Bethelwel Wilson, Jr. ’02

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A memorable young scholar with a fine intelligence and a dedicated engagement with the real world Bethelwel Wilson, Jr. has the qualities of scholarship and commitment to community that promise distinction for him in his professional career.

The child of a single mother coming from the rural south to an urban inner city environment, Wilson has turned his challenges into triumphs. He has received numerous honors and awards demonstrating scholastic excellence, including the Distinguished Bruin Award, the Gold Shield Award, and a Wasserman Research Scholarship. One of his research projects was focused on the problems of high levels of noise pollution on minority communities close to Los Angeles Airport, principally Inglewood and Lennox. He was selected by the UC President’s office to present this research at a special gathering of state legislators and UC alumni in Sacramento. Additionally, he has been a member of the editorial board for Westwind, UCLA’s student publication for research in social science and creative writing.

Wilson’s many extracurricular interested include tutoring inner city students, tutoring college students in English, the UCLA Gospel Choir and UCLA Student Government. Additionally, he is a New Bethel Community Outreach Ministry leader in charge of food and clothing distribution in the Inglewood community.

Wilson will be graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude with a B.A. in political science. He has inspirations of pursuing graduate work in public policy or law.