Advising

Dan Barnhart
Assistant Director of Colleges Advising
Pronouns: He/Him/His

About Me:
Greetings! My name is Dan and I’m the Lead Academic Preceptor for Crown & Merrill Colleges. I began my career in Higher Education working in Residential Life and have held positions in Admissions, Re-Entry, Financial Aid and Academic Advising, bringing me from California to Colorado and back to California again! When I’m not on campus working with our fabulous students and advisers, I enjoy playing Disc Golf, Rock Climbing, watching and discussing all things soccer/football and hiking with my partner and dog through the many trails and forests in Santa Cruz and the Bay Area. Come by and say hello!

Education:

B.A., in Philosophy, Sonoma State University

M.Ed in Student Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles

Alejandra Guzman Llamas
Academic Advisor
Pronouns: She/Her

About Me:
Greetings Slugs! I’m Alejandra, an academic advisor for Merrill College. I was born in Mexico and raised in Los Angeles, CA. I am a Dreamer and first-generation college student. In my role I help students identify and explore their interests and establish academic, personal, and career goals. Feel free to connect with me for questions or even to share how your quarter has been going. In my free time I like to go on outdoor runs, watch movies, and spend time with friends and family.

Education:

B.A., Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz

B.A., Spanish Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Caroline Wakaba Futamura
Academic Advisor
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

About Me:
An Ohio native, I followed my initial calling as a French professor (for over eleven years), teaching at Susquehanna University, Bennington College, Saint Anselm College, Georgetown University, and the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC). I later switched to the role of a Senior Academic Specialist at the DLIFLC to support students with acquiring skills and strategies to be successful learners. The culmination of my experiences as a professor, an advisor, and an academic specialist has brought me to UCSC, where I currently serve as a Merrill College Advisor. Dedicated to getting to know my students’ dreams and unique identities, I enjoy working closely with them in order to provide tailored and holistic mentoring as they pursue their personal, social, academic, and/or professional endeavors to ultimately become autonomous lifelong learners and global citizens. In my free time, I love to sketch, explore California’s coastline and redwood forests, take road trips, and spend time with family.

Education:

Ph.D., French Studies, Rice University

M.A., French, Middlebury College

A.B., Biology and French, Bowdoin College

Emilia Cline Arellano
EOP STEM Counselor

About Me:
My name is Emilia Cline Arellano and I serve as one of the EOP STEM Counselors & Academic Success Coach. My goal is to collaborate with students and empower them to pave their pathway to success. My counseling style focuses on the intersectionality of a student’s experience and use of that experience to identify the unique strengths that all students possess. A little about me, I was a first generation college student and a former EOP student. I received my B.A. at UC Santa Cruz in Sociology with a minor in Education. After working for several years at the Santa Cruz County Medical Society, I went back to school and received my M.A. in Education with a focus in K-12 and College Counseling from the University of Redlands. I have been working with students across California in a variety of different settings from teaching nutrition education in K-12 schools to serving as a School Counselor to support mental wellness