2018 Winners

Congratulations to the winners of UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam 2018!

The 2018 UCSC Grad Slam took place February 23, 2018, 5:30 p.m., at the Music Center Recital Hall.

Videos of presentations on our YouTube channel

Photo of Kimberley Kanani Bitterwolf, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam and People's Choice Award Winner

Champion, Winning $3000 & People’s Choice, Winning $750

Ocean Sciences Ph.D., 5th year
Decoding Earth’s Erratic History

Hometown: Lihue, Kauai, HI

Fun Fact Owns a Rottweiler-Husky dog named Pawesome

Photo of Nickolas Knightly, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam 2nd Place Winner

2nd Place, Winning $1500

Philosophy Ph.D., 5th year
A Better World Depends on Better Ways of Knowing

Hometown: San Francisco, CA

Fun Fact Some of his best friends are horses, who’ve taught him a lot about philosophy as a way of life


Photo of Tony Assi, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Digital Arts and New Media M.F.A., 2nd year
Gaze Painting

Hometown: San Diego, CA

Fun Fact Lead singer of a glam rock band called Psychic Astro Club

Photo of Stephan Bitterwolf, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Ocean Sciences Ph.D., 2nd year 
A Stress Test for Coral Reefs

Hometown: Water Island, U.S. Virgin Islands

Fun Fact Longest time to hold breath is three minutes

Photo of Eilin Francis, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Economics Ph.D., 5th year
Behaviorally Informed Payment Plans

Hometown: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Kerala, India

Fun Fact Trained in and performed classical Indian dance for ten years

Photo of Sharmistha Guha, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Statistics and Applied Mathematics Ph.D., 3rd year
Understanding Human Creativity with Brain Networks

Hometown Kolkata, India

Fun Fact Loves to travel and explore U.S. national parks, has been to several, next to Zion and Arches

Photo of Helen Holmlund, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Ph.D., 2nd year
Water Use Strategies in Ferns

Hometown Montara, CA

Fun Fact Has grapheme-color synesthesia, sees letters and numbers in color

Photo of Courtney Kersten, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Literature Ph.D., 2nd year
Locating Linda: A Biographical Exploration of a New Age Guru, Grief, and Healing

Hometown Eau Claire, WI 

Fun Fact Has lived abroad in Budapest, Hungary; Leiden, The Netherlands; and Riga, Latvia

Photo of Stephanie Montgomery, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

History Ph.D., 6th year
Gender, Criminality, and the Prison in China

Hometown Winnemucca, NV

Fun Fact Before 18 years of age had visited only one other U.S. state but has now lived in and traveled to more countries (13) than U.S. states (11)

Photo of Rebecca Ora, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Film and Digital Media Ph.D., 6th year
Pushing the Limits of Representation: Writing Transgressive Histories through Art

Hometown New York, NY, and Los Angeles, CA

Fun Fact After receiving a top award while getting her M.F.A., created her own annual award for risk-takers in the arts and established her own micronation, Pantasia, through a San Franciso art museum

Photo of Tiffany Thang, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Computational Media M.S., 1st year
Teaching Emotion Recognition Using Virtual Reality Games

Hometown San Jose, CA

Fun Fact Once went on a hike from UCSC through Pogonip Park and ended up at Costco

Photo of Talia Waltzer, 2018 UC Santa Cruz Grad Slam Finalist

Psychology Ph.D., 3rd year 
[citation needed] Why So Many Students Plagiarize

Hometown Edison, NJ

Fun Fact Favorite food is loved by some, despised by many, banned in many Asian places: Durian, King of Fruits!

Last modified: Dec 02, 2024