Alycia Hernandez is a junior majoring in Psychobiology.Â
How has PEERS helped you achieve your academic goals?
Entering my first year at UCLA, I had no idea how helpful the PEERS Program would become for my undergraduate studies. PEERS introduced me to a large and diverse group of STEM students who shared similar career and academic goals as myself. Some of these students have become my closest friends who helped me to navigate UCLA and life as a college student. PEERS became an environment that allowed us to work together and encourage one another in making the most of our academic years at UCLA. Through seminars, workshops, and research presentations, PEERS provided me with the resources to succeed in my studies at UCLA and the skills necessary to reach and achieve my career goals.
What advice do you have for an incoming PEERS freshman?
Having come from a small, Catholic high school in San Bernardino, California, I know firsthand how daunting it is to begin your college career at the #1 Public University in the country. You’re introduced to so many people, cultures, ideas, missions, etc., that you can’t even begin to fathom where you fit in at UCLA. To the incoming PEERS Freshman, the first few weeks at UCLA will feel overwhelming. Remember that you belong here, and you are right where you need to be! Do not be afraid to try new things! Go out with your friends! Explore LA! Most importantly, remember that each person’s journey at UCLA is going to be different than yours! Do not worry if you didn’t make it into a club or couldn’t become involved in research right away. Your opportunity will come and when it does, make the most of it!
What are you involved in outside of academics? And how has your participation shaped your UCLA experience?
Outside of academics, I am the Education Chair for Bruins Fighting Pediatric Cancer (BFPC) and a COPE Health Scholar at Adventist Health Glendale. In addition, I am a member of the UCLA Ballet Company and a mentor for UCLA’s Ballet & Books Chapter. Recently, I have also been accepted into the UCLA Arnold Lab under Dr. Grisham where we will be observing sex differences in mice brains! Such activities have provided me with the opportunity to engage in my interests outside the classroom and take a break from the academic demands of college. Through these experiences, I have met wonderful friends and mentors who have supported me on my journey to medical school and encouraged me to achieve my goals.
What are your future career goals? And how has your background influenced your career goals?
Upon completion of my undergraduate career at UCLA, I would like to attend medical school to become a pediatric physician. Since middle school, I have always known I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. I am fascinated by how the body heals itself and how we, as physicians, could heal the body. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I truly recognized the dynamics of healthcare and the areas where it needed to be improved. My senior AP Psychology course opened my eyes to the need for greater holistic care of patients, considering both body and mind together. Volunteering at Saint Bernardine’s Medical Center in San Bernardino, California, opened my eyes to the healthcare disparities that exist in low socioeconomic communities. As a future physician, I aim to take these experiences to enhance the quality of care patients receive and expand this quality of care to all individuals within our communities.
Jesus M. Gonzalez Arellano
Jesus M. Gonzalez Arellano is a junior majoring in Physiological Sciences B.S.
How has PEERS helped you achieve your academic goals?
Without the assistance of PEERS, I do not think I would have been able to pass some classes. It was thanks to their workshops that I was able to understand concepts much better than if I just attended lectures and discussion. Furthermore, PEERS has been able to provide great counseling which has been able to guide me in choosing classes for the future.
What advice do you have for an incoming PEERS freshman?
I want incoming freshmen to know that there is still time to discover their interests and that there is a lot of support if you know where to look for it. Here at UCLA, you are rarely, if ever, alone. Especially with PEERS behind you, you will always have a source of support and guidance. Obviously, this support and guidance can also come from other places such as your professors or your friends, but always remember that you have to ask for help in order to receive. Don’t try walking your path alone.
What are you involved in outside of academics? And how has your participation shaped your UCLA experience?
I am currently in the executive board for both ALD|PES and RADAR. ALD|PES are two honor societies that have tried to enrich the lives of their members and UCLA students by offering professional, academic, and social support throughout various events and programs that we have hosted. On the other hand, RADAR is a student led club whose main emphasis is on bringing awareness to invisible diseases that many live with and that others do not take into account when designing infrastructure, whether it be physical infrastructure or legal infrastructure. Both of these have helped me realize that there are a lot of people, students like ourselves, that are really devoted to the wellbeing of others even if it does not directly impact them. It brings me a sense of community that I had not found elsewhere.
What are your future career goals? And how has your background influenced your career goals?
My current future career goal is to become an anesthesiologist. I am a first-generation student as many of PEERS students are, and thus I want to set a path for my younger family members to look upon. Being from a Latino background, it has always been pointed out that I am the oldest of my family and that I need to set an example for my younger sister and for my cousins who are all younger than me. Although this would normally be a great deal of pressure on some, I wanted to take this role seriously as I do not want anyone that followed me to have the same struggles that I had because I would be able to help them. This mindset is what I believe led me to choosing anesthesiology as a career, because after all, anesthesia exists so that others do not have to suffer unnecessarily and that is what I aspire to be for my family.
Jasmin Gutierrez
Jasmin Gutierrez is a sophomore majoring in Biology B.S. with a minor in Public Health.
