Forecasting UCLA: A look at campus climate-Alex Franceschi

Counting the beats out loud, Alex Franceschi stepped and shimmied and dipped, salsa dancing with his father in the kitchen of his house in Puerto Rico

“I learned (salsa) for my cousin’s wedding when I was 12 ““ I wanted to impress girls, so my dad gave me a crash course,” said Franceschi, a graduate student in engineering.

Now he leads weekly salsa classes in the Wooden Center. Yet years before, he would have never imagined himself at UCLA.

Franceschi said his upbringing and ethnic community before college placed little emphasis on academics. It was prodding from his community college counselor that brought him to break the stereotypes of his culture and transfer to UCLA as a mechanical engineering student, he said.

“I never realized that I had felt I didn’t belong in the category of those attending (university),” he said.

At UCLA, his interest in salsa dancing brought him close to students in the Latin American Student Association. At the same time, he made close friends through engineering classes, where they bonded over their common love for mechanical systems.

“At first, I felt very much like I didn’t belong in the group,” Franceschi said. “Most of the guys just played video games all night, and I didn’t even know what Starcraft and Counterstrike was.”

Franceschi said he was initially amazed at the diversity at UCLA but quickly adjusted because of his diverse family background, as his mother and three half sisters were of mixed ethnicities.

Though he said he is one of the few Latino students in his engineering classes, Franceschi does not regret his decision, thankful that he was able to step beyond the boundaries set by his upbringing.

“It’s easy to go where all the Latinos are, but for me, I just do what I love,” he said. “Whoever is around me can teach me, no matter if they are Asian or white or black.”