Yonathan's journey to UC Santa Cruz was a combination of opportunity and hard work. He had his first introduction to UC Santa Cruz while staying on campus for a week in eighth grade as part of UC's EAOP (Early Academic Outreach Program). Later, he enrolled in the Middle College Program, an accelerated high school program in which he took college courses at San Jose City College while still enrolled in high school. While in that program, he learned about the Pister scholarship.* He applied and won.

Yonathan enthusiastically praises the supportive community at UC Santa Cruz: "The people here are honest and open. Everybody helps each other, and if you have something you need to talk about, it's never hard to find someone to talk to. Everybody shows their love."

However, for new transfer students, he warns that the quarter system goes fast: "There is lots of reading to do, and you had better keep up because the classes are based on the reading that you do beforehand." After graduating, Yonathan plans to attend medical school or graduate school in a science field.

Yonathan is also an active volunteer. One project that is particularly close to his heart is a screening that he arranged of a film about child soldiers in Uganda: "These children's conditions are very bad--there are 12- or 13-year-old children in Uganda with guns in their hands. It's a big problem, but I hope that if we create awareness of it here, people will be motivated to do something about it."

Yonathan is pictured on a footbridge near his dorm in College Nine.

*For more information about the Karl S. Pister Leadership Opportunity Awards, please see page 23 of the Transfer Viewbook.