HSI News and Events

When Avenue M student Jessica de Laguna opened her MCAT score, years of work suddenly felt uncertain. After returning to school in her 30s and completing demanding science coursework, she had fallen short of the score she hoped for.

"I got a 490," she recalled. "So I have to retake it again."

For a student who had spent years battling imposter syndrome, it would have been easy to see the score as the end of the road. Instead, someone at UC Davis saw something else.

A first-generation college graduate, immigrant and UC Davis alumna stood before a crowd of about 800 students and family members at the University Credit Union Center on May 16, offering a powerful reminder that higher education is not reserved for a select few.

By the time Aidín Castillo Mazantini, executive director of the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center, finished sharing her story as keynote speaker of the Avanza Rising Scholars Conference, the audience was on its feet.

When Julia Lee volunteered with the Fostering the Future program as a UC Davis undergraduate student, she saw it as an opportunity to give back.

Years earlier when she was in high school, Lee attended a summer educational program that introduced her to health care careers and allowed her to shadow professionals in a hospital setting. The experience helped transform a general interest in medicine into a clear career goal.

In June 2026, two brothers, Matt and Andrew Mokski, completed their four-year academic journeys at UC Davis. Andrew graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, while his older brother Matt graduated from the Redwood SEED Scholars Program, California’s first four-year, fully-inclusive university living and learning college program for students with intellectual disabilities. 

What words of encouragement, welcome or kindness helped shape your Aggie experience?

The Words of Affirmation campaign invites graduating students to share messages with the incoming class of UC Davis students. Whether it’s advice you wish you’d heard, encouragement that helped you through a difficult moment or words that made you feel like you belonged, your message can help welcome the next generation of Aggies.

Selected submissions may be featured in welcome events, digital displays and university communications throughout the fall.

UC Davis will welcome students from middle school to community college and their families to the Avanza Rising Scholars Conference for information, inspiration and empowerment to pursue a college degree.

Verónica Martínez Cerdeño is being honored with the Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award by the UC Davis Academic Senate for her exceptional work connecting neuroscience research with meaningful community engagement. As a professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the School of Medicine, CAMPOS scholar, and a member of the MIND Institute, Martínez Cerdeño studies brain development and neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, with an emphasis on ensuring that scientific discovery benefits the communities it aims to serve.

Four graduates of the first graduating class of the Redwood SEED Scholars program at UC Davis are taking a new step in their journey toward independence: living together in a shared home in Davis while working, managing daily responsibilities and building lives rooted in community.

In May 2026, the Avanza Initiative is preparing to host its annual conference, which supports K–16 students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in higher education. Our mission is to serve our communities by encouraging students to pursue a college degree. In the past, this event has been known as the César Chávez Leadership Conference.