How has PEERS helped you achieve your academic goals?
I heard about PEERS through email and was immediately drawn because of its focus on research. I knew I wanted to get research experience and become a part of the research community. Even before I started classes PEERS guided me tremendously hosting an orientation event where they gave us advice about what to expect and even what classes to take. As a freshman, everything can definitely seem overwhelming but with the help of my PEERS counselor, I was able to properly structure my schedule all three quarters. The workshops also helped with getting to know people as we all were taking similar classes.
What advice do you have for an incoming PEERS freshman?
The biggest piece of advice I can give is to dedicate time to finding resources. The PEERS counselors send out emails constantly with links to scholarships, club fairs, and academic resources, etc. – pay attention to them! Also, surround yourself with people that value your presence. Don’t expect everyone you meet to be lifelong friends with so it’s okay to be lonely sometimes and focus on yourself! Lastly, enjoy your time here because it won’t last forever!
What are you involved in outside of academics? And how has your participation shaped your UCLA experience?
Outside of academics, I am involved in Hermanas Unidas de UCLA! I joined freshman year but really became involved with the club pretty recently. This group of Hermanas has really helped me find my home away from home and am very grateful to be on Steering this year! I am also a member of ReWritten. This pre-health org. narrows in on mental health and promotes our physical well-being. I enjoy attending the de-stressing events to get my mind off classes and the stressors that come along with them.
What are your future career goals? And how has your background influenced your career goals?
I hope to work in the medical field making a direct impact on the community that has helped me grow. Being Latina, I want to uplift the immigrant community and provide them with medical resources that are vital to their well-being. I plan to do so by becoming a physician and work in the Los Angeles area. I am not sure about what specialty I want to pursue and am therefore still looking into various careers in STEM.
Kelechi Onwuzurike
Kelechi Onwuzurike is a sophomore majoring in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology.
How has PEERS helped you achieve your academic goals?
PEERS has played a significant role in my UCLA experience. PEERS has greatly helped me with class enrollment and class planning as I have taken their schedule since freshman year. Having access to a PEERS counselor has also been proved very useful. My counselor has given me many resources, and I’ve been able to connect with them on a deeper level than any other counselor on campus. The PEERS workshops offer space to extend my knowledge and skill in my courses and converse with like-minded individuals, form study groups, and make more friends.
What advice do you have for an incoming PEERS freshman?
PEERS is offering you a lot of resources, so definitely try to take advantage of them. Use your resources to the fullest, and this is general advice that goes out of the PEERS program. UCLA has a plethora of resources to engage in. Research opportunities, clubs, and programs are all around you. In terms of our courses, you are a part of AAP, so you can also utilize PLFs. You will have learning assistants in your STEM classes to help you out, and you have office hours for your TA’s and professors that will benefit you as you can ask all the questions you want about course material. Outside of research, there are tons of clubs to join. Whether it’s sports club teams, anime/media clubs, or student associations, there are tons of communities to be a part of. Now is the time to create your own story, your legacy!
What are you involved in outside of academics? And how has your participation shaped your UCLA experience?
After falling in love with the LS7A course, I became a learning assistant in the spring quarter of my freshman year. I am still currently a learning assistant, and I have a lot of fun facilitating learning, creating an equitable learning environment for all students, and engaging with material I love. I had another chance to do this as a Peer Learning Facilitator for AAP Freshman Summer Program for the Chemistry 96 course. I would definitely love to be a PLF again sometime later in my college career. I also spent time in quarantine volunteering through Cope Health near my area, in which I gained a lot of hands-on experience with patients and met a plethora of health professionals! Being a recent member of the BISEP Summer Program, I am currently an undergraduate researcher in the Black Lab. The lab is pretty cool as we study the RNA splicing mechanism and its errors and implications in cancer, neural stem cell development, ALS, and other neurodegenerative diseases. I also recently joined the Nigerian Student Association, where I can engage other ambitious Nigerian students like myself. Through all these different communities, I truly feel there is a place or community for everyone at UCLA. If you haven’t found it now, you definitely will. I’m sure of it!
What are your future career goals? And how has your background influenced your career goals?
Being a part of research and the pre-med path, my future career goal lies in an MD-Ph.D, the physician-scientist! The day I imagine goes something like this: I’ve just finished my day in the hospital, seeing my patients and performing physician duties. After this, I can go to my lab, where I am the principal investigator. In my lab, we’ll perform translation science, turning laboratory observations in the biomedical sciences into novel clinical interventions and treatments! However, being an underrepresented minority in the STEM community, I would like to create an equitable environment for other peers, who may be underrepresented, or disadvantaged, or low-income, and much more. Programs such as BISEP, AAP Peer Learning, & PEERS are inspiring as they strive to create an inclusive environment in education & research. To be a part of such programs in any capacity, whether it’s my own or one of these, is a PRETTY big must for the future. Just like my role as P2P mentor, PLF, or LA, I believe in paving a way towards equity for my peers in a world where it seems there isn’t any.