Bea Roxas finds chemistry between psychology and math

Bea RoxasBea Roxas was born and raised near San Francisco, where her family still lives. In her senior year of high school, she was not accepted to her dream school, UCLA. Bea decided to move closer to UCLA and attend Cerritos College to broaden her perspective and experience a new environment. 

When she began studying at Cerritos College in 2022, Bea chose a psychology major. She found it fascinating but felt that something was missing. She then switched to math, as she also had a love for statistics. However, Bea soon realized she wanted to incorporate all her interests and take them closer to the STEM side. The intersection between psychology and math led her to cognitive science, the interdisciplinary study of the human mind and brain.

Bea is actively involved in a variety of activities on campus. She serves as the president of the psychology club and is a statistics tutor. Last year, Bea was a member of the Associated Students of Cerritos College Senate, and this year, she serves on the Court. Despite having a busy schedule, Bea still finds time to crochet and use her skills to raise money for her club.

She presented her research on stress and anxiety levels of community college students at the 2023 Western Psychological Association conference alongside Psychology Professor Jaclyn Ronquillo-Adachi. Recently, Bea has been accepted to a summer research program at Vanderbilt University, which is considered an honor for an undergraduate student. “This opportunity is a culmination of Bea's hard work and campus involvement at Cerritos College,” said Psychology Professor Dr. Kimberley Duff. For 10 weeks, she will be conducting research on how brain damage affects processing. Bea credits her academic success at Cerritos College to the guidance of Dr. Ronquillo-Adachi and Dr. Duff. 

Through her outstanding accomplishments and hard work at Cerritos College, Bea has been accepted to several prestigious universities, including UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCI, and UCSD. In the fall, she will finally achieve her dream since high school and become a Bruin. Bea’s ultimate goal is to obtain a doctoral degree and become a professor.