Some 15,000 Bruins will be receiving their degrees this commencement season and launching into the next chapter in their lives, carrying with them the unique blend of academic excellence, diverse experiences and a commitment to making the world a better place that only UCLA provides.
Each one of our students has traveled their own unique path to reach this milestone, and to honor them — thechallenges they have overcome, the talents they have contributed and the inspiration they will continue to provide for all of us —we are privileged to spotlight just a few of their stories.
These undergraduate and graduate students, who come from across campus and represent a rich tapestry of backgrounds, cultures, perspectives and disciplines, have enhanced our community and reflect the qualities that continue to set UCLA apart asthe No. 1–ranked public university in the nation.
Please join us in honoringUCLA’s class of 2024. This page will be updated regularly with new profiles through June 14.
When Emily Wang came to California from China with her husband and 3-year-old daughter, she knew just one person in this country. Settling near Los Angeles, she worked as a restaurant cashier and contemplated options for her future. Learning English was key, so she enrolled in ESL classes at El Camino College in Torrance. A counselor told her about transferring to a four-year university. Wang was 34 at the time, with a first-grader in tow. “They told me, it’s never too late to learn,” she said. “I thought, ‘Wow, really? Even for me?’”
Mary Braswell/UCLA
Emily Wang
She successfully transferred to UCLA and will graduate this June with a bachelor’s degree from the Luskin School of Public Affairs.But the process of applying also stoked her desire to pursue policy work, as she discovered that she was technically an undocumented immigrant. The family had come to the U.S. legally and had work permits, but after eight years, they were still waiting for an interview and didn’t have green cards.
“I thought, since I’m stuck in this situation, I’m going to use my undocumented identity as my strength to advocate,” she said. “We need more support systems to help undocumented immigrants who are already here, like my daughter.”
She began lobbying on behalf of undocumented immigrants, starting with a state Senate bill that helped expand access to state-based financial aid for undocumented students.
Read more about Emily Wang on the University of California website.
Jonathan Valenzuela Mejia hardly spoke French. Yet the first-generation college student — traveling alone for the first time — was able to secure a studio apartment in the 8th arrondissem*nt of Paris, just steps away from the Arc de Triomphe.
Elmer Monroy Fotografía
Jonathan Valenzuela Mejia (right) and his father, Edgar.
It was a long way from UCLA, where the global studies and public affairs major would have been starting the fall quarter of his junior year. But it was exactly where he needed to be to expand his worldview, discover a deeply personal cultural phenomenon and visualize the plight of his parents, who had emigrated from Guatemala to the United States in the 1990s.
While traveling, he was struck by how many Central American immigrants live in Europe and decided to study this phenomenon. His research identified a rise in European pro-immigrant policies in relation to growing anti-immigrant hostility in the U.S. He also studied cultural similarities between Central America and countries such as Spain and Italy. The overarching topic, which he would use for his senior thesis, combined his experience abroad and his family’s lives and legacy — and allowed him to tap into a readily available resource.
Read more about Jonathan Valenzuela Mejia on UCLA Newsroom.
When Justin C.M. Brown left a 15-year career in marketing, he was determined to pivot in a direction that would allow him to make more of a difference — even if he didn’t quite know what that would be. At Santa Monica College, he realized where his journey should begin when he enrolled in his first sociology course.
Courtesy of Justin C. M. Brown
Justin C.M. Brown
When he transferred to UCLA, he found his footing and direction through the Research Revealed Undergraduate Research Preparation Program, which helps give newer UCLA students a more thorough grounding in conducting research.“The program,” he said, “gave me academic agency and autonomy, and it changed my perspective of myself, in that I was not only a student —I was also a researcher.”
Brown blends his passion for both research and art with interdisciplinary projects that combine sociology, digital humanities and creative expression. Underpinning it all is his belief that everyone possesses creative energy.
“Artists possess a kind of solidarity that crosses all other identities,” he said. “And I believe if more people nourished their artistic identities, it could help dial down the individualism, the partisan rhetoricandthe atomization we're experiencing right now.”
Read more about Justin C.M. Brown on UCLA Newsroom.
