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When Avenue M student Jessica de Laguna opened her MCAT score, years of work suddenly felt uncertain. After returning to school in her 30s and completing demanding science coursework, she had fallen short of the score she hoped for.

"I got a 490," she recalled. "So I have to retake it again."

For a student who had spent years battling imposter syndrome, it would have been easy to see the score as the end of the road. Instead, someone at UC Davis saw something else.

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.

The IDEA presents the 2026 AAFSA Aggie Acknowledgements, a space to share the outstanding accomplishments of our faculty and staff. Through Aggie Acknowledgements, the African American Faculty and Staff Association (AAFSA) at the UC Davis and UC Davis Health campuses invites the community to recognize and celebrate one another.

Associate Professor, UC Davis School of Education

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.

In June 2026, two brothers, Matt and Andrew Mokski, completed their four-year academic journeys at UC Davis. Andrew graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, while his older brother Matt graduated from the Redwood SEED Scholars Program, California’s first four-year, fully-inclusive university living and learning college program for students with intellectual disabilities. 

Faculty, staff, and graduate student instructors are invited to apply for the new UC Dialogue Fellows Program from the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. The fellowship provides $5,000 to support teaching practices that help students develop dialogue skills and engage across differences.