More than 1,400 School of Social Ecology students graduate
More than 1,400 School of Social Ecology students, clad in their commencement caps and gowns and screaming “zot zot zot,” were celebrated over Father’s Day weekend as they crossed the stage, marking the completion of their degrees.
“For the class of 2023, the university is holding 11 ceremonies this week, celebrating and recognizing 11,000 students who have earned undergraduate and graduate degrees this academic year,” said Dean Jon Gould during his welcome at the earlier of two Social Ecology commencements. “Of course, we know this is the most important of those 11 ceremonies. Right? [Cheers and applause.] Exactly.”
During his remarks, Chancellor Howard Gilman said, “This amazing class will forever be remembered as among the most resilient and responsive and determined classes we have ever had the privilege of knowing. Because, keep in mind, most of the wonderful students joined us before COVID transformed the world. And, so, they had to adapt and persist through challenges that no previous class has had to face.”
The chancellor slapped the podium to punctuate each of his next words: “And they fought back to get to this day. It is incredible and deserving of special recognition.”
That kind of resilience is embodied by student speaker Natalya Wynter Muro, who was born with spina bifida and enlarged kidneys and struggled with the resulting debilitating effects all her life – yet she still would get her bachelor’s degree in criminology, law and society.
“I wish for this world to open up for each and every one of you, because you deserve it,” Muro told her fellow graduating Anteaters. “Though this world has taken so much from us, there is so much to be thankful for. Thank those who have helped you grow during your time here. Thank yourself for pushing you to be stronger than the person you were when you first got here, whether that was two years ago or four years ago. Take pride in the fact that despite the adversity we have faced, we have continued to flourish and grow through every single barrier that has been presented to us.”
She was followed by the earlier ceremony’s featured speaker Maurice Sanchez, associate justice of California’s 4th District Court of Appeal, Division 3 that is based in Santa Ana, which is where the first Latino and first person of color to serve on the bench grew up.
“Seeing you here, dressed in your caps and gowns, reminds me of my own social ecology graduation back when dinosaurs roamed the earth,” joked the justice, who earned his bachelor’s degree in social ecology from UCI in 1978 (followed by his law degree from UC Berkeley in 1981).
Most of Sanchez’s address had a more serious tone as he called for a return to civility in modern society.
“You can make it a part of your everyday life,” he told the grads. “Step back from being snarky or uncivil. Help someone who doesn’t expect it. Let the other person go in front of you in line. Maybe they won’t thank you, but that’s OK. You can feel good about it, and maybe they’ll be civil to the next person. You can often be a role model to others, especially those younger than you. They often emulate what they see. And you can help make the world a better place one small, civil act at a time. It’s up to you.”
Pulitzer Prize winner and Guggenheim Fellow Héctor Tobar, UCI professor of Chicano/Latino studies and English, delivered the keynote address at the second School of Social Ecology commencement ceremony, held jointly with the School of Humanities. He called the graduates bold.
“Because you believe in justice, because you have witnessed injustice and because you want to help make a world that is fair and safe, you chose a major in the School of Social Ecology,” he said. “You studied subjects that made you feel alive, that made you feel powerful, that explained where you fit in the world.”
Tobar’s advice to the newly-minted graduates: “In the coming years, you will often feel like the opposite of a superhero. Sometimes you will feel like the obstacles we face are too big, and that we’re too small and weak to resist the many injustices and inequalities of this flawed world in which we live. Your Anteater spirit will be deflated by people who belittle you, who don’t dream as big as you, or who don’t dream at all. The continuing existence of racism and sexism and class-ism, of hatred against LGBTQ people, and the idiocy of transphobia, will make you angry and frustrated. But fear not, Class of 2023. Because in these moments you will summon the most powerful superhero power of them all: Faith. And, eventually from your sense of outrage, and from a continuing and undying belief in your brain power, and from your love for the communities to which you belong, the future will be born.”
Notable Grads
The School’s Class of 2023 includes a number of notable grads:
Desiree Delgadillo, who was awarded the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship- Kelsey Morgan, founder and chief of EverFree
- Megan Kosai, who landed a White House internship
- Patricia Ávalos, Angela Boatwright, Zachary R. Griggy, Ashley Heltzel, Wei Huang, Megan Kosai, Ivy Li, Julia Isabelle Lin, Phoebe Pham, Daniel Rojas and Jira (Hugh) Trinetkamol, recipients of the Chancellor’s Award of Distinction
- Jianmin Shao, 2023 Dissertation Fellow in Women’s Studies by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars' WW National Fellowship Foundation.
- Maya Adel, who is going to the University of Chicago Law School in the fall
- Giselle Guzman, the 2023 recipient of the Outstanding Community College Transfer Student Scholarship
- Jensine Bugelli, UCI Athletics’ Women's Water Polo Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Kylie Yeatman, who will be attending Cornell University Law School in the fall
- Haily Huynh, UCI Athletics’ Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Eeron "EJ" Wilson II, who will be attending Rutgers University in the fall to pursue the criminal justice doctoral program
- Halli Stewart and Tea Akiaten, winners of the UCI Athletics Social Ecology Academic Unit Award
- Mia Colombini, winner of two UCI Athletics' student-athlete awards — Newcomer of the Year and Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Evelyn Jimenez, winner of UCI’s cap decorating contest
- Newly-minted Ph.D.s have landed prestigious postdoctoral fellowships to tenure-track faculty positions and consulting work
- Dozens of students received School of Social Ecology honors and awards
Class Gift
The School’s outgoing class is creating a legacy with its Senior Class Campaign, which will support the Field Study program and help launch the Career PIPEline (Preparation in Postbaccalaureate Employment) program.
Career PIPEline aims to significantly enhance and expand preparatory services through comprehensive career preparation and network-building to ensure that undergraduate students develop the competencies sought after by employers.
Campaign gifts can be made online.
Commencement videos and photos
Downloadable photos from commencement are available on Flickr.
— Story by Matt Coker and Mimi Ko Cruz / photos by Steve Zylius and Han Parker