Alumni Mentor Program – Awards 2020 |

2020 Distinguished Alumni Mentor Awards

Monique Mun ’12

Bachelor of Science in psychobiology
PGY-2 Psychiatry Resident, Henry Ford Health System

Student mentee Mika Verner, fourth year psychology major, shared, “Monique has been so helpful to me during my senior year as a pre-medical student. I do not have any acquaintances that have gone through medical school or have recently applied, so I was pretty lost on what to expect from the MCAT, school application, gap-year, etc. I was extremely afraid of the MCAT approaching, wondered about what would be appropriate for a medical student to do during their gap year, and I felt like I had nowhere to turn to discuss these worries. […]

“Monique truly put my stress and anxiety towards this to ease. If I had any doubts or concerns, I would email her explaining my thoughts and she would always quickly respond with as much information as she could, shared her experiences and gave me words of encouragement. I really appreciated and continue to appreciate all she has taught me and shared with me, as it has made my transition from an undergraduate to possible medical school student less stressful and more exciting. She goes beyond what I expected any mentor to be from the program, and even called me during the pandemic (an extremely busy time for our frontline workers, such as she), to help me brainstorm and work through possible topics and directions for my personal essay. She also offered to look over my essay to give pointers and proofread, which I am very thankful for, as I value her input and her experiences. I am so happy to have found Dr. Mun and she definitely made my senior and medical school applicant experiences much better than they would have been without her mentorship.”

Lianne Stein ’84

Bachelor of Arts in political science

Student mentee Madison Moneymaker, first year pre-political science and pre-public affairs major, shared, “Lianne has simply exceeded any expectations I had when applying for a mentor. She is prompt, so helpful, and has become like a maternal figure to me. She is a past Boeing executive and has never failed to go above and beyond for me, whether that be connections-wise or helping me navigate my freshman year. She never fails to keep in contact weekly with me (during the school year and still a lot now), lives in Hawaii and still managed to meet up with me in Westwood. […]

“Lianne is truly the model woman for a truly amazing alumni mentor. She continues to inspire me every day with her largely evident amazing work ethic, charisma, and kindness and I could not be more excited for my next three years with her. I know I can go to her for absolutely anything and I cannot express enough how much she helped me through my freshman year, as it is so much more helpful talking to someone who has gone through exactly what I have and has accomplished more than I would ever hope to.”

Nick Kellerman ’19

Bachelor of Science in engineering
Leadership Rotational Associate, Boston Scientific

Student mentee Angel Zhu, first year pre-business economics major, shared, “Nick Kellerman has distinguished himself as an extremely dedicated, caring, honest and positive individual. Despite being busy working at Boston Scientific full time, volunteering at PAP Foundation as the Director of Patient Outreach, and handling unforeseen family circumstances, Nick has truly gone the distance and beyond for me. […]

“He made it clear in our first in-person conversation that he’s happy to do whatever he can to assist me, and eager to mold the mentorship into whatever would help me grow the most. Shortly afterwards, he created a document with a long letter to me, describing his UCLA experience, general tips, advice from his girlfriend to me, various UCLA resources, and hyperlinked documents he had created (including an informational interview guide, networking guide and network management spreadsheet).

“Nick has helped me strengthen my professional profile by giving me mock case interviews, proofreading my essays for various applications, refining my resume and assisting me with my elevator pitch. Additionally, he sent me consulting resources and case books. Because of Nick’s amazing mentorship, I was able to form even more genuine connections and learn from a wide range of informal mentors. Nick has become so much more than a mentor to me. He is a role model, supporter and friend. I’m so thankful that I met him through the UCLA Alumni Mentor Program. He has impacted my life forever, and I know he will continue to do so for years to come.”

2020 Outstanding Student Mentee Awards

Angel Zhu

First year, pre-business economics major

Alumni mentor Nick Kellerman ’19 shared, “Angel has truly gone above and beyond in her freshman year at UCLA and in the Alumni Mentor Program. I could see from when she first reached out to me via UCLA ONE that she was a motivated, optimistic and hardworking individual. Being a UCLA alum who just graduated in 2019, I was worried that I wouldn’t have much to offer Angel. However, she made it incredibly easy for me to identify the areas in which I could help. […]

“Angel and I were able to meet on numerous occasions to review her resume, cover letter, and applications as she applied to internships and clubs. We performed many business case and market sizing mock interviews, and I was able to connect Angel to numerous contacts both inside and outside of UCLA that could tell her more about consulting. In each and every one of these instances, Angel was always incredibly inquisitive, receptive to feedback and intelligent. All of the contacts of mine that she spoke with had only great things to say about her, and she always updated me on how the conversation went and what she had learned.

“Angel is the mentee that I wish I had been. A three-time participant in the Alumni Mentor Program myself, I was cautiously optimistic about how things would turn out. With my mentors, I knew I had tried my best to stay in touch, but about halfway through, when a month or two would pass without contact, I let things get awkward and wouldn’t reach out again. Angel never hesitated to contact me, and was always proactive about staying in touch. She wasn’t selfish or demanding at all, and was truly interested in how I was doing as well. Though she faced many rejections throughout the year, her character and grit shined through each one of them as she continually strove to improve herself.”

Jason Luna

Third year, communications major

Alumni mentor Peter Shea ’16 shared, “Jason was always very responsive and was flexible with me on times to meet and talk. My company at the time had an opening and Jason’s skills fit perfectly, so I arranged for him to meet with our CEO. The meeting went perfectly and Jason joined as an intern on the team of 17. Within weeks, he showed us that he was more than capable for the job. […]

“He quickly integrated and was a strong pick for our first marketing hire. He was genuinely looking to improve—curious and always asking questions so he could quickly pick up on our tech and new skills. Our CEO and head of product can also vouch for him, speaking at length to the relationship that he built. Whatever project or advice I gave he was quick to follow up on, but provided his own perspective. I left to join Google but I continue to follow up with him and it doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down now.”

Nayana Char

Third year, business economics major

Alumni mentor Molly Shiverick ’14 shared, “Naya has gone above and beyond as a mentee through UCLA ONE. She came in with clear goals – although she already had an internship with PwC in tax lined up, she wanted to set herself up for success and keep her options open. Together, we created an action plan to identify all the job opportunities she would like to explore (audit, investment banking, management consulting, etc.) and then linked those opportunities to people within our joint network to set up informational calls. […]

“She pushed herself extremely hard to prepare herself for all of these informational interviews, tailoring her emails, questions and follow up points dependent on whom she talked to. She was able to land an additional internship and has a much clearer idea of what her future will hold. I appreciated Naya keeping me in the loop and sticking to our bi-weekly/monthly calls. I am excited to see what Naya accomplishes in the future and was proud to be her mentor!”

Previous Years:
2019
2018

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