Graduating in challenging times, full-circle moments, and being Bruins for life feted on Wilson Plaza on June 13.
The UCLA School of Education and Information Studies celebrated the Class of 2026 with its commencement ceremonies on June 13 in Wilson Plaza, with Dean Christina Christie presiding.
The undergraduate ceremony honored 130 candidates for a bachelor’s degree from the Education and Social Transformation major; nine students in the Introduction to Media Literacy minor program; and 90 UCLA students with a minor in education.
The UCLA Department of Education boasts 253 graduate candidates this year, among them 92 from the Teacher Education Program, 28 EdD degrees and 46 PhDs. The UCLA Department of Information Studies celebrated 82 MLIS candidates and two PhDs.
Dean Christie recognized graduates’ families and loved ones that supported them on their pathways to their degrees and congratulated the Class of 2026 “not just because of what you’ve accomplished, but because of when you’ve accomplished it. It is not an easy time to be an educator when your professional judgement about what to teach is questioned and politicized. It is not an easy time to be a librarian when communities are being told the books on their shelves pose a danger to children when in fact, the greater majority of the 23,000 books removed from public school libraries were written by and about the very individuals who most need to find themselves in the history books.
“What is being targeted is not random,” said Christie. “Books are removed from shelves because they worked… because a child found herself in one and was changed as a result. Research is defunded because it produces findings inconvenient to people in power. Schools are under pressure because they have opened doors that some would prefer were kept closed. The work you have prepared to do is precisely what is being challenged right now, and the fact that it is being challenged is a testament to why it matters.”
Christie noted that “Our libraries and schools are not just in the community. At their best, they are the community.
“They are the spaces where people who would not otherwise be in the same room, are sitting next to each other; where the young man who has been told … that school is not for him. He encounters an adult who believes otherwise, and acts on it. Where the child who just arrived finds a book in her family’s home language; where the elder who never finished his degree returns to complete something that for decades, he had only imagined in his mind’s eye; where the researcher, the neighborhood, and the historical record are in authentic conversation with each other. This is one of the most important civic functions we have, the place where the social contract between a community and its members is either honored or broken. Carry that knowledge with you, both as a compass and a responsibility.”
Dean Christie observed that today’s graduates enter an environment “captivated by artificial intelligence, and our future will be shaped by how intelligent machines become. I believe the future depends far more on how deeply human we remain.
“A large language model can produce text that resembles care… but it cannot be the researcher that knows what that silence is in an interview and how to interpret it, or the professional whose judgement was built over years of compromise and accumulated wisdom. You are the feeling, knowing humans in the room, and those capacities only deepen from here. Class of 2026, the world needs you – not eventually, but now.”
Speakers representing the Class of ’26, included Victoria De Santiago (’26, MLIS); Valeria Alysandra Luquin (’26, BA, Education and Social Transformation); and Josemanuel Ortiz (’26, MA, Teacher Education Program). The UCLA Alma Mater was performed at the ceremonies by Rongyi Yu (’26, BA, Education and Social Transformation); and Marcelo Almora Rios (’26, PhD, Education).
The procession for the undergraduate ceremony was led by marshals Sophia Bauzon (’26, BA, Education and Social Transformation) and Julia Tungol (’26, BA, Education and Social Transformation), who graduated cum laude. The graduate ceremony was ushered in by Vanessa Rivas (’26, MA, Principal Leadership Institute) and Anna Robinson-Sweet (’26, PhD, Information Studies).
The George F. Kneller Prize, a $3,000 award that recognizes undergraduate students who have distinguished themselves academically with exceptional achievement in the program was bestowed upon Christina Allen, Luis Manuel Macias-Macias, Katherine Sanchez Mara, Nicolas Ramon Ortega, and Stephanie Reynoso. Mara and Ortega also graduated cum laude.
Latin Honors for undergraduate candidates in the Education and Social Transformation major include Samantha Camille Castro, Paria Hakemi, Misha Hsueh, Brooke Lucille Kundert, Zi Wang, and Hannah Zuckerbraun, who graduated summa cum laude; and Claudia Alexa Castruita, Claudia Sanae Farrell, Alicia Samantha Ferraez Diaz, Kokomo Hara, Juliet Kim, Leanza Landa, Araceli Martinez, Alexie Mitchell, Tatum Pearlman, Mayumi Sasame, Aminah Zareen Shaikh, and Jiali Zhang who graduated cum laude. In addition, Edward Martinez Rodriguez Jr., Wendy Rodriguez Garcia, and Sasame are recipients of the Chancellor’s Service Award; and 32 TEP students graduated with a Bilingual Authorization, Spanish Program (BASP) emphasis.
