When I first arrived on campus, I quickly realized that I was one of over 40,000 other students.
I was assigned IDs and logins for Web sites, bar codes for the libraries and dining, keys and cards for living, and passwords for security’s sake. Lines amassed, acronyms abounded.
While I am grateful for the inimitable lessons of organization and UCLA Store lanyard key chains, thank goodness my first week didn’t end there.
I am more than my nine-digit student ID number that I may use to sign up for classes and write on blue books. And so are you.
You are more than just a number. In my experience, it is those unquantifiable traditions, those uncountable friendships, those invaluable memories that give UCLA a sense of place and provide you with a sense of belonging. Just know that when you are one in over 40,000, you need to get up, dust off the digits and seek out those ways to engage and identify yourself.
Whether it is through varied course work, research or extracurricular activities, there is a place for you. With over 800 student organizations on campus, it would be difficult not to find a niche.
Do you like ping-pong? There’s a group that meets every week to play. Feel the need to laugh? Stroll over to the sculpture garden in the mornings to de-stress en masse. Sports fan? The Den may be the ticket for you.
For me, it is programs like Blue and Gold Week, Dinner for 12 Strangers, and Interview with a Bruin that are soul-stirring.
Campus traditions speak volumes about a school ““ fight songs, landmarks and events are impressions of the personality of a university.
UCLA’s traditions showcase our diversity, passion and energy. From dancing for 26 hours straight, to cultural nights, to networking with alumni from the biz, to the ultimate talent show Spring Sing, our events reflect our university’s vibrant identity. Finding alumni talking of the same traditions in years past makes me excited about being a Bruin.
These campus traditions and our school spirit have had a huge impact on the quality of my experience at UCLA. They motivated me to participate in the Student Alumni Association in order to assist in seeing my favorite traditions grow to fruition and continue.
Through the SAA programs, UCLA has transitioned from simply the place I take classes to a second home to which I look forward to always being connected.
The UCLA Alumni Association and SAA bring students and alumni together through their many programs and services.
As students, your UCLA experience would not be complete without getting involved on campus and taking advantage of the incredible opportunities available. UCLA traditions reflect the history of the school and are dependent on your support to continue ““ by participating in them, you are ensuring their presence in the lives of future Bruins.
A Bruin is forever. In the future you will look back on your time as a student and remember not your password to Bruin Online but your experiences on campus: how many different Undie Run routes you ran, the camaraderie at the Beat ‘SC Bonfire, Parade and Rally, the internship you scored from a Dinner for 12 Strangers, the research you performed under a renowned professor, that time UCLA football triumphed over USC.
So go on, get out there, experience UCLA to the fullest, and get involved; find an event, a field, a person, an organization that motivates you.
Find who you are beyond nine digits. We’re all rooting for you to forget that student ID.
Zabat-Fran is president of the Student Alumni Association and a fourth-year neuroscience and classical civilization student.