Undergraduate Mentors
HAVC mentors are experienced HAVC majors who are available to share their valuable knowledge as well as help their peers feel more connected to the department. They can offer guidance on courses, faculty, areas of study, and ways to get involved. Mentors are available via email and attend as many HAVC events as their schedule allows. Please say hi if you see them in your classes! Mentors also serve as members of the Chair’s Student Advisory Board, and in this capacity have the opportunity to share their perspective and feedback with the department chair at quarterly meetings.
HAVC student representatives are also mentors, but go beyond that role by serving as an important channel of communication between the department and the HAVC student community. The two student representatives meet weekly with the HAVC undergraduate advisor, manage our social media (follow us on Instagram!), facilitate student outreach, and help to develop and plan events.
Mariam Cissé
Mariam Cissé is a fourth-year HAVC student with a concentration in Curation, Heritage, and Museums. Her interests lie beyond traditional art history into design, creative strategy, and the ways visual culture shapes how we experience the world. She is especially drawn to exhibition design, public art, and creative projects that foster connection within communities. Mariam is passionate about exploring how art and design intersect with communication to create engaging, inclusive, and transformative experiences. She also has a strong interest in architecture and urban design. Outside of her academic work, Mariam works as a gallery attendant for the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery. Feel free to reach out and chat with her about any of these topics if interested, or of course, the HAVC Department, courses and professors, and general college life.
Email: mcisse@ucsc.edu
Charmaine Griffin
Charmaine is a fourth-year student from Fairfield, California. She is majoring in HAVC with a concentration in Curation, Heritage, and Museums and minoring in Literature. She is particularly interested in the regions of the Pacific Islands and Oceania and propagandist art in South East and East Asia. Outside of the classroom Charmaine enjoys drawing, reading, working out, watching sports, and anything outdoors, especially with friends! Feel free to reach out and chat about interesting classes, the college experience as a HAVC student, and events on and off campus!
Email: chmgriff@ucsc.edu
Sophie Hume
Sophie is a fourth-year student from Sacramento, California. She is majoring in HAVC with a concentration in Curation, Heritage, and Museums and minoring in Film and Digital Media. She is particularly interested in feminist modern art and film, as well as theoretical practices relating to architecture and museum spaces. She loves knitting, biking, and anything art-related. Sophie has studied in Spain & Morocco and will be abroad again this spring before graduating. If you have any questions related to global learning, having a minor, or just want to chat, feel free to email her!
Email: shume@ucsc.edu
Kaitlin Hurd
Kaitlin is a fourth-year HAVC major from San Diego, CA. She is interested in Asian art, as well as bookmaking, sculpture, and textile. Social justice, feminism, and anti-imperialism are also important areas of study, as well as astronomy, music, and coding. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, making music, playing with her cats, and drinking large amounts of coffee! Reach out to her about anything (especially books and bookmaking)!
Email: kahurd@ucsc.edu
Grace Reynolds
Grace is a fourth-year student from Los Feliz, L.A. She is double-majoring in Studio Art and HAVC (Curation, Heritage, and Museum concentration). She especially loves photography and printmaking and is a huge fan of the artist Corita Kent, an activist and former teacher at Grace’s alma mater, Immaculate Heart High School. Grace traveled abroad to Japan over the summer in 2024 to study Ukiyo-e and Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock printmaking). She hopes to explore a career in art conservation… once she conquers organic chemistry. She is a Resident Assistant at the Porter Apartments and is a signer for Chinquapin Literary Magazine. Outside of school, Grace loves to crochet, play guitar, try new foods, go to baseball games, and document her friends and adventures. Feel free to reach out with any questions, HAVC or not!
Grace is also a HAVC student representative!
Email: glreynol@ucsc.edu
Lucy Twohey-Jacobs
Lucy (she/her) is a fourth-year double major in History of Art and Visual Culture and Studio Art. She is studying in the Curation, Heritage, and Museums Concentration and has a personal focus in feminist photography and performance art. Lucy is a student intern at the Eloise PIckard Smith Gallery in Cowell College where she has gained experience in exhibition development, curation, and art installation. She hopes to pursue a career in contemporary art curation and alternative art and community spaces. Outside of school, Lucy enjoys the Santa Cruz music scene, sewing and knitting, and hanging out with friends! Please feel free to reach out via email or social media (@heart1ucy) if you have any questions or need any advice from a fellow HAVC student!
Email: ltwoheyj@ucsc.edu
Morgan Woodley
Morgan is a fourth-year HAVC major from Huntington Beach, California. She is interested in museum studies, particularly through cultivating museums as spaces of inclusion and innovation. She enjoys sharing art with her community and fostering museums as inviting and engaging environments for everyone. This year she will be continuing her fellowship at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History and will be working at the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery as a gallery attendant with a focus in public programming. Outside of school, she loves reading, thrifting, and doing makeup on herself and on others. She would love any opportunity to talk about all things HAVC so feel free to reach out anytime!
Email: mwoodley@ucsc.edu
Donna Zlochistaya
Donna is a fourth-year transfer student from Los Angeles Valley College. She is a HAVC major with a concentration in Curation, Heritage, and Museums. Donna serves as an editor of Leviathan, UCSC’s student-run Jewish journal, and volunteers at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. After graduating, Donna hopes to pursue a career in contemporary art curation. For now, however, you can usually find her practicing ceramics or enjoying Santa Cruz’s beautiful natural sites. Feel free to reach out with any questions regarding the transfer experience, making the most of the HAVC program, or anything else on your mind!
Donna is also a HAVC student representative!
Email: dzlochis@ucsc.edu