In the Department of Information Studies, Dolores Matilde Castillo and Sol Mascoli Werthan are recipients of the MLIS Award for Advancement of the Profession; and Castillo and Katherine Drorbaugh were MLIS-Latin American Studies Dual-Degree candidates.
Luquin decorated her mortarboard with the saying, “Me puse las pilas,” which means, “get your batteries” or “I got my act together.”
“I was inspired to put it on my cap because it’s a phrase my dad told me a lot in college,” she said. “When I read this, it reminds me of all the late nights and encouragement my family gave me to get to this day.”
For the last four years, Luquin was a Gold Shield Scholar, supported and mentored by one of UCLA’s most active and honored affinity groups. Founded in 1936 by 12 women graduates of UCLA, the organization provides millions of dollars in student scholarships and faculty prizes and is continually enriches the Bruin community.
Wendy Soderburg (’82, BA, English) and Karen Mack (’79, BA, Communication Studies) attended Luquin’s commencement to cheer her on. Mack, who served as speechwriter for former UCLA Chancellors Charles E. Young and Albert Carnesale and taught speech communication to UCLA undergrads. During her time as lecturer, she also prepared student speakers for UCLA College commencements until her retirement in 2021. With this expertise, Mack coached Luquin with her graduation address.
“As longtime members of Gold Shield and alumnae of UCLA, Karen and I have mentored many excellent scholars over the years, but Valeria is definitely at the top,” said Soderburg. “She’s smart, caring, enterprising — all the qualities you need to become a successful teacher. It’s no surprise to us that she chose the Education and Social Transformation major, because she’ll soon be transforming the world.”
Luquin, whose studies centered on student affairs, drew upon her experiences as a commuter student from the San Fernando Valley and looks forward to a career in giving back to future students like herself.
“All throughout college, I gravitated toward jobs and extracurriculars where I was able to build community and find community,” said Luquin, who will attend USC in the fall for her advanced degree. “When I was moving on to junior year … understanding what I wanted to do after I graduated, I realized that all the things that I enjoyed doing in college were centered around being with students, helping them feel welcomed and seen. I wanted to create those spaces for them.”
Ortiz, who teaches at the STEM Academy of Hollywood, was arrayed in three stoles over his gown: a UCLA blue and gold stole; another signed by the 6th graders he taught as a student teacher; and a stole signed by his current high school students. He looked forward to addressing the audience at the graduate commencement, which some of his own students attended.
“Throughout the year of working with ‘Cultivating Excellence,’ which is my cohort, there were a lot of amazing things that were said and the moments that we shared, so I really wanted to share one final moment with my cohort as a speaker,” Ortiz said.
De Santiago, the first in her family to earn an advanced degree, noted in her remarks that “I learned the importance of balancing work and school, but also taking time to celebrate … genuinely feeling excited for one other when we received internships and job offers, and simply showing up for each other when life throws obstacles at us that are simply beyond our control.
“I want this year’s graduating class to believe in the possibilities and not the obstacles,” said De Santiago. “Fear is used to create division and to fuel the idea that we should not trust one another. One way we can conquer fear is through hope. It is the hard choice but it is the brave choice.”
Five TEP candidates were selected as the “Rookie of the Year” by the Los Angeles Unified School District. Adelle Sarmiento, who teaches 5th grade at Van Ness Elementary said, “I feel so honored. When the coordinator who gave me the award came, my students were so elated. I wouldn’t have been able to get Rookie of the Year without them, they are so sparkly and amazing.”
Sarmiento was cheered on by her principal at Van Ness Elementary, UCLA alumna Regina Ramos (’06, TEP).
“I cried during my interview because she was talking about [her] graduation,” said Sarmiento. “Her students showed up for her graduation, and I actually have a student showing up to my graduation too. It’s a full circle moment. Maybe someday, I can attend the TEP graduation of my student.”
For a photo gallery of images from the 2026 Undergraduate and Graduate commencement ceremonies, click here.