Meet Our Students

In our global, technology-driven culture, STEM is more important than ever. STEM drives economic growth and innovation and pervades every aspect of our lives making it an exciting, rewarding and in-demand career option. Through our various programs, we help high-potential, low-resource students develop the skills and knowledge they need to pursue a promising career in STEM.

The Base 11 “Victory Circle” is achieved by completing a Base 11 program, which prepare students for STEM success at a four-year university, at a major corporation, or as an entrepreneur.

MEET Base 11’s VICTORY CIRCLE MEMBERS

Victoria Ignacio

College:

Program:

Quote:

Shukerrah Palmer

College:

Program:

Quote:

Patrick Saade

College:

Program:

Quote:

Nhi Pham

College:

Program:

Quote:

Melissa de la Cruz

College:

Program:

Quote: The most significant thing I have learned is working independently. I also learned to be more open to help when I need it the most.

Lance Santos

College:

Program:

Quote: The most significant thing I gained from the experience is how to program in Python and how to use these programming skills onto the Raspberry Pi to function the PiCar.

Kenneth Casimiro

College:

Program:

Quote: The most significant thing that I gained from my Base 11 internship experience is self-confidence. I always had terrible public speaking skills. But, when I finished this program and gave my final presentation, my presentation skills, communication, and delivery felt natural. I felt like I progressed so much in my communication skills that this experience will be beneficial towards every aspect of my life.

Kelvin Martinez

College:

Program:

Transferred to: CSU Northridge

Quote: I definitely see myself applying for graduate study program through a PhD or Masters program, or possible both. Thanks to this internship I feel like i gained all needed resources to feel fully prepared to work on my application.

Justin Hong

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Georgia Institute of Technology

Quote: The most significant thing I learned from base 11 was problem-solving ability. For STEM majors, the problem-solving ability is base on everything you do. By doing the base 11 internships, I had the opportunity to meet the peers and mentors going through problems together. Working together with the peers and the mentors taught me how to work as a team. We used the collective intelligence which saved time and helped us find more efficient ways to solve to problem. I learned how to ask for help, trying various ways to share ideas, communicating with the mentors and teammates, searching on the internet, and be patient. Since I'm a computer science major, even making a simple project lots of error occurs. So I learned how important it is to be patient and try step by step to troubleshoot the problems. This makes me feel I got a step closer to being a developer.

Jacqueline Castellanos

College:

Program:

Quote: I now see myself being accepted into the university of my dreams.

Cynthia Roman

College:

Program:

Quote:

Thu Le

College:

Program:

Quote:

Shari Salas

College:

Program:

Quote:

Sarah Catania Orozco

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Irvine

Quote:

Roomina Esmaeili

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly Pomona

Quote: Besides all the experiments and knowledge that I gained during this program, I learned that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life and now I know my goals better.

Robert Villanueva

College:

Program:

Quote:

Radoslav Iliev

College:

Program:

Quote:

Mehdi Houasse

College:

Program:

Quote:

Kenneth Garcia

College:

Program:

Quote:

Jose Valdivia

College:

Program:

Quote:

Jonn Luizze Cruz

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly Pomona

Quote: After the internship, I can possibly see myself going to a graduate school few years after I complete my bachelors. Because of the skills that I have learned in this internship, I can also see myself having a better opportunities to have an internship or a job in the aerospace industry.

Johnny Huynh

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Quote:

John Ho

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Georgia Institute of Technology

Quote: I learned that every goal is reachable with enough time and persistence. By receiving mentorship from Caltech graduates and faculty, I was able to see how much effort they put into their research to achieve successful results.

Jamie Alvarez

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly Pomona

Quote:

James Davis

College:

Program:

Transferred to: CSU Long Beach

Quote:

Jacqueline Kim

College:

Program:

Quote:

Hristina Kostadinova

College:

Program:

Quote:

David Najaryan

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly Pomona

Quote: I learned the importance of working in a team, time management, and how important research is to the world. I am now interested in doing research for my future and even pursuing a degree above Master's.

Brittney Garcia

College:

Program:

Quote:

Armen Aroutiounian

College:

Program:

Quote:

Alexis Flores

College:

Program:

Quote:

Abner Espinoza

College:

Program:

Quote:

Aaron Gonzalez

College:

Program:

Transferred to: CSU Long Beach

Quote: The most significant thing I gained from my Base 11 experience is motivation to keep learning as much as possible and to get to the highest level possible. Whether that is in the schools I go to in the future, the work that I do in and out of the classroom, or the jobs I obtain after school.

