I remember when I first joined the Daily Bruin as an eager news contributor my second year at UCLA. I couldn’t stay away from Kerckhoff 118. Between classes, I’d park myself on the aging news couch, soaking in the contagious energy and camaraderie that comes from putting together a paper every day. Prior to becoming an editor, my predecessors warned me to stay away while I could, before ending up stuck spending late nights in the windowless office. But even on the toughest days, I rarely wanted to leave. Nearly 11 years later, I still feel a pull to the office.
For me, the newsroom represents the lasting friendships I made, the passion for storytelling I discovered and the lifelong appreciation for the importance of student journalism I found.
The newsroom has physically changed quite a bit since The Bruin started over a century ago. It's moved locations and has been rearranged and upgraded, thanks partly to the generous support from our Daily Bruin Alumni Network. But I know the magnetic pull of The Bruin newsroom and Daily Bruin community remains for many of us. It does for me.
So, we’re excited to offer an opportunity to return to the newsroom and campus this fall to connect with one another at our annual Daily Bruin Alumni Network Reunion. After virtual and scaled-down programs the past two years during the pandemic, we are optimistic as we plan for a return to a full program, public health and safety protocols permitting. We’ve started planning for the event in earnest and will be sharing more details soon.
I’m looking for volunteers to join me on our reunion planning team, which will also help select this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award honoree. You do not need to be located in Los Angeles to help. If you’re interested or have any questions, please email me at jillianmbeck@gmail.com.
See you back at the office.
Jillian Beck ’14
On behalf of the Daily Bruin Alumni Network Board
DBAN Mentoring Program Flying High
The newly organized DBAN Mentoring Program exceeded expectations with a launch in February 2022. It matched 12 current Daily Bruin staff members with mentors drawn from the DBAN community.
Originally crafted as a pilot project targeting the five current DBAN Scholarship students, the program swiftly expanded during the matching process to include seven other current staff members. Mentors, drawn from more than half a century of Daily Bruin alumni, will meet onsite or online with their protégés every couple of weeks through June 2022 to support them in achieving concrete, measurable results focused on the students’ professional-development goals.
Project co-facilitators Laureen Lazarovici ’89 and Paul Signorelli ’76, working with DBAN mentoring committee members, are collaborating with program participants to develop a variety of resources to support them, including monthly informal drop-in Zoom calls; a specific “mentoring project” channel within the newly established Slack community for DBAN members; and posting of links to information that will support protégés and mentors during their time together. “It’s another great way to create lifelong connections throughout the entire DBAN community,” Signorelli said, “and I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes all of us.”
If you’re looking for another way to engage with DBAN community members, you’ll find plenty of opportunities through the newly launched DBAN Slack Community: http://ucladban.slack.com.
Recently created in conjunction with the development of the DBAN mentoring program, this virtual meeting place offers members of the Daily Bruin Alumni Network an initial set of channels for those interested in alumni engagement (DBAN outreach efforts including the annual on-campus reunion); alumni funding and endowment opportunities; community engagement and services; and membership and professional development (organizing and expanding the mentoring program and other professional opportunities for DB staffers and DBAN members). There is also a specific space — the lounge — where you can informally interact with DBAN colleagues on any topic of interest to you and other members of the DBAN community.
For questions regarding the DBAN Slack community or to gain access to it, please contact Paul at paul@paulsignorelli.com and list the years during which you were active on the Daily Bruin.
Daily Bruin Cartoons Is On Twitter
The Cartoons section is live on Twitter. Support student artists’ witty illustrations of student life and more by giving them a follow @dailybruintoons! You can also follow them on their Instagram @dailybruincartoons.
Daily Bruin Memories
The Daily Bruin alumni Instagram has a series highlighting relatable staffer moments, called #dbmoment, such as entering the office for the first time and making your first friend. Follow @dailybruinalumni on Instagram to take a trip down memory lane!
Alumni Office Hours
The Daily Bruin Alumni Network partnered with the Daily Bruin to launch a new project: monthly alumni office hours, during which alumni workshop staffers’ résumés or cover letters for about an hour.
The inaugural alumni office hours featured Jeong Park, a reporter at the Los Angeles Times. So far, the alumni office hours have been hosted over Zoom, but it could be done in-person in the future. If you are interested in leading a future session and helping out, please email the Daily Bruin Outreach Director Kari Lau at klau2@media.ucla.edu.
Congrats Bruin Staffers
The Daily Bruin continued its streak of award-winning journalism by taking home 20 awards from the California College Media Association. The Bruin snagged first-place honors in eight categories, including best newspaper website, best photo series, best multimedia package and best interactive graphic. Read more about our accomplishments here.
Critique the Paper
The Bruin staff rely on alumni to offer regular feedback on their work through our alumni critique program. Please consider signing up for one of our spring quarter slots. It only takes a few hours and is a fun way to stay engaged with the paper. You don’t need to be a professional journalist to help.
Reading the Bruin for a day can bring you to stories like news editor Anushka Chakrabarti’s investigation into the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine psychiatry department faculty of color’s experiences with racism within the department. Other recent highlights include Daily Bruin staffer Christine Kao’s exploration of The Ripped Bodice, a romance book specialty store, through a photo essay. And when assistant photo editor Sakshi Joglekar and Daily Bruin staff Javier Jauregui Ramirez and Jeremy Chen captured the spirit of love at UCLA on Valentine’s Day.
Thank You!
Send Us Your News!
Have recent work or personal success to brag about? Email Sara Randazzo to be included in future newsletters.
