For one UCLA student, a celebrated alumnus has offered an extra boost to her educational pursuits.

Alexa Cruz, a first-year theater student with an emphasis in musical theater, is the inaugural recipient of the Carol Burnett Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship in Musical Theater. The award – intended to help offset the costs of tuition and fees – is administered by the Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program and is endowed by Carol Burnett. The 92-year-old comedian and actress is one of the most decorated UCLA alumni in the arts, with her accolades including seven Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy Award and a special Tony Award.

“I was on the walk back to my dorm room, so when I opened the email, I immediately burst into tears because I couldn’t believe it,” Cruz said. “I was filled with excitement and in confusion at the same time, because I was wondering, ‘Do they have the wrong Alexa Cruz?’”

Cruz said receiving the scholarship was a complete surprise because she had not even applied for it. The fact that the scholarship benefited her education and also came from one of her career idols was even more surprising, she added. To top it all off, Cruz said she was excited and overwhelmed to read in the congratulatory email that Burnett wanted to meet her.

Cruz said her passions for musical theater started years prior, when she was about nine years old and acted as one of Cruella De Vil’s henchmen in a production of “One Hundred and One Dalmatians.” She said she was first exposed to Burnett’s work through the music the actress had performed in her Broadway breakthrough role in 1959’s “Once Upon a Mattress.” Cruz, a first-generation student, said she was drawn to the theater program at UCLA since it is offered as a B.A. program rather than a B.F.A. program, giving her the flexibility to study theater in addition to exploring academic interests in outside departments.

The limited representation of Latino people in theater can be discouraging, Cruz said. She added that this sometimes resulted in her losing out on a part she was competing for while participating in productions prior to UCLA. She said she has adopted a mindset of “work hard, play hard” in the hopes of proving her talents are a quality fit for certain parts. Even if not every show is the right fit, Cruz said she has appreciated how theater has allowed her to explore many different styles of acting.

“I realized that there are many different characters and singing types that I like to portray on stage,” Cruz said. “I like to think I’m a very versatile actor. I can do the comedic bit, I can do something serious – and I want to learn it all.”

Dan Belzer, an adjunct professor who is marking 25 years of teaching at UCLA, said the Burnett scholarship was designed with first-year musical theater students in mind. He said he worked together with several colleagues to select Cruz as the scholarship’s inaugural recipient. Burnett’s involvement is invigorating not just because she is supporting a young artist, Belzer said, but also because of the legacy being built by alumni of the program who pursue careers on and off Broadway.

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Celine Parreñas Shimizu, the dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, said she is proud to lead a school with so many distinguished alumni. She said when Burnett was a Bruin in the early 1950s, the future star was able to actualize herself through her studies in preparation for a long career. Shimizu said the establishment of this scholarship represents not only a robust endowment toward student education, but also a declaration by Burnett to encourage students to be themselves – as she herself learned to do during her time as a student.

The support of well-connected alumni has been essential in strengthening the experience for theater students at UCLA, Shimizu said. For instance, she said some funding is currently being dedicated toward allowing students to experiment with virtual production. Students have the ability to film scenes on the moon or in a desert from a sound stage, Shimizu said. In November, two production designers brought in four tons of sand just to make this possible.

“It’s that spirit of play and experimentation and unleashed, unbound creativity that inspires our donors to give,” Shimizu said. “As dean, I embrace the role of finding the resources for our students that their talents not only demand but deserve.”

Shimizu said one of the most rewarding moments with Cruz was introducing her and Burnett. Even with Chancellor Julio Frenk in attendance, Shimizu said Burnett was most eager to meet and talk to Cruz. She added that the comedian makes an effort to learn and remember the names of the people around her so she can greet them, which reflects her energetic commitment to community.

“When she met Alexa Cruz, it was as if they were the most playful best friend-siblings. She kind of fake kissed her,” Shimizu said. “And this wasn’t choreographed, and Alexa fake kissed her right back, like air kisses.”

Burnett’s repeated message to the students she met was that they cannot aspire to be her, but must aspire to be themselves, Shimizu said, noting that this same idea also applies to her own desire to ask questions while continuing to wear outlandishly bold outfits that will be remembered. She added that Burnett remains most proud of an outstanding student award she won during her time at UCLA, even among later accolades that include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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When reflecting on Burnett’s evolving legacy, Shimizu said the star expanded not only the public perception of a beautiful woman but also of what it means to be a compassionate and generous person. She said students feel immediately connected to Burnett upon meeting her and added that the alumnus looks at others with warm understanding rather than judgment or hostility. To have Burnett’s recognition, support and spirited faith in their talents is invaluable to Cruz and her peers, Shimizu added.

“She simply says to our students, you’re already amazing, right? Can you imagine you’re already amazing?” Shimizu said. “And all you have to do is pursue that, pursue all the facets of what that means to actualize that fact.”

On meeting Burnett, Cruz said some of the people in the room with her emphasized that Cruz’s name was being put alongside Burnett’s, and that it spelled future success in her career with potential to continue to Broadway. Cruz said Burnett told her to keep in touch and encouraged her to pursue her passions for the sake of the enjoyment she derives from them.

“She wished for me to just enjoy every moment of it – to have fun, to break barriers,” Cruz said. “I definitely felt her support just by her presence.”