A proud UCSB alumna (Class of 2024), Abby graduated with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Spanish, refining her passion for education. Her mantra is to be a lifelong learner and to Abby, this means embracing the idea that learning doesn’t stop after graduation. During her time as an undergraduate, Abby put these principles into action by launching UCSB Matchmaker, a business designed to help UCSB students find romance during the Valentine’s season. She also gained experience here as a research assistant, where she contributed to academic projects that deepened her understanding of communication. Additionally, Abby worked as a trade marketing intern at Studio Distribution Services, a company formed through the merger of Warner Bros.' and Universal’s home entertainment departments, where she navigated the challenges of the declining DVD industry. Now, as an Undergraduate Academic Advisor, Abby is excited to support students in navigating their learning journeys! Outside of work, Abby enjoys reading books by Brené Brown and exploring humanities topics that serve as valuable resources for those around her. She loves to run, and with no place better than Santa Barbara to train, she ran the LA Marathon this year (2024). Abby is also deeply passionate about family, with "family communication" being her favorite course during her undergraduate studies. Her family is located not far from Santa Barbara, as she was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, and she never misses an opportunity to visit them. A TV connoisseur, Abby enjoys shows like Fleabag, Severance, Baby Reindeer, Gilmore Girls, Ugly Betty (Betty la Fea), and more. Looking ahead, Abby dreams of owning her own business. Until then, she’s committed to continuing her education and striving to be a better lifelong learner in everything she does.

Sarah is an M.A/Ph.D. student in UC Santa Barbara’s Communication department. She received her B.S in Cognitive Science from UC Santa Cruz in 2024 where she also minored in Statistics. Her research explores the impacts of affordances on social media platforms, such as infinite scroll, closed groups, and algorithmic recommendation and censorship systems. She seeks to understand how they affect the dissemination of information, with a particular focus on the spread of health information and misinformation. Sarah is also interested in how these same affordances impact users' trust in technology-curated sources of information, such as chatbots, voice assistants, and algorithmically generated search results.

Soumyajit De holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Delhi and an M.A. in Sociology from Pondicherry University. His research explores how algorithms function within socio-technical systems, specifically focusing on their role in organizational processes such as recruitment, performance evaluation, and resource allocation. He investigates the interactions between human actors, organizational structures, and algorithmic technologies, emphasizing that algorithms are not merely passive tools but active agents shaping and being shaped by organizational norms, human agency, and social dynamics. He also examines how managers and employees interact with algorithms, exploring their reactions and collaborative practices to see how varying degrees of human-algorithm interaction influence perceptions of transparency and accountability.

Karla is an M.A/Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication. Karla received her B.A in Sociology and a minor in Applied Psychology from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2023. While in undergrad she worked for numerous research projects such as the “Separación Familiar”, conducting a thematic analysis in “The Meaning of Allyship for DACA students”, and increasing access to prenatal care for indigenous women in the Santa Maria, Ca area. Her current research focuses on the communication within mixed-status families in relation to their mental health. She wants to study how mixed-status families navigate and make sense of their identities in the context of immigration.