Recipient Biographies
2008 Distinguished Senior Awards
As executive director of Bruin Partners, Nisha Bansal led a community service project that she had been involved with for most of her UCLA career, pairing Bruin mentors with sixth grade students at Marina Del Rey Middle School. For the past two years, Bansal has been an undergraduate psychology research assistant conducting a trial of the effects of mindfulness meditation training for HIV-positive adults. This past summer she worked as a volunteer for Rural India Social and Health Improvement, traveling to a small village in India, shadowing local physicians and implementing modules about basic health care for younger children. Bansal will pursue a career in medicine.
Suzanne Berkovitz, psychobiology
Suzanne Berkovitz puts the strong leadership skills she learned from her mother, a school director, to the test first as alumni relations chair and now as vice president of the UCLA Mortar Board Senior Honors Society. Her interest in improving the human condition has led her to conduct research in a human genetics laboratory and volunteer as a care extender at the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital. However, it is the time she spent shadowing a surgical oncologist that taught her how much “the act of healing is an art and a science,” one that she hopes to enact herself as a physician.
Gregory Cendana knows change doesn't come from titles or names – it comes from identity development, interpersonal relationships and respect for others. Cendana has worked for this change as the former internal vice president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, addressing campus safety issues and establishing the Campus Safety Alliance. He also served as external committee co-chair of the Asian Pacific Coalition of UCLA, a group of student organizations dedicated to promoting greater understanding of the Asian-American community. He currently works as a conference coordinator and consultant for The Leaders Forum, a group that provides leadership training and outreach to high school students. His attention to student well-being has led him to consider careers in higher education advocacy, specifically with the United States Student Association.
Linda Chu, political science and international development studies
Linda Chu immersed herself in campus life at UCLA. As chair of the Communications Board, she led a turnaround effort that took that organization from three consecutive years of losses to a healthy profit. She served as a legislative intern for the former Assemblymember Judy Chu ’74, 49th district, and as a strategy intern for the U.S. Department of Defense. She chairs the Monterey Park Environmental Commission and interns at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Her career objectives include becoming a criminal prosecutor or a special agent for the FBI.
Jessica Gu, microbiology, immunology, molecular genetics
Jessica Gu believes that compassion is not something to which one aspires, but is something that needs to be practiced daily. Gu is working toward a career in public health and public policy. After graduation she will spend six months in Tanzania establishing a nonprofit organization that will provide education and care for children who have been abandoned due to AIDS. She has worked as a counselor for the UCLA Peer Helpline, a peer educator for the UCLA AIDS Institute and the head coordinator for Stroke Force UCLA, disseminating stroke information to the Los Angeles community and monitoring the UCLA emergency room for potential stroke patients. She also served as alumni relations director on the ASC Executive Board.
Thomas Hanff compares his work as the head undergraduate and lab manager at his neuroscience lab to the role of an orchestra conductor who must convey purpose and vision to motivate the best possible group performance. He carries that inspiration in his work as a volunteer in UCLA’s Stroke Study, where he serves a six-hour emergency room shift each week searching for patients exhibiting signs and symptoms of stroke who might qualify for clinical trials. Hanff also teaches CPR classes to UCLA students through the Student Welfare Commission. He plans to pursue a career in research and neurology.
Rachael Kartsonis understands that leading is about allowing every individual to find their own personal greatness. She cultivates this potential in herself and others as the community college outreach director for the UCLA Alumni Scholars Club and the alumni relations director for the UCLA Mortar Board Senior Honor Society. Her undergraduate thesis on John Adams has allowed her to work with Adams' original books and letters at the Boston Public Library and the Massachusetts Historical Society, an experience that gave her a "literal connection to history." Kartsonis has worked to foster the potential of communities, and received the Civic Award from the mayor of Redondo Beach for her outstanding service to that city. Upon graduating, she has decided on a career in film production.
Drew Kirkpatrick, civil and environmental engineering
As a project manager for the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Concrete Canoe project, Drew Kirkpatrick doesn’t just build canoes – he builds community. “Leadership not only unleashes human potential,” he says, “but creates community potential.” Kirkpatrick has developed that potential as internal vice president of ASCE and as president of Chi Epsilon, UCLA’s Civil Engineering Honors Society. As part of the History Channel’s “City of the Future” competition, he also presented his ideas on Los Angeles’ water and transportation needs 100 years from now. Kirkpatrick plans to pursue a career as a structural engineer for green buildings.
Chase Knowles, film, television, and digital media
Chase Knowles began her college career at age 13 at Los Angeles Valley College. At UCLA, she serves as the project coordinator for the interdisciplinary hypermedia project REMAPPING LA, and is president of UCLA Mortar Board National Senior Honors Society. After graduating, she will work as an intelligence analyst at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. A Claremont National Scholar, she will pursue a doctorate in religion, with transdisciplinary work in international relations and media studies, at Claremont Graduate University.
