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STUDENT COMMENCEMENT SPEAKERS TO REFLECT ON UCLA EXPERIENCE
Daily Bruin: University of California - Los Angeles
June 8, 2014 Sunday
by : Kenneth Surajat
Andrew Ho
Andrew Ho has organized two UCLA Dance Marathons, given a 3-year-old
boy a private campus tour and photographed a proposal in Dickson
Court in his four years at UCLA.
Experiences like these are what the fourth-year psychobiology student
will remember when he reflects on his college years.
Ho, who served as president of the Pediatric AIDS Coalition for the
past two years, was chosen to be the student speaker for the 2 p.m.
College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony on Friday in
Pauley Pavilion.
He applied to be one of the speakers in April and was selected after
auditioning in front of a panel in May.
Ho said he plans to focus his speech on celebrating the graduating
class' accomplishments and how he thinks they have bonded over
the years.
Patrick Matchett, a UCLA alumnus and Ho's best friend, said he thinks
it would not have made sense for UCLA to choose anyone else to be a
commencement speaker.
"He's the most involved, modest and grounded human being I've ever
met," Matchett said. "He's not doing it because it makes him look
good but because he is passionate about what he does and he will put
his heart into it."
Ho became interested in the fight against pediatric AIDS in high
school while volunteering at a hospital in his free time. After that,
he decided to focus his college career on children's health.
Through the Pediatric AIDS Coalition, Ho has worked closely with Camp
Kindle, a camp for children who have been affected by HIV and AIDS, the
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the UCLA AIDS Institute.
"I saw the spirit kids have even though they are going through some
of the toughest things," he said.
After graduating, Ho said he plans to apply to various nonprofit
organizations focused on children's health or global diseases before
pursuing a master's degree in public health.
Sylvia Duzaryan
The large, unfamiliar community at UCLA intimidated Sylvia Duzaryan
when she transferred to the university two years ago.
On Friday, the fourth-year communication studies student will speak
at the 7 p.m. College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony
about how she found her place at UCLA.
Duzaryan, a transfer student from the College of the Canyons, said
that as she got involved with student organizations and on-campus work
opportunities, she gradually began to adjust to the culture of UCLA.
"A majority of my speech will be about the UCLA culture," she said.
"It will be about the mutual experience we as UCLA students can all
relate to as a community."
When Duzaryan first arrived at UCLA, she said she tried to gain work
experience through different campus departments, such as UCLA's media
relations division and the UCLA Anderson School of Management's media
relations department.
"Ever since she was in elementary school, she had this determination
and desire to create and make things happen for herself no matter
what," said Lucy Duzaryan, Sylvia Duzaryan's mother. "She would try
the unknown. That's what I always got from her teachers."
During her time at the university, Duzaryan has interned with Target
and The Hollywood Reporter. After graduation, she plans to take on
a full-time management position at Target, but said she is still
keeping her options open.
"I wanted to not only just be a student but also a student developing
herself professionally," she said.
Duzaryan's parents said they think that their daughter's love for
her family is what makes her most special.
"Back when she was in sixth grade, she wrote my life story and it
was very touching," said Sarkis Duzaryan, Duzaryan's father. "It made
me cry."
Though Duzaryan originally chose to participate in the speaker
selection process on a whim, she said she sees her speech as a way
to give back to her parents and grandparents for the sacrifices they
made when they immigrated to the United States from Armenia.
"My family suffered a lot of hardships moving from Armenia to here
and I saw it as my way of saying 'thank you,'" Duzaryan said. "It
was my way of ensuring them that whatever they went through in the
past wasn't in vain."
From: Baghdasarian
Daily Bruin: University of California - Los Angeles
June 8, 2014 Sunday
by : Kenneth Surajat
Andrew Ho
Andrew Ho has organized two UCLA Dance Marathons, given a 3-year-old
boy a private campus tour and photographed a proposal in Dickson
Court in his four years at UCLA.
Experiences like these are what the fourth-year psychobiology student
will remember when he reflects on his college years.
Ho, who served as president of the Pediatric AIDS Coalition for the
past two years, was chosen to be the student speaker for the 2 p.m.
College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony on Friday in
Pauley Pavilion.
He applied to be one of the speakers in April and was selected after
auditioning in front of a panel in May.
Ho said he plans to focus his speech on celebrating the graduating
class' accomplishments and how he thinks they have bonded over
the years.
Patrick Matchett, a UCLA alumnus and Ho's best friend, said he thinks
it would not have made sense for UCLA to choose anyone else to be a
commencement speaker.
"He's the most involved, modest and grounded human being I've ever
met," Matchett said. "He's not doing it because it makes him look
good but because he is passionate about what he does and he will put
his heart into it."
Ho became interested in the fight against pediatric AIDS in high
school while volunteering at a hospital in his free time. After that,
he decided to focus his college career on children's health.
Through the Pediatric AIDS Coalition, Ho has worked closely with Camp
Kindle, a camp for children who have been affected by HIV and AIDS, the
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the UCLA AIDS Institute.
"I saw the spirit kids have even though they are going through some
of the toughest things," he said.
After graduating, Ho said he plans to apply to various nonprofit
organizations focused on children's health or global diseases before
pursuing a master's degree in public health.
Sylvia Duzaryan
The large, unfamiliar community at UCLA intimidated Sylvia Duzaryan
when she transferred to the university two years ago.
On Friday, the fourth-year communication studies student will speak
at the 7 p.m. College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony
about how she found her place at UCLA.
Duzaryan, a transfer student from the College of the Canyons, said
that as she got involved with student organizations and on-campus work
opportunities, she gradually began to adjust to the culture of UCLA.
"A majority of my speech will be about the UCLA culture," she said.
"It will be about the mutual experience we as UCLA students can all
relate to as a community."
When Duzaryan first arrived at UCLA, she said she tried to gain work
experience through different campus departments, such as UCLA's media
relations division and the UCLA Anderson School of Management's media
relations department.
"Ever since she was in elementary school, she had this determination
and desire to create and make things happen for herself no matter
what," said Lucy Duzaryan, Sylvia Duzaryan's mother. "She would try
the unknown. That's what I always got from her teachers."
During her time at the university, Duzaryan has interned with Target
and The Hollywood Reporter. After graduation, she plans to take on
a full-time management position at Target, but said she is still
keeping her options open.
"I wanted to not only just be a student but also a student developing
herself professionally," she said.
Duzaryan's parents said they think that their daughter's love for
her family is what makes her most special.
"Back when she was in sixth grade, she wrote my life story and it
was very touching," said Sarkis Duzaryan, Duzaryan's father. "It made
me cry."
Though Duzaryan originally chose to participate in the speaker
selection process on a whim, she said she sees her speech as a way
to give back to her parents and grandparents for the sacrifices they
made when they immigrated to the United States from Armenia.
"My family suffered a lot of hardships moving from Armenia to here
and I saw it as my way of saying 'thank you,'" Duzaryan said. "It
was my way of ensuring them that whatever they went through in the
past wasn't in vain."
From: Baghdasarian