Situated in the vibrant and diverse city of Los Angeles, California, UCLA is known worldwide as an institution devoted to its rigorous academics, expansive research and advancement in health care. For the class of 2027, who have just embarked on their journey of higher education, this inaugural year was filled with a mix of excitement, challenges and personal growth. Here, three students give their unique and honest take on this past year.
TIMEA JAROSOVA
Timea Jarosova is a microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, or MIMG, student, hailing all the way from Qatar to achieve her dream of becoming a biological researcher.
Roommates:
In terms of housing, almost all freshman students are assigned to a triple occupancy room. Whether this is due to a shortage of housing accommodations or a type of “college initiation ritual,” we’ll never know. “My roommate situation is not good. I do not mesh with my roommates at all; it’s quite a poor relationship,” said Jarosova. When assigning roommates randomly, a very precise science is necessary to find a perfect match for every student. The pre-room assignment questionnaire is how UCLA chooses to handle this, and in Jarosova’s opinion, “The idea is good, the execution is kind of poor.”
Academics:
Jarosova’s favorite course this year was a chemistry course with Eric Scerri, a professor of chemistry and a historian and philosopher of science at UCLA, who has been ranked as the second-most influential academic in the field of chemistry over the last decade. Jarosova said, “He has a reputation for being very scary. He’s called ‘Scary Scerri,’ but I actually found that he’s a great professor, and once you get to know him, he’s a very kind person.” Possibly one of the most enlightening experiences in college is getting to know your professor beyond their area of expertise. For Jarosova, this happened by attending office hours regularly, often spending several hours a week there. “[Scerri] hosts the most fun office hours. At one point, we got to see him play guitar, and he even has a band, so that was a very fun experience.”
Reflection:
Above all, one of Jarosova’s fondest memory was meeting two of her closest friends during week zero. “We became a very sweet trio. We had dinner every night at De Neve, and we had a tradition of eating white cupcakes…we were the ‘De Neve Gang,’” said Jarosova. Unfortunately, like all boy bands do, the trio split up. She, however, reflects upon this part of the year very fondly, saying, “[For me], it was a lesson about friendship and how it doesn’t always last.”
MOLLY GRAHAM
As an international development studies student from Oakland, California, Molly Graham was excited about exploring her passions further. She remembered Bruin Day as the turning point that sold her on the vibrant campus and what appeared to her as a healthy blend of fun and hard work. She has enjoyed her classes in her first year and looks forward to possibly studying abroad and working for a non-profit organization post-graduation.
Extracurriculars:
An important part of college is finding a place to explore and hone in on your passions outside of your major. Graham has prioritized finding the time to do that, especially when it comes to her love for theater. At the beginning of fall quarter, she joined the Hooligan Theatre Company, UCLA’s student-run theater group. “When I came to college, I wasn’t sure if I was going to get to do theater which I love so much…it’s really awesome to get a chance to continue to be creative and perform and have fun.”
Roommates:
Luckily for Graham, her roommates didn’t dampen her first taste of college. She said, “I got lucky when it comes to roommates. I’m not close with them, we’re not best friends, we don’t really hang out a lot, but we have a system and we make it work…we just kind of exist.” With dorm life being highly glamorized in television and film, sometimes it’s hard to let go of that desire to be best friends with your roommates. Graham said, “I think at the beginning of the year, it was hard because I really wanted my roommates to be my friends; but as time has gone by, I’ve been grateful that we have this balance and I can go to my room and just be.”
Academics:
All college students can relate to the dreaded news of finding out that required courses did not end in our senior year of high school. Learning about these requirements can be disheartening after entering college, eager to specialize in your area of study. “I’m definitely looking forward to getting to take upper division classes and things I’m really interested in and be done with all of the GEs. I’m not really a science-y math person, so those have been the lesser of the favorites,” said Graham. Aside from those general education courses, her favorite class was the global Islam cluster. “I feel like one of the best decisions I’ve made was to do a cluster because it’s just so nice to have continuity throughout the year… at such a big school, it’s so hard to feel like you’re part of a community, so I feel like the cluster really helped with that.”
Reflection:
As Graham reflected on this past year, she shared how she experienced a lot of growth and found her footing here in Los Angeles. “It’s the shift that happens over this one year…even though it’s just one year, so much has changed,” she said. “I think, slowly, the pieces have started to come together, and as I’m nearing the end of this year, I’m feeling more comfortable and like I belong here.”
MIA SULLIVAN
Mia Sullivan is an English student from Sacramento, California. She balances her academics with a variety of pastimes including writing, baking, listening to music and thrift shopping. After she receives her undergraduate degree, she plans to go on to law school.
Roommates:
Like most freshmen, Sullivan signed up to be paired with random roommates this year. “I kind of ran the risk of having an interesting situation,” said Sullivan. Coincidentally, one of those random roommates ended up being from her hometown, and the two of them had many mutual friends. The other roommate, unfortunately, was not a good match. “We’ve just had a really difficult time with making sure [to respect each other’s boundaries]… I feel that I’ve respected her boundaries but she hasn’t really respected mine. So that’s kind of been a topic of contention within our room… there’s been some really tense moments over the past year.”
Even after putting a roommate contract in place, things didn’t get any better. Sullivan noted that, even after months of the living together, an issue with a blaring alarm clock arose again. “I just thought that we could be mature young adults and talk things out but that was not the case,” she said. “Some of the stuff we dealt with, they were very uncomfortable topics.”
Academics:
Overall, Sullivan has had positive experiences in most of her classes. “For the most part, my professors have been really great. You can tell they’re really passionate and knowledgeable about their field, and they make their lectures very engaging…my English professor is Claire McEachern, and I’m taking English 10A with her. She’s just so smart, and I love hearing all of her insights.” However, she noticed that some of the general education professors aren’t as passionate and connected to their students. “You can just tell that some of the professors don’t really care…they’re just not invested,” Sullivan said. “They kind of make snide comments to the students, so that kind of bothers me.”
Reflection:
When recalling her freshman year, Sullivan admitted that she’s had her ups and downs, but the year wasn’t all bad. One of her favorite highlights was when she found out that the woman who shushed her and her friend in one of her fall quarter classes was actually a famous actress from the TV show “Anne With An E.”
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Featured Image via BruinLife Archives
