Ever since her brother attended UCLA from 2005 to 2009, Elinore Lubiano said she knew UCLA was the right school for her.
Lubiano, a 12th grader at Lancaster High School, was invited to attend the Pilipino Recruitment and Enrichment Program’s Bruin Life Weekend upon receiving her acceptance to UCLA for fall 2010.
The program hosted a Bruin Life Weekend where 30 UCLA accepted students were invited to spend a weekend on campus to get a closer look, said Steffi Rae Yutan, external director for the program.
“The students were brought on campus to show them all these different opportunities and show them the sense of community. It helps increase diversity on campus,” said Farhan Banani, the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s community service commissioner, whose office sponsored the event in conjunction with Office of Residential Life.
When the high school students first arrived on April 15, Yutan said they played icebreaker games and had a chance to meet the program volunteers. Since the high school students were staying at the dorms, they frequently dined at the dining halls.
“I can totally tell why UCLA students become a statistics for the freshmen 15, the food is too good,” Lubiano said.
The high school students also participated in a scavenger hunt around Westwood to expose them to the area outside UCLA, Yutan, a third-year economics student, said. Clues led the students to places like Yogurtland, Boba Loca and the Bruin Theater.
The next day consisted of a tour of UCLA to familiarize students with campus, Yutan said. The high school students had the opportunity to sit in on various lectures, which Lubiano said was valuable to her. Lubiano attended a math class where she said the environment of the classroom and the methods the professor used to teach solidified her decision to come to UCLA.
“Attending the class made me feel like I made the right decision to go to this university,” Lubiano said.
Lubiano will be a physiological sciences student and said ever since she visited her family in the Philippines, her aunt inspired her to become a doctor. Going into medicine has always been of interest to her because she wants to study the human anatomy and how it works, she added.
After the tour, the program held a discussion panel featuring a student from every year at UCLA, including a graduate student, so the high school students could ask them specific questions pertaining to their personal experiences at UCLA, Yutan said.
Lubiano said she felt the panel was effective because they had a chance to hear about what they would be going through at UCLA from different perspectives. In addition, it allowed for the incoming freshman to see how UCLA affected the students’ lives, Lubiano said.
The weekend also included a concert that featured YouTube artists and a prom. Various Filipino organizations on campus also came to speak to the students.
Lubiano said there were many activities at UCLA that appealed to her, including joining a sorority. She said sororities appeal to her because they allow students many opportunities to network and provide a family environment on a large campus like UCLA.
She added that since her brother used to be the director for Pilipino Recruitment and Enrichment Program, she wants to continue the legacy by also becoming a member. The program provided students with awards at the end of the weekend, and Lubiano received “Most likely to become a PREPster,” because of her brother’s former affiliation with the program.
“I like how the Pilipino Recruitment and Enrichment Program crew inspired us to come to UCLA and I want to do that for the new upcoming freshman,” Lubiano said. “I want to expand my horizons beyond the science major I’m in and be a well-rounded person.”