Michael Marcus's commitment to medicine enables him to make a critical difference in the lives of others. As co-president of Project RISHI, an organization dedicated to providing basic health care to rural villages in India, Marcus saw a dream become a reality. After raising $20,000, he and his group built and ran a two-week mobile clinic in southern India that treated more than 1,000 patients. His interest in positively impacting others also led him to work as a resident assistant as well as a research assistant for the Spine Institute and Veterans Administration Hospital. He plans to pursue a career as a neurosurgeon.
Antonio Moya uses his skills in science, music and interpersonal relations to help and contribute to social justice. As the head coordinator of the Student Stroke Team in the UCLA emergency room, he retrieves crucial medical data for incoming stroke victims. A UCLA Jazz Ensemble member, he has used music as a form of therapy for the sick and elderly in hospitals and retirement homes. Moya also volunteers with Pilipinos for Community Health, screening patients for high blood pressure outside Asian markets and health fairs. After completing his Fulbright Fellowship in the Philippines next year, he aspires to become a physician and researcher.
Brian Murray, business economics
Having served as treasurer, president and captain of UCLA's men's club soccer team, Brian Murray understands the power of teamwork in bringing out the best in others. Along with his teammates, Murray oversaw the unofficial, unstructured team grow to become the second-ranked team in the California Club Soccer League. His attention to positive development is reflected in his involvement with Project Literacy, a community organization that provides one-on-one tutoring and mentoring to students in underprivileged schools. He also volunteers with 30,000 Strong, a PricewaterhouseCoopers' project focused on rebuilding dilapidated homeless shelters. Murray will start working for Deloitte Consulting's Human Capital division in the fall.
Doron (Robby) Nadler, world arts and cultures, and individual studies
Robby Nadler awakens each day to write a new poem. His mother's near-death experience has inspired him to follow his passion for writing. He studied in New Zealand at the University of Aukland as part of the Education Abroad Program, and while there, he joined the school’s dance society. He also spent three summers working as a UCLA orientation counselor and has been active in student government and his fraternity's volunteer projects. As a writer, he works for the Daily Bruin as a contributing Viewpoint columnist and is a poetry editor of Westwind, UCLA's undergraduate literary journal.
After moving from Vietnam to the United States as a high school sophomore, Edward Pham focused on learning a new language and culture in order to pursue his dream of attending a great university. His resolve has paid off. As a UCLA student, Pham worked as a Covel and Academic Advancement Program tutor, helping students overcome challenges as he once did. He also volunteers as a tutorial coordinator for the Vietnamese Language and Culture organization, and as director of Academic Affairs and Internships for the Biomedical Engineering Society. Pham credits the kindness of his first teachers in the U.S. for inspiring him to make a difference in the lives of others by becoming a physician.
Michael Safaee, molecular, cell, and developmental biology
Michael Safaee is an enthusiastic and dedicated student committed to academic excellence, helping the less fortunate and serving UCLA as a passionate and proven leader. In addition to volunteering at the UCLA and Santa Monica hospitals, Safaee educated underserved communities on the risk factors, signs and symptoms of strokes. His passion for education led him to tutor fellow undergraduates in math and science. Safaee is dedicated to his research project that focuses on fetal-maternal interactions in the mouse placenta. An active member of both the Regents Scholar Society and Mortar Board, he is pursuing a career in academic medicine.
Adena Schutzman, political science
As a first-generation American, Adena Schutzman was inspired by the adversity her family has overcome and has committed herself to service and education that promotes tolerance and understanding. She founded Generation to Generation, a service activity that pairs students with senior citizens in an effort to bridge the generational gap between them. She also has served as the Tzedek "Justice" Chair at Hillel at UCLA. Her academic pursuits include exploring solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict and enhancing the role of NATO in the Middle East. She plans on pursuing a career in diplomacy and public service.
While pursuing medicine, Aida Sun discovered that healing can come with listening, embracing and supporting others with an open mind. Her realization came through her work as a resident assistant, orientation counselor and Special Olympics coach. She is passionate about learning and research, which led her to complete a thesis project on the sexual behavior of guppies and spending a summer as a research fellow at Caltech. She hopes to use her education to serve the community as a primary care physician.
After working with a public health organization in the Amazon basin of Peru, Jamie Zimmerman was inspired to pursue a career as a physician in marginalized communities of developing nations. This past summer she worked in collaboration with Professor Jared Diamond and an operating partner of the United Nations to conduct research and gather documentary footage of refugee camps in Zambia. She also volunteers with the Fellowship for International Service and Health, and recently returned from Thailand-Burma, where she served on the 2008 delegation for the U.S. Campaign for Burma. Jamie has received early acceptance to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine for this fall.
