ULAA and UCLA Latinx Graduation Workshop

Congratulations on graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles. We are excited to host you for our UCLA Latino Alumni Association and UCLA Latinx Graduation committee graduation workshop series.

The evening will start at 6 p.m. with brief presentations about the UCLA Latino Alumni and the UCLA Latinx Grad Committee. We’ll be hosting three different workshops that will feature Latino alumni.

Due to the nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this will be a virtual event. Please feel free to join the zoom call for every workshop or whichever workshop you think you will benefit from.

Schedule:
6:00 – 6:05 | Brief introductions about ULAA and Raza Grad Committee
6:05 – 6:25 | 1st workshop: What is mentorship and how to get a mentor?
6:25-6:30 | 5 minute break
6:35 – 7:00 | 2nd workshop: Tips and strategies to find a job during the COVID-19 pandemic?
7:00 – 7:05 | 5 minute break
7:05 – 7:30 | 3rd workshop: Open Q & A – Ask anything / what is the latino alumni and how to utilize the UCLA network
7:30-7:32 | Closing remarks

Panelist Bios:

• First Workshop: What is mentorship and how to get a mentor?
  • Dr. Laura C. Romero is Founder and President of her consulting firm, Brillante Strategies, where she advises people and organizations on professional development and public affairs. Brillante Strategies is based on her extensive visionary career, especially her UCLA mentoring doctoral dissertation and experience managing an innovative award-winning national mentoring program.She has the honor of serving as a member of the California State Summer School for the Arts Board of Trustees, LA’s BEST Advisory Board, Public Media Group of Southern California Community Council, Executive Coach for the Loyola Marymount University Executive MBA Program, and served as Vice President of the UCLA Latino Alumni Association Board of Directors. Dr. Romero received her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from UCLA.
• Second Workshop: Tips and strategies to find a job during the COVID-19 pandemic?
  • Danny Torres graduated from UCLA in2019 as a transfer student. He studied Sociology with a minor in Public Health and Entrepreneurship and currently works for an e-commerce/startup company called FIGS. His professional experience as a Marketing brand ambassador and a CX associate has allowed him to collaborate with Fortune 500 companies in improving the company’s  sales margins and audience response to emerging products.
  • Christine Botello is a Housing Stability Case Manager with The People Concern, that focuses on providing direct services to houseless clients all over LA County. Christine is a Non-binary, Queer, First Gen, Transfer graduate of 2020 with a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and Labor Studies graduating Cum Laude and College Honors. They are a current UCLA Law Fellow and former ULAA scholar, UCLA Transfer Alumni Scholar, and Raza Women’s scholar during their time at UCLA. Christine is committed to employment equity, housing equity, LGBTQIA+ rights and immigration rights. 

• Third Workshop: Open Q & A – Ask anything / what is the latino alumni and how to utilize the UCLA network
  • Carlos Collard is a former Los Angeles County foster youth and first generation college graduate. At UCLA, he worked and volunteered nearly full-time and earned degrees in communications and political science. For UCLA, Carlos serves on the Chancellor’s Society executive committee and chairs the group’s West L.A. volunteer committee. He is also a member of UCLA’s Order of the Blue Shield and Bruin Professionals. Carlos loves travel and learning about cultures and food. Some of his most memorable fare include cobra’s blood, fermented shark, silkworm larvae, and duck embryo. Carlos is a UCLA Alumni Association Sustaining Donor.
  • Cesar Pacheco-Garcia is a real estate agent who works for a developer based in Beverly Hills with a mission to build more practical and affordable multifamily housing units across the Greater Los Angeles MSA and specifically along urban in-fill. He focuses on finding Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) properties, locating and connecting with owners through traditional and creative means, and finally negotiating with these owners to sell or participate in joint-ventures by putting up their land at a predetermined cost basis. He is the Vice President for Diversity and Equity of UCLA Bruin Professionals, a member of the UCLA Real Estate Alumni Group and the West Los Angeles Chancellor’s Society and the University Relations Chair for the UCLA Latino Alumni Association.

Attire: Casual/Bruin Gear (feel free to wear you cap and show it if you decorate it)