Alexis Diaz

College:

Program:

Quote:

Ariana Hernandez

College:

Program:

Quote:

Ixchal Gonzalez

College:

Program:

Quote:

Prakriti Pradhan

College:

Program:

Quote:

Natasha Turner

College:

Program:

Quote:

Gabriel Goch

College:

Program:

Quote:

Daniela Davalos

College:

Program:

Quote:

Vicente Presilla

College:

Program:

Quote:

Rachel Devlin

College:

Program:

Quote:

Dante Tejada

College:

Program:

Quote:

Brenda Evaristo

College:

Program:

Quote:

Horacio Iturriaga

College:

Program:

Quote:

Valeria Villa

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UCLA

Quote:

Michael Allotey

College:

Program:

Transferred to: CSU Long Beach

Quote:

Nallely Lopez

College:

Program:

Transferred to: CSU Long Beach

Quote:

Katia Luis-Diaz

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Quote:

Supattarasorn Income

College:

Program:

Quote:

Navid Nassiri

College:

Program:

Quote:

Maria Zyryanova

College:

Program:

Quote:

Marco Krause

College:

Program:

Quote:

Tania Ramirez

College:

Program:

Quote:

Natan Benchimol

College:

Program:

Transferred to: USC

Quote:

Yunsheng Duan

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Irvine

Quote:

Oscar Espinoza

College:

Program:

Transferred to: CSU Long Beach

Quote:

Fernando Bello

College:

Program:

Transferred to: CSU Long Beach

Quote:

Kai Chin Huang

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Quote:

Jesse Torres

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly Pomona

Quote:

Daehyun Jung

College:

Program:

Quote:

Abibou Mbodji

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of Houston

Quote:

Jiajun Wu

College:

Program:

Quote:

Aisjah Forte

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Visa apprenticeship

Quote:

Michelle Rose Panameno

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal State Long Beach

Quote:

Moises Ortiz

College:

Program:

Quote:

Daniel Yos

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal State Long Beach

Quote: "I first started to learn what Base 11 was all about through the Innovation Center. The space has pretty much everything you can ask for: a small CNC, 3D printers, a soldering station, and a lot of CAD software (like Solidworks)."

Justin Oshiro

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC San Diego

Quote:

Karen Chen

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Berkeley

Quote:

Marlyn Diaz

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly Pomona

Quote:

Maxim Dembow

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Santa Cruz

Quote:

Nhut Nguyen

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Berkeley

Quote:

Ruhang Ma

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Berkeley

Quote:

Nathan Sam

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Quote: "The fellowship taught me subjects that I originally wasn’t able to do, from learning how to work independently to having the courage to conduct a technical presentation to the team and the general public."

Trey Weber

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UCLA

Quote:

Lucky Kanyi

College:

Program:

Quote:

Linfeng Li

College:

Program:

Quote:

Keivan Karimi Hashjin

College:

Program:

Quote:

Jeffrey Vazquez

College:

Program:

Quote: No one in my close or extended family has gone into STEM before, so having the opportunity to speak with and learn more about the different journeys that all of the Graduate Students took to be where they are was by far the most significant thing I gained from my internship experience.

Jacky Li

College:

Program:

Quote:

Hang Qi

College:

Program:

Quote:

Elizabeth Juette

College:

Program:

Quote:

Elisa Shebaro

College:

Program:

Quote:

Ebony Warren

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC San Diego

Quote: I feel like I have gained a number of real-world skills that will help me in future projects, like how to time manage, learn new skills, and go with the flow when I don't understand.

Dharshan Vishwanatha

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC San Diego

Quote:

Brad Villacis

College:

Program:

Quote: I learned a lot of technical skills that have already helped me jump-start my career. I had access to an opportunity that I would not have traded for the world. I see that I not only enjoy what I do, I can be successful in my work.

Ari Niknia

College:

Program:

Quote:

Allen Malfavon

College:

Program:

Quote: The internship made me aware of the application of certain hard skills (e.g., coding, writing professional reports, etc) that are highly valuable in the workforce. Of course, the internship also fostered development of soft skills such as presenting and engaging with members already in industry, which are equally important. I learned about the importance of developing relevant work experience and extending networks with those who are doing what we want to do in the future. I have greater confidence now in my own abilities to achieve a academically and earn positions at reputable engineering firms because I met individuals who have done exactly that. It's important to know that your role-models were once like yourself; they went out and earned to get to where they are! I would want colleges and future employers to be convinced of my potential to grow their brand because of a demonstrated interest and success in internships related to the discipline. Base 11 and the Aerospace Mentorship Program at Caltech are heavy-hitting opportunities in building my experience and getting that much closer to my goals.

