Twenty-two years later, Dave Roberts still thinks about his blue and gold roots. “The daily walk up and down Bruin Walk made me realize how fortunate I was to go to UCLA,” Roberts said. “UCLA really impacted me. From the professors to the student body, it’s really a special place.” For Roberts, attending UCLA seemed […]
Category Archives: Features
Jada Hart surpasses injuries to bring strength to women’s tennis team
Car crash, stress fracture, redshirt year – nothing could stop Jada Hart from playing tennis. In the beginning of her freshman year of high school, Hart suffered a back injury from a sudden car accident. She had to fight her way back harder than she had ever done before. “The accident was a major setback […]
UCLA gymnast excels on floor after overcoming injury, rare disease
Next time redshirt freshman Macy Toronjo steps onto the blue mat for her floor routine, look past her posing and her affectations. That’s all part of the performance, part of the character she pretends to be. Underneath the graceful exterior lies a warrior who has been battle-tested ever since she stepped foot on the UCLA […]
Men’s volleyball player Mitch Stahl digs into Pennsylvania roots
Out of place. That’s how some members of the bright blue-and-gold-clad UCLA men’s volleyball team felt, standing in the tall grass of a field in Pennsylvania. But for senior Mitch Stahl, this is home. The veteran hitter is one of the four Bruins on the team who hails from outside of the southwest region of […]
Kelsey O’Brien reflects on water polo journey from hometown to UCLA
When Kelsey O’Brien, a senior attacker on the UCLA women’s water polo team, first walked onto UCLA’s campus, she was 11 years old. She had a cousin who went to UCLA at the time so Kelsey and her father, Joe O’Brien, stopped by to visit after a water polo tournament. When her cousin didn’t pick […]
Rai Benjamin beats foot fracture, leads UCLA men’s sprints in 2017
Halfway through his first collegiate track and field season, one of the top sprinters in the country found himself hobbling around campus with a boot on his right foot. Calls from his coach went unanswered, rehab appointments were skipped. Now-sophomore sprinter Rai Benjamin was to be one of the most potent and impactful freshmen UCLA […]
UCLA men’s volleyball player serves up volleyballs and fresh beats
Two numbers make Daenan Gyimah, a freshman on the UCLA men’s volleyball team, stand out: He hits the ball when it’s over 12 feet in the air and his music has been streamed over 15,000 times on SoundCloud. Before the middle blocker even began playing volleyball, music was his passion. Now, he uses his notoriety […]