Extraordinary Paths: Celebrating the CCS Class of 2025
From children’s book authors and composers to parasite discoveries to cancer researchers, and aspiring space chemists, CCS grads are redefining what’s possible
The College of Creative Studies (CCS) Class of 2025 represents the spirit of exploration, innovation, and experiential learning that defines the College. These graduates have authored books, discovered species in new places, staged original plays, and led groundbreaking research before crossing the commencement stage. Below are just a few of the remarkable individuals whose work exemplifies the passion and brilliance of CCS.
Next-Generation Scientists & Technologists
Chinmay Dandekar ‘25 (CCS Mathematics; CCS Computing)
Chinmay fused his passion for math and computing to explore machine learning, the “brainpower” behind tools like Google Translate. His research focused on natural language processing and machine translation, earning him a Traveling Undergraduate Research Fellowship (TURF) grant and first-author credit on a paper accepted to Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP 2024), a top machine learning conference. He says CCS gave him the freedom to explore courses outside his major, helping him grow as a researcher and successfully transfer into UCSB’s competitive computer science program. This fall he’ll continue his machine learning work as he works toward his master’s at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Lun (Eric) Hao ’25 (CCS Biology)
Eric was selected as a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) COMPASS Fellow, leading a two-year capstone project on cancer cell stress signaling as part of a prestigious statewide stem cell research initiative. Eric has a passion for decoding how cells communicate and fail under stress, an understanding that may set the foundation for new cancer treatments in the future. His dedication led him to receive the Weinberg Summer Research Fellowship to conduct full-time research in the Max Wilson Lab, where he developed optogenetic tools and engineered synthetic ligands to study cell signaling. In addition, he presented at national conferences, contributed to two manuscripts in preparation, and will continue his research at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute, pursuing a master’s in Therapeutic Sciences with a focus on pancreatic cancer.
Aaron Huang ‘ 25 (CCS Physics)
Aaron spent his undergrad career investigating the intersection of physics and materials science. As a Department of Energy Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) intern, Aaron modeled the transport of impurity ions within a nuclear fusion device and contributed to a paper on fusion. With the support of the CCS Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and a Future Leaders in Advanced Materials (FLAM) internship through the UCSB Materials Research Lab, Aaron has spent the past three years studying the behavior and properties of polymers at the single-molecule level in the Omar Saleh Lab. He’ll now pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, where he’ll explore how physics principles can offer new insights into the biomedical realm.
Joseph Gott ’25 (CCS Chemistry & Biochemistry)
Joseph’s passion for chemistry could one day support astronauts and life itself beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The recent graduate is closing out his CCS experience with a first-author publication in ACS Electrochemistry and the prestigious American Chemical Society (ACS) Physical Chemistry Award for Undergraduates. At CCS, Joseph took full advantage of the program’s experiential learning opportunities, joining advanced lab groups early in his undergraduate journey. According to Joseph, this access and support helped launch his academic trajectory toward space-related chemical research. He’ll begin a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with long-term goals of contributing to life support systems and other chemical technologies in the space field.
Jaden Orli ’25 (CCS Biology)
While researching in UCSB’s Kuris Lab, Jaden and her team discovered something never before seen on the Pacific Coast: nicothoid copepods, a tiny parasite that invades crab egg masses and may pose a threat to commercial crab populations. Their groundbreaking work, currently under review in Ecology, documents this ecological shift and its potential impact on marine systems. Jaden is also a co-author on another paper under review in Nature and has earned numerous accolades, including Best Student Poster at the Southern Academy of Parasitologists, Best Student Presentation at the International Conference on Copepoda, and an Honorable Mention for Best Poster from the Western Society of Naturalists.
Narrative Artists in Bloom
Finlay Christensen ’25 (CCS Music Composition; L&S Political Science)
Finlay has composed and conducted at a professional scale while still an undergraduate, scoring multiple films, including one nominated for a College Emmy, and recording the largest full-orchestra score ever produced at UCSB. As Music Director of UCSB’s musical theater company, Shrunken Heads, he led two sold-out productions at Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall: Cabaret and Sweeney Todd. In 2025, he was the sole undergraduate selected for the LA Film Conducting Intensive at Warner Bros. Studios, joining graduate students and industry professionals from top conservatories. Finlay will spend the next year expanding his graduate portfolio by recording orchestral and choral works in Budapest and England before pursuing further study in film scoring and music direction.
Sonny Lata Yiu ’25 (CCS Art, Painting)
During their 2024 SURF, Sonny Lata Yiu wrote and illustrated A Home for Two, a children’s book that uses vibrant acrylic artwork to tell the story of twin siblings who create a world just for themselves—until they begin to outgrow it. Sonny is currently co-authoring and illustrating a second book. In addition to illustration, Sonny is a painter whose work explores themes of fairy tales, family, and Asian American identity. According to Sonny, the College’s small class sizes, faculty mentorship, and peer support provided the ideal environment for her growth as an artist. One of her pieces happens to be a portrait of the CCS building, painted in her signature bold, acrylic style. Inspired by a fisheye perspective her sister introduced her to, Sonny used a rounded shape to capture the building's unique character, reflecting the warmth and charm she feels when at CCS. The recent graduate’s CCS building painting can be found on the CCS website, flyers, and other materials.
