ACE seniors and Director Steven Neal at the recognition event on Friday, March 24, 2023. Seniors pictured above (left to right): Giuliana Toscano, Giana Hubbard, Daisy Huerta, Isabella Lopez, Ivana Small, Lauren Hehr, Gregory Gearhart, Ariel Nelson, Amira Mahomed, and Belen Carrasco-Cazares.
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Director's Message
On Friday, March 24, parents, staff and faculty celebrated students' achievements during the ACE recognition event. We highlighted the academic achievements of our continuing students and graduating seniors. Also, we recognized students for their hard work and persistence and acknowledged our staff for their dedication and contributions. This newsletter features our seniors, award recipients, and staff, including their postgraduate education and career plans. In addition, we recognize seniors Amira Mahomed and Giuliana Toscano, who will enter dentistry programs in the fall. Finally, we highlight ACE alum and APSS Director Min-Jung Kim. Congratulations to everyone!
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Congratulations to our Academic Award Recipients
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Pictured above (left to right): Megan Mingo, Rachel Guzzetti, Giana Hubbard, Daisy Huerta, Isabella Lopez, Ivana Small, Lauren Hehr, Antonio Garcia, Sarah Omachi, and Gregory Gearhart.
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Congratulations to our Seniors
The following seniors and one alum entered the ACE program in 2020. The following includes their photos and a brief description of their post-graduate plans.
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|  | Hannah Agbaroji
I will pursue a Master of Science degree in human factors psychology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall of 2023.
| |  | Belen Carrasco-Cazares
I will take two gap years, after which I plan to attend medical school. In my gap year, I will work as a medical scribe.
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|  | Gregory Gearhart
Following graduation, I will work for the Los Angeles district attorney for six months before attending law school in the fall of 2024.
| |  | Renato Guzman
I want to take a gap year to give myself time to prepare for the LSAT, look for a job, work hard, and be a productive member of society. Before I enter law school, I want to keep learning about the world around me, broaden my horizons, sharpen my abilities, pick up new ones, and be receptive to hearing and debating viewpoints that differ from mine.
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|  | Lauren Hehr
My postgrad plans involve taking a gap year while working in a medical facility to obtain patient care and clinical experience. I work as a weekly care extender at the UCLA hospitals and will continue this internship until the end of 2023. Then, I intend to start my graduate school application and expect to matriculate by 2025.
atriculate by 2025.
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Giana Hubbard
My primary goal is to attend medical school, so currently, I am scheduled to take the MCAT. I will complete and submit at least 20 medical school applications in the weeks after graduation. Afterward, I will return to UCLA to continue working full-time on breast cancer research, which I devoted the last two summers, and I will do more volunteer work and physician shadowing.
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Daisy Huerta
My postgrad plan is to apply to medical school. During my gap year, I plan to continue clinical and nonclinical volunteerism and to work at a clinic.
| |  | Isabella Lopez
My postgrad plans include taking a gap year where I hope to do medical research abroad in a Spanish-speaking country and then pursue either graduate or medical school. I will use my time in the gap year to determine what career I would like to pursue.
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|  | Amira Mahomed
After graduating with a Bachelor in Science in health and human sciences and minor in business administration, I will attend dental school.
| |  | Ariel Nelson
I am currently applying to LMU's school of education teacher preparation master's degree program in order to earn my credential and a Masters of Arts degree in transformative education. Until I find out if I am accepted, I plan to continue volunteering as a high school tutor and apply for a summer education job.
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Ivana Small
Medical school is the next step in my journey to pursue my goals and fulfill my lifelong dreams of becoming a pediatrician.
| |  | Giuliana Toscano
My postgraduate plan is that is to attend Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at USC in the fall of 2023.
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| Seniors Accepted to Dentistry Schoolwith Plans to Give Back
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Amira Mahomed’s interests in science and health care inspired her decision to pursue dentistry. She recalls, “I liked working with my hands, and I liked that in dentistry, you can really take away someone’s pain during an appointment. Someone can come in with an issue, and then with one appointment, you can solve their problem. So, I really found dentistry to be very fulfilling and something that can be very helpful to someone’s life and to their confidence, so that’s why I chose dentistry."
