Cerro Coso Students Win Top Award at Honors Conference

Fatima Anwar, Lacy Roberts, Jessica Cliff, Aria Ayres and Elajae Lee took the top prize for their project titled “No Hives Left Behind – Exploring Native Bee Diversity in The High Desert.” The project included research on bee diversity conducted during the floral super bloom period of April to June 2023.

The Director’s Award is HTCC’s highest award and is granted to the first-place winner among selected outstanding abstracts of presenters.  Each winning team member received $200 in addition to a certificate.

The conference showcases outstanding faculty-mentored research by students from California community colleges, with a focus on honors students. Anwar, Roberts, Cliff, Ayres and Lee were mentored by Professors Claudia Sellers and Guck Ooi.  

Another Cerro Coso student, Victoria Williams, gave a presentation on Henrik Ibsen at the conference. Williams was mentored by Professor Gary Enns.

Cerro Coso Community College is a member of the Honors Transfer Council of California and send honors students to participate in the Building Bridges Honors Conference every year.

Learn more about the Honors Program at Cerro Coso.

Caption: Award-winning team (l-r) Jessica Cliff, Lacy Roberts, Fatima Anwar, Elajae Lee and Aria Ayres at the HTCC Student Research Conference on April 20. The group received the prestigious Director’s Award for their research on bees.