The Undergraduate Students Association Council’s 2026-27 transfer student representative wants to help transfer students access academic support and get them more involved in campus organizations.

Ashley Ma, a fourth-year labor studies student, spoke with campus politics editor Nicholas Mouchawar about her experience as a transfer student and her priorities for this academic year. Ma’s background makes her somewhat of an anomaly: While more than 90% of UCLA’s admitted transfer students come from California Community Colleges, Ma transferred from UC Irvine. She was previously the director of transfer opportunities in the 2025-26 transfer student representative’s office.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Daily Bruin: For anyone who may be unfamiliar with student government, what does the transfer student representative do, and what power does the office have to improve the transfer experience?

Ashley Ma: What we do is a lot of different things within the scope of student government, council decisions, talking with administrators. It’s not just about having a transfer student in the room, but about providing that perspective on the different challenges transfers face. We are coming from different backgrounds than traditional students and facing different challenges because we have limited time.

It’s really about making sure students have the best chance to thrive at UCLA and really feel welcome. It’s not just about getting in, it’s about being able to fit in and find your community. We hold social events, professional development-related programming, work on the administrative side and outreach to community colleges to strengthen transfer pathways and support students coming in.

DB: As a transfer student yourself, what challenges did you face when you came to UCLA, and how have they shaped your goals for this year?

AM: I am a UC-to-UC transfer, so my experience might be different from that of a lot of transfer students. But from what I have seen and my friends, what’s common among our experiences is not knowing what to do when you get on campus. A lot of infrastructure and support for students coming in is designed for traditional four-year students, so as a transfer student, it can feel like that programming or support is not meant for you.

One of my priorities this year is making sure we are doing outreach to students, that they know what resources are available to them and that they feel like they can ask for help. UCLA is such a big campus, and sometimes things can feel impersonal. You have to advocate for yourself. With the limited timeline we have as transfer students, it can feel very disheartening to be told, “No.”

DB: What are your office’s main priorities, and how do you plan to accomplish these?

AM: One of my platforms is student organization transparency, which is something I worked on as part of the transfer student representative’s office this past year.

Transfer students are not getting involved in clubs as much as four-year students are. Sometimes it is because of application deadlines, or it’s because of not-inclusive practices on the club side. Sometimes it’s overwhelming.

There are plenty of transfer-specific clubs, and I love that people are able to find that community. But it shouldn’t be because they’re not welcome in other spaces. Both should be an option.

[Related: USAC 2026-27 candidate debates: Transfer student representative]

DB: Given their two years here, lack of representation is a concern for transfers. What are some steps your office is taking to address this?

AM: We are working with SOLE (the Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement office) on this, because SOLE oversees all the clubs.

I’m hoping to look at club charters and find clear-cut ways transfers are being excluded. In some cases it can be difficult because it’s not a written rule of, ‘Don’t accept any transfer students,’ but sometimes you can tell from the rules built into a club. For example, if you need a year of experience at UCLA, if you’re an incoming transfer, it’s a little bit late for that.

For USAC, we had a transfer in the (ASUCLA board of director) position this past year, but only because someone had stepped down from their term early. We just, in June, appointed our new board of directors appointees from USAC and it’s a two-year term. There’s no time for transfer students. We are looking at how we can modify it (the process) to make it open to transfers.

DB: One of the platforms in your campaign was to create more spaces on the Hill beyond De Neve Holly’s Transfer Living Learning Community. What would that look like, and how do you plan to accomplish this?

AM: This idea was born out of personal experience because I lived on the Hill, but not in Holly. My roommates and I were all transfers, and the first couple of weeks were quite lonely because no one else in our building was a transfer. I ended up spending a lot of time in Holly because that’s where all my friends ended up being.

Not every transfer lives in Holly. What I am envisioning is a study space or lounge – doesn’t matter where they live, sort of like the Transfer Student Center. You can walk in, grab a snack, stay and study.

We’re still in the planning phase for this, but one option is, instead of moving away from Holly, using Holly because there’s a multipurpose room. A lot of transfer students who do not live in Holly do not feel welcome there because they do not live there. We have not confirmed this logisticswise, but we are thinking about giving transfer students access to just the first floor so they could access the multipurpose room and meet other transfers. Even if you do not live there, you would feel like you could go there.

DB: Your platform also called for more transfer-specific academic counseling. What would that look like?

AM: What I have found difficult is if you want to switch your major, double major or minor in something, there’s a lot of different requirements to fulfill with so little time. Some minors require applications, which takes even longer.

My idea with the counseling is providing more direct support. A lot of (transfer) students perhaps aren’t thinking so closely about it in their first quarter. That’s when you basically need to have your entire two years planned out if you want to accomplish any of those things.

The other issue that a lot of students have run into is transferring credits. With the UC-to-UC transfer, I get credit for everything, but I don’t get course requirements fulfilled.

Some academic counseling appointments I have been to this year, it’s been unclear whether I’m even asking the right person. So having more support for students and more guidance on, ‘If I have a question about this, where do I go?’

DB: What advice would you give incoming transfers as they begin their time at UCLA?

AM: I will quote Shakira here and say, “Try everything.” The best part about UCLA is that there is so much to do. Pursue your interests, but be open to new experiences. Explore. Meet new people.

Before transferring, I was not involved in student government, and now I am here. Be open to new experiences, and don’t be afraid.