Alan Tagle

College:

Program:

Quote:

College:

Program:

Quote:

David Norris

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Los Angeles

Quote: “I gained access to the faculty and resources at Caltech. They helped me tremendously over the summer, showing me what's available beyond undergrad and offering their continued support along the way.”

Uchenna Nwaege

College:

Program:

Quote:

Xavier Tan

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, San Diego

Quote:

Walberto Lozano

College:

Program:

Quote:

Sergio Sandoval

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Irvine

Quote:

Rafael Rosales

College:

Program:

Transferred to: USC

Quote: “As a minority growing up with social barriers, I have always felt one step behind the competition in my pursuit of higher education. Now, after having completed my research internship through Base 11, I am confident that I will be a competitive candidate in the application process when I apply to many universities this fall of 2018.”

Mario Acuña

College:

Program:

Quote:

Keri Elizabeth Berger

College:

Program:

Quote:

Justin Buhay

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Davis

Quote:

Edgar Macias

College:

Program:

Transferred to: California Polytechnic State University, Pomona

Quote:

Derek Russell

College:

Program:

Quote:

Carlos Acuña

College:

Program:

Quote:

Tehreem Ahsan Raza

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly Pomona

Quote:

Serli Alexandi

College:

Program:

Transferred to: USC

Quote: "In terms of academics, the amount of knowledge I obtained during the program is equivalent to years of work experience, and classroom lectures, which I value so much and grateful for."

Demarcus Sales

College:

Program:

Quote:

John Rogers

College:

Program:

Quote:

Iris Ahn Mecartney

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Berkeley

Quote:

Kasia Sayles

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Santa Cruz

Quote: “I am interested in Software Engineering. I have just always loved working with computers and love the idea of an industry where I will constantly be learning new things. I learned how to work on a team to effectively finish a project.”

Daniel Amar

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, San Diego

Quote:

Aphiffany Sailors

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Visa apprenticeship

Quote:

Don Johnson

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Ellie Mae apprenticeship

Quote:

Divon Pleasant

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Ellie Mae apprenticeship

Quote:

Gerald Okorie

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Ellie Mae apprenticeship

Quote:

Julian Frazier

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Ellie Mae apprenticeship

Quote:

Kaia Journiette

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Ellie Mae apprenticeship

Quote:

Aharon Herbert

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Visa apprenticeship

Quote:

Jackie Smith III

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Ellie Mae apprenticeship

Quote:

Sheyenne Rowel

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Visa apprenticeship

Quote:

Xavier Patton

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Visa apprenticeship

Quote:

Shaquille Cooper

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Ellie Mae apprenticeship

Quote:

Wai Oo

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Irvine

Quote: “I gained hands-on skills in assembling, disassembling and mounting the engines, and this is extremely valuable as we rarely get this type of experience in the traditional classroom.”

Alejandro Stefan

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Berkeley

Quote: "I could fill out essays with the lessons I learned this Summer. That being said, if I had to single out one thing, it'd be the ability to operate under uncertainty: I spent the Summer working on problems that had no solution, and running into difficulties that only made sense in hindsight. My mentors showed me the real world. It was merciless; it was daunting; it was the scariest Summer I've had to date -- and it was the best.”

Mikaela Quintos

College:

Program:

Transferred to: CSU San Jose

Quote: “I am pursuing electrical engineering and hope to work with medical devices as a career. I believe this fellowship gave me a good "foot in the door" in doing more internships in the future."

Breanna Allen

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of Michigan Dearborn

Quote: “I am interested in pursuing a career as an aerospace engineer at NASA. For as long as I can remember i've had an intense passion for the sciences of the earth, the universe, how they interact with one another. A job at NASA deals with exactly this and I see myself no where else in life.”

Lawrence Lawson

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Santa Cruz

Quote:

Iliana Douraghi

College:

Program:

Transferred to: San Diego State University

Quote: "Not only did I learn about all the thought processes that goes into game level design and development, but I was also to gain the experience of what it's like to be in a lead engineering position for a company."

Tiffany Streitenberger

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC San Diego

Quote: "The experience redefined the concept of gaming and helped by giving me a taste of what game development can be. By sitting in the lectures, I saw different aspects of gaming where programming and graphics came together. I got to witness firsthand how virtual reality works as well as the construction of mobile games. I see numerous opportunities that I can explore in the vast world of game development"

Eduardo Jáuregui Gutierrez

College:

Program:

Quote: “What I liked most about the class is definitely how dynamic and participatory it is. We all have different points of view, either from our experiences, background or theories, and this makes the class more interesting.”

Noel Lam

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC San Diego

Quote:

Maria Hernandez

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UCLA

Quote: “This experience gave me more confidence. I never felt like I was that at the same level as everyone else, but now I feel like I’m on the same playing field.”

