Congratulations, Southeast Asian (SEA) Admit Weekend!
The UCLA Volunteer Center is awarding the Bruin Heroes Award this month to Southeast Asian (SEA) Admit Weekend in recognition of the work of six UCLA student groups who have collaboratively dedicated their efforts to making UCLA a more diverse and inviting community. In envisioning, organizing and hosting the Southeast Asian (SEA) Admit Weekend, these students demonstrate the power volunteerism has to bring about real change. The Vietnamese Student Union, United Khmer Students, Thai Smakom, Laotian American Organization, Burmese Student Association and the Association of Hmong Students will together be hosting the second annual weekend on April 15-17.
According to event organizers, Southeast Asians, specifically Burmese, Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, Mien, Thai and Vietnamese, are historically underrepresented at UCLA. To proactively respond, students last year organized SEA Admit Weekend. Although SEA Admit Weekend is a relatively new entity, the event has already achieved significant success. This year, event organizers anticipate that 150 to 200 admitted UCLA students will attend the SEA Admit Weekend. Putting on this free and event-filled weekend has been a difficult and daunting task. Yet the hurdles have not deterred the member organizations from dedicating long hours to together work toward the mission of the event: “fostering a cohesive, educated community to better ourselves, our families, and our community.”
More About Southeast Asian (SEA) Admit Weekend
Southeast Asian (SEA) Admit Weekend seeks to promote higher education, increase community consciousness, and provide a safe and supportive Southeast Asian community on campus, while introducing Southeast Asian admits to the vast variety of opportunities and resources available at UCLA.
In its first year, the weekend let prospective Bruins experience life as a college student at UCLA, and will also include campus tours, multiple workshops, a student/alumni reception dinner, and a talent show, allowing participants to explore the opportunities that make UCLA one of the best universities in the nation. SEA Admit Weekend is free to all admitted students, including all meals, bus transportation, lodging, and activities. This year’s theme is “Advoca-SEA: SEA yourself, SEA UCLA, SEA your future” to reflect the wide availability of opportunities available at UCLA for students of Southeast Asian descent.
More About the Bruin Heroes Award
The Bruin Heroes Award recognizes innovative and inspiring projects organized by UCLA organizations. Every day, thousands of students work in hundreds of groups on service projects worldwide. As a public institution, UCLA is dedicated to service and values the hard work of these Bruins and the passion motivating their endeavors. The goal of this award is to shine a light on these efforts.
The Bruin Heroes Award will be awarded monthly by the UCLA Volunteer Center. This month, April 2010, is the first month the Bruin Heroes Award was awarded. Award recipients are selected by the Volunteer Center Fellows from among a pool of nominations compiled by a group of chief campus advisors. Winners of the award receive recognition and support from the Volunteer Center as well as a monetary award. For more information email: volunteer@support.ucla.edu.
