Alumni Win Graduate School Scholarships to Study Overseas

Leia Yen, who graduated from UCLA in 2019, has won the distinguished Marshall Scholarship, making her the primary Bruin to win in nine years, and also the primary UCLA transfer student to receive the award.

The Marshall Scholarship — which finances one to 2 years of graduate study at any U.K. university — is awarded to approximately 45 American college graduates annually .

As a Marshall Scholar, Yen will pursue master’s degrees in digital humanities and digital culture and society at King’s College London.

“I see my studies at King’s College as an opportunity to develop a world , collaborative approach to digital humanities, not only between the U.S. and the U.K., but also with other institutions, nations and communities that are underrepresented in traditional tech-related fields,” Yen said.

At UCLA, Yen focused on digital humanities, presenting two projects at Undergraduate Research Week and dealing as a search assistant for Ramesh Srinivasan, professor within the grad school of Education and knowledge Studies. Her research focuses on inequalities in technology and digital culture.

A native of Torrance, Yen transferred to UCLA from El Camino College, where she was a lively member of the college’s speech and debate team. Even after transferring to UCLA, she continued coaching the El Camino debate team, because the experience was so transformative. Yen proudly noted that each one of the scholars she mentored on the team last year had successfully transferred to UCLA.

She also coached highschool debate teams within the l. a. Unified administrative district through the l. a. Metropolitan Debate League. At UCLA, she founded Bruins for Urban Debate, a student organization that mentors young debate students.

“I care about making education accessible and inclusive, and that i see debate as how of empowering students with the portable skills which will make them effective students, advocates and leaders, even after their debate careers come to an end,” she said.

Yen was drawn to UCLA after her experience at Bruin Day for transfer students, when she met faculty, staff and students who showed her what proportion UCLA values transfer students and therefore the perspectives they carry to the campus. These supportive mentors inspired Yen to become a mentor at the UCLA Transfer center .

“It’s important to me to support transfer students, because it really does make a difference once you have an advocate, friend, mentor or leader who knows the way to speak and work from their own experiences,” Yen said. “I loved being a junior college student, and that i loved being surrounded by people that shared my love for the transfer community.”

When British consulate called Yen to inform her that she had won the Marshall Scholarship, she was driving to a tournament for her El Camino debate team. She told the scholars the great news when she arrived.

“Throughout the tournament, I heard those students talking about the Marshall, Fulbright and Rhodes scholarships. And to my delight, they were thinking openly about what it might be wish to pursue the fully funded scholarships themselves,” Yen said. “This is what representation does. Hearing my students dream big made me desire I had won the Marshall everywhere again.”

Johnathan Lovett could pursue his interests in humanities and science during his undergraduate years.

Johnathan Lovett, who graduated from UCLA in 2018, was awarded the Schwarzman Scholarship, which he will use to review environmental policymaking.

He is the third UCLA graduate to win the scholarship, which fully funds a master’s degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Founded in 2016 by Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, the Schwarzman Scholarship was created to organize future global leaders to satisfy the geopolitical challenges of the 21st century and deepen understanding between China and therefore the remainder of the planet .

At UCLA, Lovett majored in English, with additional physics coursework, and took part within the Delta Kappa Alpha film fraternity, LCC Theatre Company and Outdoor Adventures.

With the breadth of opportunities available at UCLA, Lovett said he was ready to pursue his interests in both the humanities and sciences. “Whether at the Fowler Museum or in an astronomy class, UCLA can vastly expand one’s horizons,” Lovett said. “The amazing people of UCLA are liable for my happiest times, and they’ve supported me to travel down unusual journeys.”

Since graduating from UCLA, Lovett received a master’s degree in innovation, management and entrepreneurship at Brown University . He also co-founded the environmental startup eBuoy, which developed a water pollutant detection platform that was a finalist within the 2019 Rhode Island Business Competition.

Lovett has conducted hyperlocal air-quality research for the RAND Corporation, and he currently works as a search assistant in physics.

The Schwarzman Scholarship offers a platform to review different political and economic facets of China, said Lovett, particularly its progressive environmental policymaking to enhance air and water quality, and its emphasis on renewables in photovoltaic and hydroelectric alternatives.

“It are going to be interesting to review and reify the opposite powers driving trade and automation, which are two of the most important factors that contribute to global inequality and shifting economies,” Lovett said. “Immersive programs just like the Deep Dive at Tsinghua University and learning the language will provide me with more detailed ethnography and sociopolitical awareness, as things only still change.”

He encourages Bruins to pursue the Schwarzman Scholarship et al. love it and to look at the appliance process as a valuable exercise — no matter the result .

“This process really can help one clarify and strive, and therefore the persistence UCLA instills into its undergraduates goes an extended way,” he said