Last year, Nancy Le could not decide between enrolling at UCLA or UC Berkeley. After attending the Southeast Asian (SEA) Admit Weekend at UCLA last year, however, Le chose to spend the next four years of her life as a Bruin.
Results like these are part of why the UCLA Volunteer Center named SEA Admit Weekend the winner of their first-ever Bruin Heroes Award, an honor that, according to its Web site, “recognizes innovative and inspiring projects organized by UCLA organizations.”
SEA Admit Weekend had its first successful run last year, and is hosting this year’s event from April 15 to 17. The weekend is held for admitted students of Southeast Asian descent, and is hosted by a collaboration of SEA student groups.
Tina Ngo, this year’s SEA Admit Weekend co-chair and second-year English student, said the event aims to mitigate the under-representation of Southeast Asian students at UCLA, as well as introduce them to the wide array of opportunities the campus has to offer.
According to its Web site, the weekend consists of campus tours, multiple workshops, a student/alumni reception dinner and a talent show ““ all at no cost.
In addition, there will be a diversity barbecue, where admitted students will meet leaders from different diversity groups on campus, as well as a resource fair, where they will be introduced to aspects of the campus like the Undergraduate Students Association Council, Greek life and intramural sports, among other things.
Nancy Le, now a first-year prospective economics and psychology student, says her enrollment is a direct result of the program.
“I grew up in a very predominantly Vietnamese community, so when I came to UCLA, they really did emphasize the Southeast Asian identity that I didn’t see in my hometown. It really did change my perspective and is pretty much the reason why I came to UCLA,” Le said.
This year, Le has decided to give back to both the Admit Weekend and the campus by being co-coordinator of the event.
Furthermore, the weekend’s efforts to enroll Southeast Asian students at UCLA resulted in about an 80 percent of attendees subsequently doing so ““ a number that Le said reflects success.
In an effort to promote volunteer work and community service, the Bruin Heroes Award was generated by the Volunteer Center Fellows, a group of students with a background in such activities.
The winner receives a phone call informing them of their $250 grand prize, which goes towards whatever cause they see fit, said volunteer fellow and fourth-year math student Mark Dakkak. Ngo said the groups involved in Admit Weekend were completely shocked when they received the phone call.
He said they are very excited and plan on re-allocating the money into SEA Admit Weekend’s fund and giving back to the students. The award, Ngo said, is a result of the efforts of both last year’s and this year’s teams. “There’s no standard requirement. You just have to be really good at what you do,” Dakkak said about deciding who gets the award.
He added that the Volunteer Center Fellows were trying to model the MacArthur Fellowship which, with the notice of a phone call, grants $500,000 to individuals who excel at what they do and show potential to continue producing exceptional work.
“We think the Bruin Heroes Award sends a great message, especially from the university itself, because its money is coming from UCLA. To show that the school cares about community service means a lot,” Dakkak said.
The Volunteer Center plans on making the recognition a tradition, and will aim to award students twice a quarter.