The adage “with great power comes great responsibility” may have been popularized through the Spider-Man franchise, but in the world of artificial intelligence ethics, it’s a watchword. For UCLA undergraduate student Mario Peng Lee, it is a guiding principle.
Peng was 9 years old when he began to recognize the power and pitfalls of AI. Already fluent in three languages — he was born in Chile to Taiwanese parents and raised in China, Taiwan and Argentina — he used his first laptop to experiment with the then-newly launched Google Translate.
Photo courtesy of Mario Peng Lee | Tina Hordzwick/UCLA
Mario Peng Lee
“I would play around, translating something from Spanish to Chinese to English, then back to Chinese and back to Spanish, and it would end up as a completely different sentence,” said Peng. “So why does that happen? Those are the kinds of questions that led me to pursue the path I’m on now.”
A UCLA, his work across three research labs has focused on applying AI and machine learning to natural language processing and understanding.
His scholarly impact has been immediate: Multiple universities utilize the Diverse Names Generator, a project he co-created that provides randomly selected proper names for example sentences in classroom settings; the resource is the first of its kind to help users overcome unconscious bias that may lead them to default to using Anglophone, male-gendered names. And a paper he coc-wrote on the project’s findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America, earned him the linguistics department’s Undergraduate Research and Travel Award.
Read more about Mario Peng Lee on UCLA Newsroom.
Eva Danesh, who found her calling, and her voice, in science and journalism at UCLA, is poised to begin medical school in the fall. It’s a dream she’s had her entire life, sparked in part by watching the talk show “The Doctors” as a kid: balancing the daily responsibilities of helping patients one-on-one with having a platform to share health information with the wider public.
Courtesy of Eva Danesh
Eva Danesh
That dual interest is one reason Danesh got involved with journalism at UCLA, where she has worked for the Daily Bruin and served on its editorial board. During her time on the paper, Danesh has covered topics ranging from record-breaking California heat waves and John Wooden to a bone marrow registry event spearheaded by UCLA football — often with her brothers, both of whom are also UCLA student journalists.
“What makes me proudest is knowing that I can put out information that people find well-written and important enough that it can, maybe in a very small way, enact change,” she said. “For example, I’ve written a few stories about blood donation and our blood center, and one day I overheard someone look up from the paper and say they were going to donate blood that day.”
In addition to her writing, Danesh has been able to make a difference in other significant ways. She has served as co-president of the American Medical Women’s Association UCLA undergraduate division, as a teaching assistant for a cell and molecular biology course, and as the instructor of a class she created herself through UCLA’s Undergraduate Student Initiated Education program.
Read more about Eva Danesh on UCLA Newsroom.
When Harry Li begins teaching Chinese to high school students in Pasadena this fall, he’ll bring with him highly relevant instruction experience, having already led a college-level course.
Courtesy of Harry Li
Harry Li
Li, who will earn both bachelor’s and master’s degrees this month, designed and taught a course on Mandopop for fellow UCLA students during the 2022–23 academic year. The Mandopop genre falls under the umbrella of Chinese pop, or C-pop, with the distinction that lyrics are sung exclusively in Mandarin.
Sharing this passion with other students in a classroom format was a meaningful experience for Li, said Michael Berry, a professor of Chinese cultural studies in the department of Asian languages and cultures who served as Li’s mentor in UCLA’s Undergraduate Student-Initiated Education program.
“Harry Li is brimming with intellectual curiosity, a deep knowledge of the field and a passion for learning,” Berry said. “When he learned there was an opportunity for undergraduate students to teach their own one credit course on a topic of their choice, he immediately applied. Harry is the kind of student who seeks out opportunities and takes them, making the most out of his college experience.”
Read more about Harry Li on the UCLA Division of Humanities website.
When UCLA’s disability studies major — the first at a California public university — launched in fall 2023, Catarina Gerges was quick to enroll. Already minoring in the subject and majoring in neuroscience, she had just enough room in her schedule to fulfill all the credit requirements and still graduate with two majors a year ahead of schedule.
This month, she’ll be one of the first three students to graduate from UCLA with a major in disability studies.
Courtesy of Catarina Gerges
Catarina Gerges
Gerges’ interest in disability studies was sparked after a roller-skating excursion during the winter quarter of her freshman year ended in a trip to the emergency room. With multiple torn ankle ligaments, Gerges’ mobility was severely limited. Even with crutches and support fromthe BruinAccess paratransit service, she experienced challenges navigating UCLA’s sprawling campus, including getting from her dorm on the Hill to her classes.
