UCLA Community Engagement and Social Change Minor

As we look ahead to the 2026-27 school year, we’re creating a space for all to connect with the CESC SAC. We’d love to see you during office hours whether you’re curious about the minor or simply want to connect with us. Scan the QR codes to sign up! 💙✨

Welcome back to Spring Quarter! ☀️🌸
We’re excited to be back and connect with everyone in the CESC minor. Stay tuned for updates, events, and ways to get involved. We’ll also be sharing info about our office hours soon.

Support UCLA students making a difference in our community! 🐻💙

We are crowdfunding to support CESC students taking on unpaid internships with local non-profits. Your donation helps cover their costs and funds professional development, ensuring financial barriers don’t stop social change.

⏳ Deadline to donate: February 20th, 2026

Please donate through the link in our bio or the QR code!

Community Engagement and Social Change Advisory Committee Board (2015–2026)

We are happy and honored to serve the students in our minor. We hope to continue uplifting voices and creating spaces where we can all thrive.

About us:

Karla Vasquez Perez (she/her/ella) is a triple major in Labor Studies, Political Science, and Chicana/o Studies, with double minors in Community Engagement and Social Change and Central American Studies.

Alexa Rojas (she/her) is a double major in Psychobiology and Sociology, with double minors in Community Engagement and Social Change and European Languages and Transcultural Studies (Italian).

Anthony Padilla (he/him) is a double major in Political Science and Sociology and plans to minor in both Community Engagement and Social Change (CESC) and Chicana/o Studies.

Amara Patel (she/her) is an Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution major and a minor in Community Engagement and Social Change.

Angel Flores Martinez (he/him) is majoring in Education and Social Transformation with a minor in Community Engagement and Social Change (CESC).

We hope to serve as a support system for students currently in the minor or interested in joining. Stay in the loop for more ways to get involved!

Angel Flores Martinez (he/him/his) is majoring in Education and Social Transformation with a minor in Community Engagement and Social Change (CESC).

A first-generation, low-income Mexican American from East Los Angeles, Angel has found CESC to be one of the most meaningful and grounding spaces in his undergraduate experience. He is currently an Astin Scholar, working with the community organization Changeist, where he engages in youth-centered work and community-rooted research.

Through CESC, Angel has taken courses across education, counseling, and neurodiversity, which encouraged interdisciplinary learning and helped him connect academic theory to lived experience while better understanding the systems students move through. Alongside his work across K–12, undergraduate, and graduate settings, these experiences have shaped his commitment to educational equity and his goal of pursuing a career in high school counseling, where he hopes to continue supporting students with care and intention 🤍

Amara Patel (she/her) is a member of the CESC Student Advisory Committee and was previously the CESC Student Ambassador of the 2024-25 school year. She is a fourth-year Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution major and a Community Engagement and Social Change minor.

After hands-on experience in community organizing in her hometown of Circle Pines, Minnesota, Amara wanted to find a place at UCLA to learn more about how to enact change in key issues such as healthcare access and environmental justice. Through the CESC minor, she has been able to explore the intersection of grassroots organizing, health disparities and environmentalism.

She is currently working on completing the CESC capstone with Professors Dr. Doug Barrera and Dr.Zack Ritter. She will work with the Refugee Children Center on a project highlighting community response in wake of growing fear and distrust due to recent immigration actions and policies. The CESC minor has been one of the best experiences she has had during her undergraduate career. She hopes to bring the skills of community-engaged research and cohort building into her future career in medicine🤍

Anthony is a third-year Political Science and Sociology double major who plans to minor in both Community Engagement and Social Change (CESC) and Chicana/o Studies.

A Chicano from Los Angeles himself, he hopes to work in the legal field to represent those in his community and guide them through the intricacies of the legal field. This dedication has led him to take internships inside and outside the courtroom, and he hopes to conduct research on other Latinx groups to help better educational access and resources as a Mellon Data Justice Scholar.

Anthony believes that having a CESC minor is one of the best decisions he (and anyone else) could do. From the classes, the professors, and the actual subject matter, he believes the CESC minor is an enriching experience for those who want to help their community in some form. He hopes to inspire others as he eventually goes with through his capstone and as part of the CESC family💙