Steven Alcala ’94

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Steven Alcala is a transfer student from Los Angeles Valley College, from which he graduated with a 4.00 GPA. At UCLA, Alcala has earned a 3.91 GPA as a communication studies major with a specialization in education. Among his many honors, Alcala has received the Distinguished Scholar Award, two National Hispanic Scholarship Fund awards and the Walter Winchell Scholarship in Journalism. He will graduate summa cum laude, with college and departmental honors.

Alcala’s undergraduate research credentials are rivaled by few. He has completed fellowships at Cornell University, where he researched environmental attitudes, and UC Berkeley, where he investigated the history of Latinos in higher education. At UCLA, Alcala has assisted in the development and analysis of a comprehensive database on the Los Angeles Unified School District, and he conducted research addressing Chicano persistence/attrition behavior.

Alcala’s excellence also extends into the UCLA community. As a member of the Transfer Student Association, he served as the director of the Community College Outreach Program and was the founder and director of Transfer Students Helping the Hungry. In addition, Alcala is the co-founder and editor of the communication studies newsletter, editor of the Journal of Communication Studies, co-president of Latinos y Latinas in Communication and tutors communication in the Academic Advancement Program.

Since 1989, Alcala has been a volunteer and coordinator for the Frontline Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending hunger on Skid Row, where his primary responsibility has been to coordinate volunteer activities in preparation and delivery of over 800 meals each Saturday. Steven Alcala’s strong sense of compassion and clarity of purpose marks him as one who will continue to make major contributions to his community.