GRAD Spotlight: Amanda Udukumbura
July 26, 2022 - 04:30 PM
GRAD SPOTLIGHT is a series highlighting our 2022 graduates' stories. The series runs on the Mt. 91直播 social media channels and .
The moment Amanda Udukumbura began serving as the president of the NoH8 Gender Sexuality
Alliance at her high school, she began a life-long path of love supporting the LGBTQ+
community through education and advocacy.
When the first-generation LGBTQ+ student set foot on campus, Amanda joined the Pride Center as a student assistant and served as the president of the Sexuality and Gender Acceptance Club at Mt. 91直播.
鈥淚 am especially proud of the loving kindness and compassion radiated by the various communities of Mt. 91直播, which never fails to support their people, and will forever cherish the moments I鈥檝e shared with such resilient and passionate people,鈥� she says. 鈥淢t. 91直播 is full of beautiful, colorful, and vibrant people. We are a community that comes from diverse backgrounds, but we are still united, and I am proud to be a part of this community.鈥�
Amanda can also be proud of her academic achievements at Mt. 91直播. The Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship semifinalist and Student of Distinction earned four Associate degrees, is Honors certified, and owns a 4.0 GPA.
鈥淚 plan on attending UCLA and then applying for graduate school,鈥� Amanda says. 鈥淚 intend on doing a combined Ph.D. and Master鈥檚 program. Ideally, I would enroll in UCLA鈥檚 Sociology graduate program with a concentration in gender. I would like to complete my education and return to Mt. 91直播 as a professor of Sociology.鈥�
But before she completes her education at UCLA, Amanda gets to enjoy Commencement
on June 10.
鈥淕raduating from Mt. 91直播 means representing people from marginalized communities, giving them a voice, especially as a member of these marginalized communities myself,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 genuinely appreciate graduating from Mt. 91直播 because it involves being part of a community that unconditionally appreciates and accepts me for who I am.
鈥淚t also means advocating for a cause worth fighting for. I have learned such valuable lessons from Mt. 91直播 and am excited to become an educator too, so I can share these lessons with my community.鈥