Thank UCLA Day festivities.

 

Taylor Bazley, a UCLA senior, grew up in a poor neighborhood in San Diego, the son of a mother with a disabililty who hasn’t been able to work since he was 2.

So when Bazley was admitted to UCLA, he knew it would change his life.

He’s graduating in June and has been accepted to the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs, a highly competitive program that selects 64 individuals nationwide to prepare them to be effective and ethical leaders.

"Most people I went to high school with didn’t have the opportunity to get such a great education," said Bazley, who is chair of the UCLA Fund Student Giving Committee and was master of ceremonies at today’s Thank UCLA Day. "I love UCLA for giving me that opportunity."

Thank UCLA Day, aimed at encouraging students to donate and continue giving back through the years, took on special meaning this year as the university celebrates the launch of The Centennial Campaign for UCLA. The campaign, which commemorates UCLA’s 100-year anniversary in 2019, will raise $4.2 billion.

As students and staff posed for photos with Joe and Josephine Bruin, volunteers handed out thousands of UCLA tote bags and other treats. Those who donated to the campaign also received a free T-shirt, a churro and a quick chair massage.

"We’ve had, and all you students realize it, a dazzling first century," Chancellor Gene Block told hundreds of students, staff members, and others gathered for the event. "You’re part of it.

"A school that is less than a 100 years old has become one of the best universities in the world," Block said. "Let’s celebrate what we’ve accomplished and look forward to all that we can accomplish."

Garen Staglin, who graduated from UCLA in 1966 and is a private equity investor as well as the Centennial Campaign’s co-chair, and his wife, Shari, spoke about their devotion to UCLA going back many years. They met as 19-year-old students on a blind date.

"We went on to graduate together, the first graduating class out of Pauley Pavilion, and we’re still here, and we’re coming back all the time," Shari Staglin told a cheering crowd. "We love it."

Angelica Juarez said she’s grateful for all that UCLA has given her, so she donated to the university for the first time Friday. She’s graduating with a degree in neuroscience this June and plans to apply to medical school.

Juarez said she’s involved with a research project on brain cancer, an experience that she hopes will help her gain admission. "I’ve learned so much and grown so much since I’ve been here," Juarez said as she waited in line to make a donation on an iPad.

Dawn Canfield, IT manager for UCLA’s psychology department, also waited in a long line in the sun to make a donation to the university.

She planned to return to campus Friday night with her granddaughter, Bianca, and daughter, Aubrey, to watch a special Centennial Campaign sound and light show projected onto UCLA’s historic Royce Hall.

Canfield said she wanted six-month-old Bianca to see the light show.

"I’m looking forward to passing on the excitement of going to college with my granddaughter," she added.