Active students, alumni make UCLA an intimate place

With its large lower division classes and expansive campus, UCLA
is often unfairly labeled as an impersonal university. Many high
school students are warned before they enroll at a big school that
they will be “just a number,” but my experiences at
UCLA have proved quite the contrary.

In fact, the abundance of on-campus involvement opportunities
that foster our personal growth is a direct consequence of its
size. The capacity to broaden our academic, social and cultural
experiences at UCLA is unique, but we’ll only reap the
positive benefits of these prospects if we actively pursue
them.

We can work alongside renowned professors in research and
network directly with alumni at a Dinner for 12 Strangers or career
event. We can walk five minutes to see an exhibit at the Fowler
Museum of Cultural History, share in the musical talents of our own
fellow students at Spring Sing, and cheer on the Bruins at a
national sporting event.

We also form friendships with others, discover our individual
passions, and have available the open channels to pursue them
wholeheartedly. It is these kinds of opportunities that distinctly
enrich our university experience and allow us to affect, and be
affected by, the university we call home.

Receiving a diploma from UCLA is a commendable accomplishment,
but what a degree can’t communicate are the numerous
activities and relationships outside the classroom we’ve
pursued along the way. While graduation may be an end to our
academic connection to the university, we can still aim to foster
our relationship as active alumni.

The involvement that enhanced our undergraduate experience can
be continued in many venues, for the alumni base is broad and
diverse. The UCLA Alumni Association is available to facilitate our
connection to the university and each other.

With a little effort on our end, we can succeed in breaking the
stereotype associated with a large university and building upon the
positive aspects of the Bruin foundation we have personally come to
know.

As UCLA students and alumni, we are uniquely equipped to shape
our academic experience in limitless directions and, consequently,
actively contribute and share in the lasting success of our
school.

Some may say we are “just a number,” but I would
argue that the nine-digit student ID number we use to check our
e-mail and write on bluebooks is the least accurate way to
characterize our years at UCLA. Identification with a number
implies a predetermined, fixed value. It is the people ““ UCLA
students, alumni, faculty and staff ““ and the experiences
available to us that reflect our true collective and individual
university identities.

Hessenius was the 2004-2005 president of the Student Alumni
Association.