Nicole Onyeagoro nearly cried when she found out last month that her cousin had been admitted to UCLA. It wasn’t a relief just for the first-year biology student, either. Anayo Emechete, Onyeagoro’s cousin, said he recalled his entire family being overwhelmed with joy.

Emechete, an incoming first-year biology student, attended UCLA’s Bruin Day event on Saturday, which welcomed the school’s recently admitted freshmen.

Thousands of prospective students came with friends and family members to visit the campus, sporting UCLA gear and snapping pictures with the Bruin Bear statue, which wore a “Welcome Class of 2027” banner for the occasion. Visitors had the opportunity to walk through booths in Dickson Plaza hosted by various academic departments and tour some of the on-campus residential buildings.

For recently admitted Bruins with family members who previously attended UCLA, the day was particularly special.

Cooper Darling, a prospective first-year chemical engineering student, came with a family of Bruins – including his mother MeHee Hyun, who received her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. at UCLA, and his older brother, who is a geography alumnus.

Hyun said she was very proud for her son to potentially share some of the experiences she had, such as participating in intramural sports and attending student performances.

Though he has not committed to UCLA, Darling said he thinks knowing about those experiences will better prepare him for the transition to college.

“Obviously, I’ll have my own experience that’ll be different from all of theirs,” he said. “But it’s great to know what their favorite spots on campus (are), or favorite things that they got to do, so that I’m able to do those things and then learn from that and be able to tailor it to what I want to do.”

Many generations of Bruins were also in attendance.

Robert and Sandra Sallin, whose grandson was recently accepted to UCLA, graduated in the 1950s and 1960s majoring in film and art, respectively. Though both said the physical look of the campus has changed greatly since they were students, Robert Sallin – who was part of one of the earliest graduating classes of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television – said he hopes his grandson will be able to take advantage of the many opportunities he had as a student.

“This is a very special place,” he said. “I tell him, ‘This is like a big city.’ That’s what I felt when I came here. And everything is here … it’s up to you to get it.”

Having an older Bruin in the family can be helpful for navigating academic issues, such as transferring credits, as well as social life, said Andy Johnson, an incoming first-year business economics student. Being able to learn from his sister – a current student – and her experiences has allowed him to feel more prepared to succeed, he said.

In addition to an older sibling, he said he has another support system in the form of his twin Marty Johnson, a prospective first-year business economics student who was also accepted to UCLA.

“It’s kind of just like a built-in friend,” Andy Johnson said. “A lot of people have to come here from out-of-state, internationally – they’re kind of just exposed to a completely different culture. And to me, just the ability to have just that built-in friend makes me feel so much more comfortable and so much more natural just in this vibrant environment.”

Marty Johnson, who has not yet committed to a school, said he has some concern that he might not be able to create a separate path from his siblings if they all attend the same school.

However, coming to Bruin Day and being able to learn more about the school have caused him to lean toward choosing UCLA, to which his brother has already committed, he said. He added that since he is most excited about meeting new people, being with his brother might also make it easier to do so.

As her cousin becomes part of the UCLA community, Onyeagoro said she looks forward to sharing her own knowledge about campus resources with him, specifically those for Black students. Emechete said he appreciates seeing the community fostered by Black students on campus, adding that he looks forward to making new friends, both with the support of his cousin and on his own.

“It feels really good knowing that I … essentially already have a family here,” he said. “I’m not necessarily alone.”