Community Partners

Northern California Chapter

Corporate sponsorship creates a mutually beneficial relationship, as students receive local corporate support for their education and, in turn, join the skilled workforce that companies need to succeed in an increasingly competitive global environment.

ARCS® Foundation Northern California Chapter ("ARCS NCC") welcomes the support of many Northern California businesses and corporations in underwriting ARCS Foundation Scholar Awards.

2021-2022 Scholar Awards Campaign

The 2021-2022 ARCS NCC Scholar Awards Campaign goal is to distribute at least $1 million in awards to outstanding graduate students pursuing studies in the sciences, technology, engineering, math, and medical research at San Francisco State University, Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley, Davis, San Francisco (UCSF), and Santa Cruz. ARCS NCC plans to achieve this goal by fundraising from its members, individual non-members, foundations and corporations.

Scholar Awards Campaign 2021-2022 began on July 1, 2021, the start of the ARCS fiscal year, and will continue through June 30, 2022. The Chapter will disburse all Scholar Awards Campaign funds raised during its fiscal year to its recipient universities, to be awarded to selected scholars in approved departments for the 2022-23 academic year.

Designated (Named) Awards

Designated awards may be given in the name of a specific individual, corporation or organization. The minimum donation amount for a named scholar is $10,000. Individual scholars are matched with donors and recognition takes place at the annual Scholar Awards Celebration. ARCS Foundation NCC does its best to accommodate specific donor requests with regard to university and field of interest.

2021-2022 Scholar Awards Campaign Levels and Benefits

Magna Cum Laude Level - $20,000
All Benefits of Cum Laude level with:
-A two-year named Scholar Award OR two one-year named Scholar Awards
*Named scholar listed as the “A-B-C (Corporation)” Scholar

Cum Laude Level - $10,000
All benefits of With Distinction level with:
-One-year named Scholar Award
*Named scholar listed as the “A-B-C (Corporation)” Scholar

With Distinction Level - $5,000
-Shared one-year named Scholar Award
*Shared named scholar listed with both $5,000 funders together, as the “A-B-C (Corporation) Scholar” and “X-Y-Z (Corporation) Scholar”
-Two guests seated with your scholar at the Scholar Awards Celebration
-Name visually displayed during introduction of scholars at the Scholar Awards Celebration
-Name listed in 2021-2022 Annual Report

Direct Impact: A named A-B-C Corporation scholar will underscore the importance of supporting science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical research in a time of great need. 100% of donations to the Scholar Awards Fund go directly to selected ARCS Scholars. Donations need to be received or pledged no later than June 30, 2022.

Jeremiah Tsyporin, University of California, Santa Cruz
“As I enter the final year of my PhD, I am beginning to look for mentors to oversee my post-doctoral training. One of the significant ways I can find a mentor is through the networking opportunities offered at conferences. Without this generous support, these opportunities to share my work with the greater neuroscience community would have been impossible for me. In addition to attending conferences and connecting with neuroscientists worldwide, support from ARCS has helped ease the economic burdens associated with the cost of living in Santa Cruz. Because I don’t have to focus so heavily on dealing with basic needs, I have the freedom to spend more time and mental energy focused on research and intellectual pursuits central to a successful PhD.”
Rachelle Stark, University of California, Berkeley
“I grew up in a low-income community in San Bernardino, California where I directly saw the harsh reality of how diet contributes to many diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc.). These preventable diseases tragically took the lives of many people in my community. For these reasons, doing research related to nutrition/metabolism is extremely important and fulfilling to me. The [ARCS Award] gives me more options for labs because I will not have to rely on the funding of the lab I choose and can instead choose a lab purely based on my research interests. The funding will also give me more time to work on the research that I find so important and fulfilling.”
Katherine Montana, San Francisco State University
“I will be pursuing my master’s degree in integrative biology at San Francisco State University and conducting my research at the California Academy of Sciences. I am thrilled to get started on my research and mentoring projects. … This combination of research activities will offer me the opportunity to build my technical lab skills, storytelling abilities, and capacity to help other students succeed in science. ... I am deeply honored to receive the [ARCS Award] and take great joy in starting graduate school. I thank you for making this possible for me. I am ready to get to work.”
Micah Swann, University of California, Davis
“I’m conducting applied limnological research on the pristine lakes of Northern Patagonia, in collaboration with Fundación Chile Lagos Limpios. This model will be used to investigate how the physics and water quality of these pristine lakes wi1l be impacted by climate change and watershed development over the course of the 21st century. In September 2019, I had my first opportunity to visit Northern Patagonia … but due to Covid-19 safety and travel restrictions, I have not had the opportunity to return to Chile. With your financial support, I will be able to return to the region in January 2022 and continue collecting data to improve the accuracy of the lake model under development.”
Julie Chang, Stanford University
“The ARCS Award will allow me to focus on my PhD studies without worrying about finances. My research focuses on understanding the physics of breast cancer cell migration using 3D hydrogels and time-lapse imaging. The PhD journey itself has been a rollercoaster and I’m excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! After my PhD, I am hoping to land a role as a clinical scientist in the biotech industry in the Bay Area. In this role, I can help analyze and interpret clinical trial data to develop drugs that can cure human diseases. Thank you again for the ARCS award—funding the next generation of scientific thinkers is truly an impactful mission!”
Nicholas Elder, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
“I am grateful to earn my degree at UCSF which is world-renowned for its stem cell research. Likewise, it has been a pleasure to be supported by the ARCS Foundation and wider community. Research is a costly endeavor and being awarded this fellowship has given me the time and space to focus on impactful research while also sharing it with an interested group of donors and other scholars. The fellowship has also been a reassurance. This fall, my supervisor announced that he was leaving academia for an industry position. As I searched for a new supervisor and lab in which to complete my research, I knew that I had financial support to ease my transition.”