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Veronica Pikes, age 10, holds up her tower built from straw during a workshop put on by SOLES.

Coming from an area where few students attend four-year universities, David Luna strived for higher education. In high school, a student one year older than Luna made a lasting impression on him by attending Harvard University. The following year, Luna entered UCLA as an engineering student.

He attributes his achievement in part to outreach programs from UCLA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Now, Luna, a fifth-year math student, gives back to underrepresented youth as the vice president of UCLA’s Society of Latino Engineers and Scientists.

This year, Luna was responsible for helping plan the SOLES annual Youth Motivation Day.

On Friday, Ackerman Grand Ballroom was filled with eager fifth-graders participating in the event. Youth Motivation Day aims to create an interest in higher education especially in the field of engineering in inner-city areas of Los Angeles.

Established in 1983, SOLES is a a student-run chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, a nationwide organization dedicated to promote the development of Chicana/o students in engineering, science and other technical professions.

SOLES seeks to provide representation for Chicana/o student engineers and scientists at UCLA. The organization also provides academic and social support to current members.

Throughout the year, SOLES holds workshops ranging from mock interviews to résumé critiques. In addition, the organization as a whole serves as a place where students can come together, socialize, and form study groups.

Advancing Careers in Engineering and Science is a component of SOLES that reaches out to the L.A. community. The group focuses on assisting students ranging from the third to 12th grade to perform better in academia, focusing on math and engineering.

“By working with kids as young as the third grade it helps implant the seed of education at an early stage. If kids think about going to college early on, they can take advantage of their resources, increasing their chances of attending a university,” Luna said.

Throughout the day, elementary school students took part in several workshops consisting of building foil boats, straw towers and roller coasters. Following the workshops, members of SOLES guided the kids through a campus tour and a visit to the planetarium.

Because there was a mix-up with the bus transportation schedule, the outcome was smaller than expected.

But the event was still a success, said Elena Garcia, secretary of SOLES and a second-year civil engineering student.

Though many other outreach programs on campus organizations are suffering from budget cuts, SOLES remains unaffected because it receives funding from not only local companies but also its nationwide parent organization.

“As of right now the budget cuts have yet to affect us, and this is a blessing for an outreach organization like this,” said Gabriel Elenes, director of ACES.

UCLA’s chapter has won the National Chapter of the Year award for the past five years out of seven regions around the United States.

The School of Engineering also has outreach programs and opportunities for both current and prospective black and American Indian engineering students.

“At a young age you either grow a hatred towards math and science, or you like it. We want to build a foundation (in the youth) for math and science. A lot of these students get discouraged, so it is important to show them that math and science and college can all be fun,” Elenes said.