A first-generation college graduate, immigrant and UC Davis alumna stood before a crowd of about 800 students and family members at the University Credit Union Center on May 16, offering a powerful reminder that higher education is not reserved for a select few.

By the time Aidín Castillo Mazantini, executive director of the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center, finished sharing her story as keynote speaker of the Avanza Rising Scholars Conference, the audience was on its feet.

When Julia Lee volunteered with the Fostering the Future program as a UC Davis undergraduate student, she saw it as an opportunity to give back.

Years earlier when she was in high school, Lee attended a summer educational program that introduced her to health care careers and allowed her to shadow professionals in a hospital setting. The experience helped transform a general interest in medicine into a clear career goal.

Hate-Free Together, a regional initiative that includes the City of Davis, UC Davis, Yolo County, Davis Joint Unified School District and the Yolo County Office of Education, has launched a new strategic planning process, focusing on safety and belonging. UC Davis has been a member of the initiative since its founding in 2022.

The Principles of Community Showcase on March 3 at the Betty Irene Moore Hall over at the UC Davis Health campus highlighted the power of collaboration across the Sacramento campus. Staff, partners and community members gathered to exchange ideas, recognize ongoing work and strengthen connections, creating an atmosphere of shared purpose and engagement.

In May 2026, the Avanza Initiative is preparing to host its annual conference, which supports K–16 students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in higher education. Our mission is to serve our communities by encouraging students to pursue a college degree. In the past, this event has been known as the César Chávez Leadership Conference.

UC Davis faculty experts are helping advance campuswide dialogue on global migration through the 2025–2026 Campus Community Book Project, which centers on Solito by Javier Zamora. As part of the initiative, scholars affiliated with the UC Davis Global Migration Center convened for a public panel that explored the social, economic, legal and human dimensions of migration, connecting academic research with the lived experiences reflected in the book.

The University of California, Davis has earned a renewal of the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, reaffirming its national standing as a leader in collaborative, reciprocal partnerships that connect campus expertise with community needs. This elective classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education highlights UC Davis’s longstanding land-grant mission and deep civic commitment, recognizing sustained excellence in community-engaged teaching, research, and outreach through 2032.

On a sunny fall afternoon, the Activities and Recreation Center ballroom buzzed with music, laughter and conversation. A giant balloon arch adorned the entrance and dancers cheered on the more than 100 guests who arrived to celebrate the culmination of the 35th anniversary of the UC Davis Principles of Community.

The region’s most ambitious education-to-career pipeline initiative is accelerating — and UC Davis is a big part of it.

The Sacramento K-16 Collaborative recently announced significant expansion of its regional data partnership: what began on October 8, 2024 with five founding institutions now is growing to include ten additional partners (pending final authorization), bringing the total to 15 institutions collectively serving more than 220,000 students across the Capital Region.

The Center for Reducing Health Disparities (CRHD), together with its collaborators, proudly co-hosted the 15th Annual Spanish Mini Medical School (SMMS) on Saturday, October 4. What began as a modest community gathering has grown into a beloved tradition — this year’s milestone “quinceañera” edition lived up to the magic.