The Los Angeles City Council honored graduate students at the Luskin School of Public Affairs on Friday for their studies in public policy, urban planning and social welfare.

The event, hosted by the office of councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky – whose district includes Westwood and UCLA – took place at LA City Hall. Attendees were applauded by officials and visitors before moving to the building’s Tom Bradley observation tower to hear a series of presentations and ask questions about careers in public service.

Samantha Koemans, a graduate student in social welfare, said she had previously worked in the city of Riverside’s Department of Housing and wanted to come to Luskin Day to see how similar issues were handled on a larger scale.

“It’s important to have our voice in these spaces and to partake in these roles,” Koemans said. “I’m excited to hopefully be one of those (panelists) in the future.”

Panelists included representatives from multiple city government departments, Luskin alumni, business leaders, councilmember Yaroslavsky and her father Zev Yaroslavsky – a former councilmember and the director of the LA Initiative at the Luskin School of Public Affairs. They spoke about citywide issues, including affordable housing, public transportation and natural disaster management, and offered advice on how to build professional reputations in local government.

Golden Bachelder, a graduate student in public policy, said his love for LA motivated him to pursue a career in public service and attend the event, where he hoped to learn how city government operates.

“I want to help advocate for LA and make it the best place possible,” Bachelder said. “I’d love to be a city employee, to work for an elected official or to have any position where I feel like I can help make positive change for the city.”

Melanie Avzun, a graduate student in social welfare, said she was inspired by hearing panelists speak about future policy and opportunities. However, Avzun added that she felt they only briefly touched on certain important issues such as homelessness.

Koemans said she was not satisfied with the panel’s discussion about transportation for the upcoming LA Olympic Games and wished panelists would have spent more time unpacking the possible risks of increased displacement for gentrification.

Students also attended a “Lunch & Learn with LA City Personnel” event and afternoon career panel, which provided insight about the realities of working in government.

Valerie Osegueda, a graduate student in urban and regional planning, said she appreciated how much the panelists talked about the current federal administration. The panelists discussed the importance of taking action and helping others in response to a crisis, specifically by working in government.

“(Everyone is) mentioning how, more than ever, right now it’s important to have these jobs and to have people who are advocating for the community in these jobs,” Osegueda said. “That’s the main thing I would take away from today.”

One panelist, Edgar Reyna – a Luskin alumnus and a climate resilience senior analyst in the LA Mayor’s Office of Energy and Sustainability – urged students to not be dissuaded from going into public service by the current political landscape. He said they should instead use policies they may disagree with as motivation to be involved in civil service.

“For me, it’s, ‘How do we establish a stronger foundation now,’” Reyna said. “The future decisions that are going to be made by future leaders, like you all here in this room, can actually create a stronger, more resilient Los Angeles and California.”

Katy Yaroslavsky said at a separate town hall that the city faces budget challenges and spoke about her ideas to consolidate departments that cover similar areas to improve government efficiency.

“The city is facing a lot of challenges, as you know,” Katy Yaroslavsky said. “It’s also an incredible opportunity.”

Katy Yaroslavsky also presented the students with certificates for their participation in the event.

Luis Valente, a graduate student in urban planning, said watching decisions unfold in city hall motivated him to be involved in public service. He added that the event’s programming and the city council meeting – including watching public comment, people heckling officials and his classmates’ reactions – will inform his future career.

“You have to coordinate with people, and I think that’s really cool – these are the people I might potentially work with in the future,” Valente said. “I think the connections I’m most eager to make aren’t with people who are already established – which are great – but really more so with other students.”