Faith Isabel Talamantez ’25 (CCS Writing & Literature)
During her 2024-2025 M. Garren Tinney Writing Fellowship at UCSB, Faith wrote and staged "How to Say Bowl in Spanish," an original play performed at the Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara in May 2025. Set in San Diego during the 2016 US administration, the play follows Maria, a high school student navigating her mixed-race identity and the complexities of bicultural family life. Originally written as her CCS Capstone, Faith plans to bring the play to new audiences in San Diego. Prior to this, she played the role of Della Barrios in UCSB’s production of Zoot Suit, an experience that informed her writing process and helped shape the characters in her latest work. How to Say Bowl in Spanish gives voice to the personal side of a national conversation, shedding light on how politics, identity, and family intersect in everyday life.
Read more about Faith and How to Say Bowl in Spanish in The Santa Barbara Independent, May 22, 2025.
Allen Schultz ’25 (CCS Writing & Literature)
Allen made his mark as a Top 5 Finalist in the prestigious FinalDraft International Big Break Screenwriting Contest, a global competition that draws thousands of entries annually. His script, Camp Hoffman, follows Jesse Blum, a witty teen navigating the chaos of Jewish sleepaway camp: a will-they-won’t-they romance with the rabbi’s daughter, a fallout with his best friend, and a quirky crew of cabin mates guiding him through this strange new world. Beyond this, Allen has also brought his storytelling to the screen. His short film Disposable, which he co-directed and co-wrote with fellow UCSB students, was recently featured in the Overture Student Film Showcase. Set in a dystopian future shaped by surveillance and environmental collapse, the film explores the price of survival in a world that has discarded its humanity.
Meiya Sidney 陳美亞 ’25 (CCS Art)
Through clay, paper, and performance, Meiya’s art reflects on how we experience our bodies and their need for connection, regulation, and care. Her craft is influenced by her Taiwanese heritage and her family’s background in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The recent grad is a recipient of the 2024 Young Professionals at Risk (YPAR) Grant, a 2024 CCS Fang Fellow, and 2025 CCS Sara Sterphone Student Service award. In 2024, Meiya co-curated The Dragon, a multigenerational AAPI art exhibition funded by the Stop Asian Hate grant. She will apprentice with a master potter in Taiwan in the coming year while applying to artist residencies across Asia and the U.S. Her long-term goals: to build her craftsmanship skills, share knowledge through hands-on practice, and work towards establishing an international artists residency program in Taiwan that aims to sustain creative practices bridging continents and cultures.
Learn more about Meiya and her work in The Current, May 21, 2025.
Community-Driven Scholars
Daniel Naylor ‘25 (CCS Mathematics)
What started as curiosity grew into a passion for math and mentorship, leading Daniel to serve as internal vice president of Data Science UCSB, the largest STEM club on campus. In this role, he helped restructure the club’s project group series to better support students new to data science. He introduced workshops and weekly meetings that nearly doubled participant retention and personally led sessions such as “Intro to Data Preprocessing” and “Intro to Bayesian Statistics.” A 2024 CCS Aue Fellow, Daniel also conducted research in sports analytics through the SURF program, working towards developing a more flexible model for evaluating basketball players. He will begin a Ph.D. in statistics at UC Irvine this fall, continuing a long-standing tradition of sharing a “Thank Gnome It’s Friday” GIF each week across his communities.
Read more about Daniel in The Current, May 29, 2025.
Hayden Vega ’25 (CCS Marine Science)
Hayden made history as the first-ever graduate of CCS’s newest major, Marine Science—and he didn’t stop there. A first-generation student and Field-based Undergraduate Engagement through Research, Teaching, and Education (FUERTE) program participant, Hayden combined hands-on ecological research with a passion for science communication. He translated complex marine science into accessible insights with real-world applications, engaging local communities through education and citizen science initiatives. His research focused on coral reef health, with findings suggesting that coral-dwelling fish can enhance reef resilience and improve photosynthetic activity. After graduation, Hayden will also head to Tahiti to continue postbaccalaureate fieldwork with UCSB’s Ocean Recoveries Lab before applying to graduate programs. In addition, as a part of his science communication mission, Hayden will debut a permanent art and science exhibit opening at the Coal Oil Point Nature Center this Fall. According to the recent grad, the exhibit reflects the interdisciplinary spirit of CCS through its blend of art and science.
Learn more about Hayden and his work in The Current, June 12, 2025.
Zihang Xiao ‘25 (CCS Biology)
During his undergrad, Zihang focused on decoding how brains turn sensory input into action and helping peers learn how to do the same. Zihang pursued systems neuroscience by integrating coursework in biology, computer science, statistics, and electrical engineering. His research journey included studies on Drosophila–also known as small fruit flies–navigation using virtual reality systems and calcium imaging in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Faculty Sung Soo Kim’s lab, as well as work at Caltech on how sensory experience shapes olfactory behavior. Zihang also co-founded UCSB’s Quantitative Biology Club to help other students access tools and opportunities in computational biology. The idea for the club gained traction during the CCS All College meeting, in a conversation between Matthew Unger ’25 (CCS Biology), Griffin Kramer ’25 (CCS Biology), and Mounami Kayitha ’27 (CCS Biology). Zihang will begin a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Harvard this fall.
Read about CCS Commencement in The Current, June 9, 2025.
These students reflect the excellence and imagination of the CCS graduating class of 2025. The future is bright for our graduates and we look forward to the impact they are bound to have.