Engineering a Sustainable Future

“It was the best decision I could have made.”

When Clarissa Treviño reflects on her journey at MiraCosta College, she sees a narrative of grit, intentionality, and a lifelong mission to protect the environment. Today, as a student at UC Merced, she is no longer just dreaming about the future, she is building it.

Clarissa’s academic path began amidst significant personal challenges. As a 2021 graduate of El Camino High School, she navigated the college application process largely on her own while simultaneously preparing for a series of complex medical procedures. During her four years at MiraCosta, Clarissa underwent six surgeries.

Rather than stepping away from her education, Clarissa adapted. She transitioned to part-time status when necessary, refusing to let her medical obstacles halt her progress in heavy STEM courses like chemistry and calculus. “Instead of just stopping entirely, I kept pushing, little by little,” she recalls. “I’m so thankful that my younger self at community college made so much effort to continue pushing, because now that I’m here, I can just flourish.”

At MiraCosta, Clarissa found a home in the PUENTE program, where she served on the Puente Club's executive board. This experience allowed her to build a strong foundation of leadership, service learning, and professional communication.

While she excelled in 3D modeling and SolidWorks classes at MiraCosta, her acceptance into the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Undergraduate Research Program at the University of San Diego (USD) bridged the gap between classroom theory and professional practice. Working independently in a lab, she conducted research on fuel cells to develop more sustainable alternatives to lithium batteries.

“It definitely helped me build a lot of leadership and independence,” Clarissa shared. “I did make mistakes, but being able to see those mistakes, understand why I made them, and work past them definitely shaped me into who I am today.”

Now at UC Merced, Clarissa is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a new emphasis in Aerospace. While her main passion remains renewable energy, her interest in aviation has inspired a desire to research how to make airplanes more sustainable and reduce their carbon emissions.

The transition to UC Merced was a cultural adjustment—swapping the San Diego coast for a campus surrounded by farmland, almond trees, and even the occasional cow—but Clarissa found the "homey" atmosphere and inclusive student involvement to be the perfect fit. She is currently a member of the robotics team, where she helps build BattleBots, an experience she never thought possible.

Clarissa’s motivation remains rooted in a childhood memory of watching news coverage of a massive oil spill. That moment sparked a deep-seated need to find solutions for environmental disasters.

“My goal is to give my community the energy that we need while doing it in a sustainable way that doesn’t impact our environment too much,” Clarissa says. “That’s what I keep doing to keep pushing forward, meeting our needs without causing too much damage to the environment.”

Looking toward an expected graduation in the fall of 2027, Clarissa is already living out the goals she once set for herself. Her advice to current MiraCosta students is simple: push yourself to join clubs, apply for those competitive research programs, and keep moving forward, regardless of the pace.

“To realize that I’m actually my future self now is crazy,” she beams. “I’m doing everything I told myself I would do in the future.”