“That was the first time I realized how physically inaccessible our campus was,” Gerges recalled.
She became inspired by disabilities studies and how the interdisciplinary field seeks to challenge traditional perceptions and promote accessibility and equity.
Read more about Catarina Gerges on UCLA Newsroom.
For Youstina Labib, cardiology hits close to home. She was just 5 when her father, Raouf, underwent his first major cardiac surgery. It was to have a lasting effect on her. She became a vital part of her dad’s care team for serious and ongoing health issues while still in elementary school.
“Maybe some days, instead of playing sports or going to some after-school activity, I would go to the hospital to see my dad,” she remembers. “I spoke Arabic at home and got into a preschool that was primarily for Latinx communities. Many of those students were Spanish speakers, and I was able to learn English right along with them.”
Rita Labib
Youstina Labib
Her dual-language skills made Labib a translator while still in elementary school. She began to understand medical terms and prescription names far earlier than most kids.
UCLA offered both a pre-med track and the research environment she was looking for, and her research has focused on sympathetic innervation in pulmonary fibrosis, which helps her understand how the nervous system responds to lung injury.
With one hand in research and the other in patient care, Labib, who plans to attend medical school and pursue career as a physician-scientist, sees opportunities to add a much-needed female presence to the field of cardiology.
Read more about Youstina Labib on UCLA Newsroom.
Matthew Royer, Katelynn Garmendia and Breanna Ivette Maldonado were all nominated to speak at the labor studies commencement ceremony on June 15. Ahead of the ceremony, they shared how the their studies in this field have affected their activism and future prospects.
Royer: I will be attending the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School to receive an M.S. in Journalism, where I will focus on labor and business reporting. I hope to use the skills I learned at UCLA to further the world’s knowledge of workers’ struggles.
UCLA IRLE
From left: Breanna Ivette Maldonado, Katelynn Garmendia and Matthew Royer.
Garmendia: As a first-generation college student and Latina, our very presence breaks barriers. Recently, I got accepted to UCLA’s master’s of legal studies program, with multiple scholarships, and I am more than excited to attend in the fall and continue breaking these barriers with my presence.
Maldonado: I am committed to continuing my journey as a relentless advocate for workers’ rights and educating forward. I aspire to leverage my experiences and education to effect systemic change, whether through policy advocacy, grassroots organizing or community outreach. My ultimate goal is to contribute to a more just and equitable society for all, as I fight alongsidetrabajadoreslike my pops.
Read more about these students on the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment website.
Jordan Carfino, once a pre-med major, could have gone in a different direction than her mother and grandfather, both dentists in private practice. She never felt pressured, she said. Ultimately, it was their love for their profession and her mother’s ability to deftly balance family and work that set her on the same path.
Carfino will earn her D.D.S. at UCLA this June before joining Columbia University’s year-long Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program.
UCLA School of Dentistry
From left: Diane Milberg (class of 1973) Anh Le (class of 1992) and Jordan Carfino (class of 2024) Denrepresent three distinct eras of the School of Dentistry's gender evolution.
Forty years before Jordan entered dental school, her mother, Dr. Toni Oliver-Carfino, had enrolled at the UCLA School of Dentistry; women comprised just a third of her 1984 class. The school’s 24-member inaugural class of 1968 included a single woman.
In contrast, Jordan Carfino’s class is majority female, and 61% of the recently entering 2023 are women. Carfino feels that one benefit of having so many female classmates is what they offer each other.
“In certain stressful situations and for problem-solving, it’s great. Faculty-wise, I’ve had a number of women among my pre-clinical instructors. They always made it seem —not easy — but very manageable to do what they do, to have a family, and be able to excel in this profession.”
Read more a about Jordan Carfino and other women in dentistry on the UCLA School of Dentistry website.
Ashley Dao, who graduates in June with a bachelor’s in musicology, has a habit of making the news at UCLA. This year she won a campuswide award for leadership from the UCLA Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the Dean’s Prize for Excellence in Reseearch and Creativity, and the UCLA Music Library Prize for Best Project on Music after 1900.
UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
Ashley Dao
To cap it off, she was the first undergraduate student ever selected as an honorable mention for the Ingolf Dahl Award, given by the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the American Musicology Society.
Dao’s academic papers have been accepted at scholarly conferences around the country, and for three years she has served as the editor-in-chief of MUSE: An Undergraduate Music Studies Journal.
But she never intended to study musicology until, as a high school student, she attended a musicology department lecture at UCLA.
“It actually woke me up to the fact that I had always been a musicologist. Even as a child, I was analyzing the structure of music and the theory behind it, and I was always curious about music’s historical and social context and how it was shaped by politics and notions of identity. I was always thinking like a musicologist — I just didn’t have a word for it.”
Four students who recently graduated from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, discussed how their personal and professional experiences influenced their decision to become doctors, and what they hope to accomplish in the future.
Gurjit Kaur became interested in medicine solidified after her father became gravely ill and she routinely witnessed the lack of appropriate medical care he received.Once she completes her residency, she would like to support underserved communities and sees herself working at a county hospital or rural clinic.
Reed Hutchinson/UCLA
Dean Steven Dubinett addresses the graduating class of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA at the commencement ceremony on May 31, 2024.
Emily Jones joined UCLA as a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program, earning her M.D., as well as a Ph.D. in medical anthropology. During her time in the program, she researched the intersection of violence intervention, trauma surgery and public safety at a county hospital in Los Angeles. Her next step is completing a residency in general surgery, where she aims to continue doing health equity research.
Nonye Ikeanyi will be starting a residency in orthopaedic surgery, a specialty in which women and minorities are underrepresented. As a woman of color, Ikeanyi is looking forward to helping patients from underserved communities feel comfortable when they see an orthopaedic specialist — whether it’s in the emergency room or an outpatient setting.
Marcos Munoz is looking forward to beginning his family medicine residency — a specialty facing a shortage of doctors — at Kaiser Fontana. He also wants to work on health policies affecting underresourced communities and is committed to helping high school and college students on the path to becoming a doctor.
When she arrived at UCLA, Kaitlyn Coons knew there was a wealth of opportunity waiting for her. But she saw herself as an introvert and wasn’t sure if she would find chances to take on leadership roles or form lasting relationships with faculty. In the past four years, she has done both and will now wrap up her undergraduate experience having completed two majors (classics and history) andtwo minors (digital humanities and Latin).
Courtesy of Kaitlyn Coons
Kaitlyn Coons
“I’ve been so fortunate to have been able to learn from such esteemed faculty and build such great relationships with my professors,” she said. “I think it’s a testament to UCLA and the faculty’s commitment to their students.”
She has won several honors for her work and research, including the Dean’s Prize for Excellence in Research and Creativity and the UCLA Library Prize for Undergraduate Research in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. She also serves as co-president of the Classical Society at UCLA and Eta Sigma Phi, the national classics honor society.
“Not only did I want to be a part of the community, I wanted to start building inclusive, accessible communities myself,” Kaitlyn said. “Coming in as such an introverted student, I think I’m most proud of seeing my progression from being just a participant to being a leader in my communities.”
Read more about Kaitlyn Coons on the UCLA Division of Humanities website.
Lukas Valderrama has been drawn to mythology since he was a small boy. Growing up in Atlanta, he used a digital camcorder to make short films full of heroes, monsters, magic and mysticism.
UCLA Extension
Lukas Valderrama
But as he grew older, and started to make movies for a living, Valderrama noticed that fantasy stories on the big screen were often hitting the same notes. Having learned about the diversity of mythology in the Americas and beyond, in part from his Chilean Jewish parents, Valderrama knew that something was missing.
As part of an effort to fill the gap, Valderrama and Perry Ground, a member of the Onondaga Nation and Valderrama's writing partner, started Petroglyph, a production company focused on highlighting Indigenous stories through film.
"It's about providing a space for storytelling and cultural knowledge from Indigenous communities and combining it with our filmmaking knowledge in a way that's very new," said Valderrama, who will graduate this June with a UCLA Extension certificate in screenwriting, which he completed in December of last year.
Read more about Lukas Valderrama on the UCLA Extension website.
