Friends, family and faculty honored four student recipients of
the 2003 Charles E. Young Humanitarian Awards on Thursday
afternoon, and in turn, recipients thanked those who helped them
get where they are today.
The ceremony was held in the Kerckhoff Grand Salon on May 22. It
featured a short reception where the recipients ““ Kyi Kyi
(Lotus) Loo, Joshua Mason, Jo Marie Tran Janco and honorary
recipient Cynthia E. Rabuy ““ were honored. Each was given a
certificate, had their name engraved on a bronze plaque that will
be placed in Kerckhoff Hall, and received a $500 check for the
community service organization of their choice.
Zoila de la Pena, management services officer for the Center for
Student Programming and a key organizer of the event, said the
purpose of the awards was to “recognize students for their
over-and-above service to UCLA and the L.A. community.”
Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, dean of graduate affairs, said UCLA
students really make a difference through their community service
efforts, and the three recipients were prime examples.
Honored for her achievements in the Asian Pacific Health Corps,
Loo, a fourth-year neuroscience student, let the audience know she
was “truly honored to be receiving this award.”
The APHC is a student volunteer organization that works with
local Asian and Pacific Islander communities in an effort to
educate and provide free screenings to detect hypertension,
diabetes and cholesterol. Loo organized many of the events, and
developed a mentor program, among other things.
Mason, a fifth-year philosophy and political science student and
program director of Project Literacy, told the audience never to
doubt the power of a small group of people to enact change. Mason
continued by thanking his fellow recipients and all the other
students at UCLA who participate in community service, saying that
“they sometimes had to sacrifice GPAs to work long
hours.”
Mason said his most valued education at UCLA came from working
with the Literacy Project.
With a word of advice, Mason said, “community service is
not just something you do in college.”
Project Literacy is a community service organization that works
to promote education and improve literacy in the immediate Los
Angeles area. Mason conducted seminars, expanded services and
co-founded a program for adult literacy.
Janco, a third-year English and neuroscience student was honored
for her work with the Mobile Clinic Project and felt honored and
blessed to be a recipient.
“I want to thank all the volunteers, because we
wouldn’t touch lives if it wasn’t for these awesome
people,” Janco said.
The Mobile Clinic Project is a student program meant to bring
together UCLA students and offer medical care for the homeless
population in the West Hollywood area. Among other things, Janco
oversaw the budget, trained volunteers and fulfilled administrative
and organizational duties.
The last recipient, Rabuy, died in a car crash earlier this
year. She was a fourth-year English student. Rabuy was an honorary
recipient, and her sister and brother-in-law accepted the award for
her on Thursday.
Rabuy’s commitments at UCLA included work with the
Samahang Pilipino Education and Retention organization, UCLA
UniCamp for under privileged children and Bruin Partners, a
mentoring group.
Recipients are chosen for these awards by a committee of
students, faculty and staff who look for candidates who have shown
a strong commitment to community service. Any student can apply for
the awards, and each application is then scored by the committee.
The awards were first established in 1986.