Alumni
Welcome
Whether you just graduated, or it’s been a while, you will always be a UCLA-CS Bruin. As a community school, we would like to stay connected and help support your journey after graduation. We also want to learn from you. On this page, you’ll find ways to connect with each other and share your stories with current UCLA-CS students. Please stay in touch and help inspire the next generation of alumni!
Portraits of Persistence
The following portraits of persistence share snapshots of alumni’s personal journeys in overcoming the challenges and barriers they faced in college. With each story that is shared we learn more about the situations they were placed in, the actions they took, and the results that led to their success. The common theme across these stories is the importance of taking the initiative to seek help and to find communities that can provide the support and guidance necessary to navigate through college. These experiences cultivate a new identity and a self-learning journey that can inspire and motivate future incoming college freshman students to share their college experiences as well.
Andrew Flores, Class of 2014
Andrew entered UCLA with a plan to become a doctor. He majored in psychobiology, intended to go to medical school and thought he had his life all mapped out. Although he enjoyed math and science, he soon learned that he didn’t see himself in those fields. He tried out several majors, including sociology, political science, and geography, but realized that he was more interested in the connections between different disciplines. In 2018–four years after graduating from the UCLA Community School–Andrew graduated with a B.A. in Latin American Studies.
The road to college graduation felt like an uphill battle at times. Andrew questioned his ability to be a college student and worried that he might be an imposter. As the first in his family to attend college, he knew he couldn’t afford to squander the opportunity and actively sought out help from campus counseling services, peer tutoring programs, and his professors. He learned to self-advocate, asking for extensions on papers when needed, and became an expert at managing his time. One of his main anchors was seeing other people of color on campus. The other was living at home, with the support of his family.
In his senior year, Andrew participated in UCLA’s undergraduate research week and experienced the intellectual rewards of exploring something that he was passionate about. This experience ignited an interest in graduate school and so once again he applied to UCLA–and only UCLA because he wanted to study with people that knew him well. In the fall of 2018, Andrew was accepted to the Master’s of Arts program in Latin American Studies. His research interests are LGBTQ+ rights, toxic masculinity, and migrant rights in Latin America with emphasis on Mexico and Central American countries.
To fund his college education, Andrew has relied on a combination of loans, grants, and scholarships. He has also held different jobs on campus, including teaching assistant and, most recently, director of communications for the UCLA International Institute’s Global Conference, Promoting Global Understanding. Looking back on his high school decision to become a doctor, Andrew reflected that it felt like “a way out,” a means to make money. “But then with time,” he shared, “I just realized I want this to be reciprocal, to give back in a way, but also figure out a way to succeed in life and professionally–and not be stuck doing the same old thing over and over again.” The global pandemic has focused his interest on global health and access to education.
Andrew’s advice for current UCLA Community School students: “There’s some stuff that you just have to learn from experiencing college. People in high school can warn you, they can tell you, ‘This is what you do. This is what you’re supposed to do.’ But at the end of the day, it’s your own journey to pursue.”
Mark Mendoza, Class of 2014
Mark enrolled at CSU Los Angeles to study nursing. Both of his parents worked as nurses and encouraged him to pursue a similar path. He initially followed in their footsteps because they were very encouraging and provided financial support. However, Mark soon realized that nursing was not his passion.
The summer after graduating from high school, Mark enrolled in remedial Math and English courses at his college. He passed both courses and felt the courses helped ease his college transition, but Mark was frustrated because they did not count toward his graduation requirements. In retrospect, he felt his high school could have provided more information about the college entrance exam and how it could impact his course taking trajectory. He shared: “taking two extra years of math and one extra year of English, I would say it held me back probably a quarter.” In the fall after high school graduation, he was a full-time student pursuing a nursing major and even completed a certificate program to be a nurse assistant. Mark struggled to adjust academically his first year. He recalled having difficulty keeping up with course material and how to study for exams: “My first quarter, the hardest things were where to study and what to study…So my first midterms I didn’t do so well because I didn’t know half of the class [content] was going to be put into one test. And I didn’t balance my time enough to study.”
Mark overcame his initial struggles by joining study groups. However, he was unhappy with his major and left CSULA. During his leave of absence Mark took a job as a restorative nurse. One day while waiting for his client, Mark stumbled across a notice for a science and technology conference and this re-ignited his passion for computer science, which began after taking a course in high school. By winter, Mark enrolled in a community college course to ease back into school: “I decided why not start off at community college so I could start walking before I start running. So once I took computer science in [community college] it helped me transition back into college.” Mark returned to his CSULA campus for the spring quarter, just as he was finishing his community college coursework. He was happy with his decision and although his parents were initially disappointed, they supported his new career goal in data security management.
Mark graduated from CSULA in 2018 with a B.S. in Information Technology and works as an Enterprise Resource Planning analyst at a tech company. Reflecting on his college experience he appreciated developing his skills to be competitive in the job market and growing as an individual: “You go to college for a better job. I always feel that’s the main purpose. [It] also helps you become a well-rounded individual… You’re not so biased with social issues…You’re more knowledgeable [about the world].”
Victoria Amador, Class of 2016
Victoria was accepted to two colleges in the Spring of 2016: CSU Los Angeles and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Although craving a change in scenery, she chose to save the costs of dorming, live at home, and attend CSULA. Four years later, amid the global pandemic, Victoria graduated online with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. Her passion is connecting with others and giving back.
In high school, Victoria signed up for a college head start program run by the Central American Resource Network (CARECEN). In college, she stayed connected to this local non-profit by volunteering her time and helping others. This experience satisfied her college service requirement and reflected her core values: “As much as I have all this knowledge and I have my experience I’ve gained, what’s the point of having all of that if I can’t share it and support other people.” The idea of supporting her community and giving back is something she attributes to her family as well as the school’s social justice vision and tight-knit community. “It’s just the way that I’ve been experiencing life. It’s the reason I am who I am.”
Victoria has also experienced the power of receiving support from others. At the advice of her college counselor, she enrolled in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), met regularly with an advisor, had access to learning supports, and connected with other students. In her sophomore year, she branched out and joined the Student Health Advisory Committee on campus to help other students connect with resources. Victoria became a UCLA-CS Alumni Fellow in her third year to study and share how the school was preparing students to persist in college.
The challenge of persisting hit home in her senior year when Victoria’s family needed her to find a job to support an unexpected rent increase. She found a flexible job working in an Amazon warehouse, allowing her to complete her degree and help her family. She also found a mentor at Amazon that encouraged her to stay after graduation, move up the ladder, and explore the company’s work in communications. The summer after graduating, Victoria interviewed and received a job offer to become an assistant manager for Amazon. She is currently working in this position and continues to pursue her passion for social justice and giving back.
Victoria’s advice for students entering college is to reach out for help and embrace the power of connecting with others. “Know that you are not alone. Share your challenges with people who can support you.” Family has been Victoria’s biggest support: “I am always telling my parents about the struggles I am having and they’re there to listen, to provide a way to cope with things and to move forward. They’re always there.”
While Andrew, Mark, and Victoria persisted to and through college, most of their peers did not. We turn now to the data we collected on five cohorts of UCLA-CS alumni in order to understand the challenge of aligning supports for first-generation college-going students.
Key Statistics
670
# of Alumni (2012-2024)
86
# of Colleges Attended
82
% of Alumni Who Immediately Enroll in College
81
% of Alumni Who Persist from Year 1 to Year 2