Tamara Mmbuka

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UCLA

Quote: “My biggest takeaway from the program has to be self-advocacy. … That is life changing for me.”

Brooke Healey

College:

Program:

Quote:

Cody Morrin

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Columbia University

Quote: “I definitely see myself going into the computer science realm now. I didn’t have that much experience in it before, but now I have experience coding in Python.”

David Jung

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal Poly Pomona

Quote: "What this program did was really get me to express my creative side. I can bring whatever I imagine to life on a 3D printer.”

Guowei Yang

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Berkeley

Quote: “After doing this program, I confirmed that I love doing electrical engineering.”

David Tran

College:

Program:

Quote: “This program helped land me a job as a CNC technician.”

Juan Moises Villalobos

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Cal State Fullerton

Quote: “The most important thing I learned this experience is been able to develop own business plan and sales pitch.” “From the academic year round program it was getting hand on experience.”

Robert Alsobrook

College:

Program:

Quote: “I’m already a small business owner, but the Base 11 program allowed me to expand my business and file patents for my innovation.” “My commute to get to the program was about 4 hours round trip, and every minute of the drive was worth it.”

Gabriella Dean

College:

Program:

Transferred to: USC

Quote: “If you want to specialize, you can come here and get introduced to different specializations. This gave me the bigger picture.”

Edward Diep

College:

Program:

Quote: “Doing this program has been an exploration for me. I’m getting things that I can apply to any discipline.”

Nathan Ngoy

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UC Berkeley

Quote:

Jason Dial

College:

Program:

Quote: "The exposure to world-class graduate level research has convinced me that I would like to pursue that as more than just a practicality. As a physics major, a graduate degree is an obvious benefit, but now the path itself is something I have much more direct interest in, instead of just the destination afterward."

Alfonso Mares

College:

Program:

Transferred to: California State University, Los Angeles

Quote: “This is a great opportunity to network, make friends, and meet mentors.”

“Base 11 has empowered me to pursue higher education in Computer Science beyond a 2-year community college degree.” - Paul Grad III

Robert O’Leary

College:

Program:

Transferred to: San Francisco State University

Quote: "Bryan and I came here not knowing a thing about engines, and based off this assignment, learned a lot and developed a tremendous amount as engineers.”

Salwan Alhani

College:

Program:

Transferred to: UCLA

Quote: “There are many, many rewarding aspects.”

“Thanks to this experience, I feel more confident and prepared for pursuing my bachelor’s degree at a four-year university" Thong Vo

Huda Sedaki

Huda Sedaki

College:

Program:

Transferred to: Wayne State

Quote: “This internship really enriched my resume …. This was a positive experience, to be a woman in an engineering internship.”

Hugo Villafana

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of Southern California - USC

Quote: “This experience helped me confirm that I’m on the right track, and I am definitely doing my passion. This experience motivated me more to want to get my master’s degree and a Ph.D. related to propulsion.”

Francisco Gomez

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Irvine - UCI

Quote: “The program sparked my curiosity for research. It’s more plausible now for me to go to grad school.”

Paul Grad III

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Irvine

Quote: “Base 11 has empowered me to pursue higher education in Computer Science beyond a 2-year community college degree.”

Fakhirah Khairuddin

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, San Diego

Quote: “Engineering is mostly based on experience, not books. We built this [drone] by 80% experience and 20% book. The experiences of flying something we built is unforgettable.”

Sebastian Rodriguez

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Irvine

Quote: “The most important thing I’ve learned in this program is perseverance… it takes a lot of perseverance to be a researcher”

Bryan Num

College:

Program:

Transferred to: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Quote: “I’ve been exposed to an actual working environment, outside of a classroom. Something you can’t get from schooling. “

Alina Rai

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Berkeley

Quote: “I’ve never been this independent before…. Here at Caltech, I’m given that opportunity to think, process, and progress on my own. I’ve felt more empowered as a woman in a STEM field….”

Philip Chan

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Riverside

Quote: “I strongly believe everything I learned over the summer such as technical skills, teamwork and soft skills allowed me to be more prepare to be successful at UCR.”

Nicholas Mejia

College:

Program:

Quote: “The hands on experimentation was fun, interesting, and gratifying. As I worked more with Base 11 I realized more and more that they really want to try to help STEM students and were dedicated to doing so.”

Thong Vo

College:

Program:

Transferred to: University of California, Berkeley

Quote: “Thanks to this experience, I feel more confident and prepared for pursuing my bachelor’s degree at a four-year university, as well as going further.”

Alex Hercules