Another factor that inspired her was mentoring high school students from diverse backgrounds. Amira says that ACE shaped her perspective by emphasizing the importance of giving back. She says, "ACE really taught me about the value of helping people from underrepresented communities. So, from both being impacted by the ACE program and seeing how much the resources were benefiting me and being able to benefit … high school students who were underrepresented, I did see the value in the impact that could be made from serving underserved communities, and it helped me recognize that in my career I want to serve underserved communities as a dentist." Amira will attend the UCLA School of Dentistry in the fall of 2023.
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As a first-generation college student, Giuliana Toscano was unfamiliar with the necessary steps to be a competitive applicant for dentistry school. "I always knew I wanted to be a dentist and that I wanted to apply for dental school, but since I’m a first-gen student, I was always worried that I wouldn’t know how to apply. ACE helped like, since I joined sophomore year, because, gradually we started talking about law or medicine and we would break out into groups and research by ourselves based on the topic like scholarships or grad opportunities. Also ... ACE provided us with the grad exam preparation ... and we worked on the schedule of when we wanted to apply and when we wanted to start studying."
On what she plans to accomplish towards becoming a dentist, Giuliana says, "The reason I wanted to become a dentist was growing up, I noticed my family didn’t have access to dentistry because it’s very expensive. So, my mission after dental school is to help low-income families and do outreach and open clinics and give back to my community. In the future, I want to give back to students like the ACE program and make a program." Giuliana will also attend Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at USC in the fall of 2023.
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| ACE Alumna and APSS Director Reflects on LMU Experiences
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ACE and LMU alumna Min-Jung Kim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and minors in economics and Asian and Pacific Studies in 2015. After LMU, Kim earned a master’s degree in higher and postsecondary education at Teachers College, Columbia University. We sat down with Kim to discuss her educational and career path and the impact she aims to make as the director of APSS.
How did you learn about ACE and why did you join?
Kim: I learned about ACE through First To Go. I knew I wanted to continue my education past my undergrad degree. I think at the time I probably wanted to obtain a Ph.D. in something and teach and become a professor … I just wanted to learn more about the higher education system and how to better prep myself…. So, ACE kind of helped me reshape my nebulous thought of my future into more of a concrete path.
What were some of your most significant extracurricular experiences at LMU?
Kim: Honestly, ACE really shaped me. I was blown away by the opportunity…. I was really amazed by how driven our students were in terms of wanting to obtain graduate and professional degrees after LMU and that some folks had a detailed plan, right? They're like, 'I’m going to do X, Y, Z.' 'I'm going to go to this school.' 'I'm going to do that.' And others … were like, 'I know I want to do more education, but I’m not sure what career or what, I just know.' … ACE really helped me solidify my plans for the next steps, and also integrated me into the current student body and the different outlets of how ACE supported its students.
Why did you decide to study higher education at the Teachers College at Columbia University?
Kim: I think I chose higher ed because of my experiences here as a student, including partaking as an ACE cohort member and an ACE employee…. I think ACE was that kind of light for me and the start path of higher ed, and I decided to study it to get to know more about how higher education institutions work and the progress we need to make together in this intricate system.
Can you describe your work as the director of Asian Pacific Student Services?
Kim: So, the director of APSS does three things: we advocate for our students … we do mentorships for our students (so that's encompassing 12 of our API registered student organizations and helping them with their programming with what they need and things like that), and I think we're building them up into a community of responsible global citizens … and making sure that … our community is successful.
Are you currently doing what you thought you would be doing at LMU? Do you have any additional career goals?
Kim: All my passion was always in diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice. But I never knew that I was going to come back to my alma mater to work in this position…. I think I want to continue to learn and continue to highlight the importance of our communities and I’m always looking to grow. I think I have the mentality of ACE because it's the Academic Community of Excellence, and I’m always trying to strive for excellence, no matter where I go.
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Congratulations to our Graduating Staff
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Jada Lee is a senior program assistant for ACE. From San Jose, California, she is majoring in economics and double minoring in dance and Asian Pacific American studies. A progam assistant since 2021, Jada has assisted in a variety of projects such as recruitment efforts, event publications, and helping organize student events. On her time working with ACE, she said, "I've learned and grown so much, from being able to assist students part of the program to taking on larger leadership opportunities is something I didn't think would happen when taking on this position."
As she finishes her senior year, Jada hopes to work in the nonprofit sector and to take advantage of opportunities presented to her.
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