines of the Girl Scout Law are “make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.” We encourage our Scouts to build our community through service and take-action projects, and to build women and girls up, not to tear each other down.
– Heather Devrick
Merced Boy Scout troop leaders (back row, from left) Mary Guidone, Vanessa Hauser, Heather Whalen, David Gravano and their Scouting kids (from left), Noah Weil, Nolan Hauser, Seamus Whalen and Owen Gravano.
Several UC Merced employees work with Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops. David Gravano, ORED’s technical director of cytometry, is Cubmaster of Pack 96 in Merced, working alongside Vanessa Hauser, associate director of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Heather Devrick, a Merritt Writing Program lecturer, and Kerry Clifford, director of the Office of Institutional Assessments, direct Merced Girl Scout troops.
Other Scouting volunteers:
- Mary Guidone, lecturer, Literatures, Languages and Cultures
- Donna Jaramillo-Fellin, instructional laboratory coordinator, School of Natural Sciences
- Lisa Pollard Carlson, associate vice chancellor for Philanthropy and Strategic Partnerships
- Heather Whalen, nurse practitioner, Student Health Services
Chef Mitch Vanagten shows children at the Merced Boys & Girls Club safe way to slice vegetables.
Mitch Vanagten
Best practices with food
I've always believed in working for the common good. Whatever small role I can play by sharing my skillset as a chef to make a difference and positive impact in our community, I will.
Education about and through food is a passion for Vanagten, an executive chef with Dining Services. He teaches techniques in sustainable cooking and advocates for prevention of food waste. Recently, he conducted a class in healthy cooking for the Boys & Girls Club of Merced County in a program sponsored by Dole.
WHAT'S YOUR STORY?
Do you volunteer in your community (or know a campus colleague who does)? We would love to hear from you. Please contact Communications Specialist Jody Murray (smurray10@ucmerced.edu). We will collect new stories for future editions of Inside UC Merced.
want to volunteer?
Volunteering for Girl Scouts | Boy Scouts
Boys & Girls Club of Merced County
The Community Engagement Center provides opportunities for everyone on campus
Animal Rescue
