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The UC Santa Cruz story is one built on courage—the courage to be different, to question the accepted, and dare to make the world a better place. And it shows.
07/14/2026
A team of scientists, including one at UC Santa Cruz, used NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellites to see how penguin p**p across all of Antarctica changed colors over time. Why? To find out if shrinking ice caused by global warming is changing what these tuxedo-patterned seabirds eat.
Over a 30-year period, they found that Adélie penguins living in locations with more ice ate more fish, and the ones living where there was less ice consumed more krill—a tiny, less nourishing crustacean that whales eat tons of. Fish makes penguin p**p lighter, while krill makes it darker in color. And those that ate more krill than fish tended to belong to colonies in decline.
As Antarctic sea ice continues to face large-scale declines, these novel data models will be critical for tracking remote ecosystems and shaping global conservation strategies in the years ahead.
📸 Image descriptions:
1- Adélie penguins on a rocky Antarctic shore with sea ice in the background.
2- An adult Adélie penguin feeding two chicks.
3- Casey Youngflesh spreading out guano samples in preparation for analysis.
4- Penguin colony with a drone view.
Experiential Learning through internships are the bedrock of gaining career readiness experience while in school. The problem? Many internships in the non-profit, government, and start-up sectors offer incredible, hands-on experience—but they remain unpaid or low paying. This financial barrier shuts out talented students who simply can't afford to work for free.
That’s where the Transforming Futures program comes in. This scholarship provides up to $8k to social sciences majors pursuing summer internships in social and environmental change work. This program, sponsored by the UC Santa Cruz Institute for Social Transformation, enables students like Leah Murray, an intern at Sprout Up, to get hands-on experience in the classroom, while making a positive difference in the lives of young students.
First-gen, low-income, and system-impacted students gain real-world knowledge that benefits their communities and forever changes the trajectory of their careers. Alums go on to secure full-time employment after graduation, getting more interviews and job offers than their peers.
Supporting this program means inspiring change by investing in the future of our diverse workforce. Every dollar directly impacts a student in need. Visit giving.ucsc.edu to learn more and give today!
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