Hundreds of students celebrate their degrees at several commencement ceremonies this year. Photos by Karen Tapia
More than 1,000 School of Social Ecology students graduate
Resilience, redirection and respect. That’s what speakers stressed at this year’s graduation celebration.
“Honor where you come from. Remember that your story is your strength and use that strength to lead,” Maria Anguiano, vice chair of the UC Board of Regents and this year’s keynote speaker, advised the cap-and-gown-clad students during the first of two School of Social Ecology commencement ceremonies.
She shared how her path to college was “anything but direct.”
At 15, Anguiano’s grandmother became an orphan in Mexico, responsible for raising her five younger siblings, and later, 10 of her own children. Anguiano’s mother immigrated to the United States in the 1970s with only a sixth-grade education. Though she was poor, she taught herself English, started a small business and raised Anguiano and her two siblings on her own.
“I know many of you come from families like mine,” Anguiano told the packed Bren Events Center. “When I face difficult moments, I remember my grandmother and my mother. I remember what they endured. I admire their tremendous grit and determination.”
The school’s two student speakers, Amanda Spencer and Tara Blanco, both untraditional students can relate. They shared similar stories, full of setbacks and redirects to reach their goals.
For Spencer, a single mother, her path to UC Irvine’s graduation stage spans nearly two decades. After stepping away from college in 2006 with a transcript full of zeros, she spent years supporting her family however she could — cleaning houses and reselling vintage finds while navigating abusive relationships — before the family court system sparked a passion for the law that brought her back to the classroom.
She enrolled at Irvine Valley College, graduated with a 3.8 GPA, and went on to UCI, majoring in criminology, law & society while managing serious neurological health challenges, raising four children largely on her own, and — just last summer — living out of hotels for three months after toxic mold condemned her family's home. Through every setback, she never dropped a single class. This fall, she plans to apply to law school with a focus on family law, driven by a deep commitment to helping others navigate a system she once found terrifying.
She credits her resilience and determination to the power of the reset.
“Life will knock you down,” she said. “It will test you. It will force you into moments you never planned for. But, when it does — remember this: you can reset. Not just once. Not just when it’s easy. But, as many times as it takes until you become the person you were always meant to be.”
Blanco, a first-generation college student, double major in criminology, law & society and psychological science, and a Campuswide Honors Collegium researcher, came to UCI as a wife, a mother of eight, and a grandmother of nine — carrying decades of resilience, sacrifice, and determination with her.
She wrote papers in her car between her children’s football and wrestling matches, battled imposter syndrome in honors courses, built a student organization from the ground up, and completed an honors thesis on an often-overlooked population: male victims of domestic violence.
A singer, a leader, and a tireless advocate, Blanco has been accepted into UCI's Master of Legal and Forensic Psychology program and plans to one day teach criminology and work in victim advocacy and policy reform. She is living proof that it is never too late to rise.
“My experiences have taught me that inclusivity, resilience, and empathy are not only personal values but essential components of effective scholarship and policy,” she said. “I am committed to using my graduate education to broaden understanding of diverse experiences, advocate for systemic reform and ensure that research and policy reflect the realities of those most affected by injustice. Most importantly, I want my children to see in my journey a living example: that perseverance matters, goals are worth striving for, and exceeding expectations is possible when determination is paired with compassion.”
In addition, psychological science major Alma Garcia one of the student speakers at UCI’s Nuestra Graduation ceremony, which honors Latino graduates and their families, focused on resilience.
Drawing from the personal stories of her immigrant parents, she illustrated what that word truly means. She described her mother, who immigrated from Guatemala and endured mistreatment as a fast food worker, yet pushed through to become a supervisor. She spoke of her father, a man of quiet brilliance who worked two jobs at a time without the benefit of a full formal education, so that his daughter could have the opportunities he never did.
For Garcia, their stories are living examples of an unbreakable spirit that refuses to surrender even when the weight of survival is heaviest.
Garcia told the audience that resilience is the most valuable inheritance Latino families pass down — more meaningful than land, money or status. She reminded graduates that their success is not theirs alone, but rather the continuation of generations of courage — woven together through labor, sacrifice and the quiet acts of love that have long sustained entire communities.
She urged her fellow Latinx graduates to carry that inherited resilience forward with pride. She called on them to honor their cultures, speak their languages loudly and build futures their families once thought impossible, “y que nunca se nos olvide, sí se puede (and never forget, yes we can).”
This year’s graduates number 1,092, including:
- 962 undergrads
- 24 Ph.D.s
- 25 Master of Advanced Study in Criminology, Law and Society
- 59 Master of Legal and Forensic Psychology
- 22 Master of Public Policy
- 24 Master of Urban and Regional Planning
Newly-minted Ph.D.s
In criminology, law and society:
- Cristian Apolinar
- Joanne DeCaro
- Courtney Echols
- P’trice Jones
- Daniela Kaiser Olhagaray
- Gabe Rosales
- Khirad Siddiqui
- Karma Rose Zavita
In psychological science:
- Mertcan Güngör
- Rodolfo Medina Ceballos
In psychology:
- Jennifer Barajas
- Minyoung Choi
- Logan Martin
- Vida Pourmand
- Imani Randolph
- Nicholas Riano
- Colleen Sbeglia
- Emma Simpson
- Curtis Smith
In social ecology:
- Spencer JaQuay
- Ann Le
- Darcianne Watanabe
In urban and environmental planning and policy:
- Jes Torres Baker
- Qi Bing
Among the graduates’ award winners:
- Vida Pourmand (‘23, MA social ecology; ‘26, PhD psychology) honored with a 2026 Chancellor’s Award
- Newly minted Master of Legal & Forensic Psychology graduates David Cuellar, Karina Franco-Macias and Silvestre Lopez received 2026 MLFP Scholarships
- Aidan Ermish ('26, BA psychological science) and Hannah Regan, who intends to earn a BA in criminology, law & society this summer, received 2026 Nellie Ansley Reeves Awards from UCI Libraries.
- Rudy Barbosa (‘21, BA social ecology; ‘26, MA urban & regional planning), was the inaugural Trumark Homes Fellow
- Nyla Baker (‘26, BA criminology, law & society) won the Gold Medal in the shot put and Bronze in the discus at the 2026 Big West Championships
- Zharia Taylor (‘26, BA urban studies) won the Gold Medal in the high jump at the 2026 Big West Championships
- Samantha Bartz (‘26, BA psychological science) was on the Gold Medal 4x100 relay team at the 2026 Big West Championships
- Six top students received the 2026 Chancellor’s Award of Distinction and scores of exceptional students received school awards.
The school’s top scholar-athletes were honored with Zotspys awards.
Campuswide Honors: School of Social Ecology
- Michelle Alejo-Zamora
- Melissa Michelle Andrade
- Ariany Baltazar
- Madeline Rose Barkol
- Melvin Yahir Bautista
- Tara Blanco
- Madeline Starr Bruhn
- Kiara Mariana Canchola Macias
- Kaleena Victoria Chinchilla
- Vicky Chung
- Aidan Arthur Ermisch
- Angela Figueroa
- Lauren Hannah Finkel
- Samuel Ferreira Goulart
- Yareli Hernandez
- Helen Gianhi Hoang
- Kayla Hogan
- Karen Huang
- Grace Elisabeth Kenyon
- Sophia Megan La Perle
- Sana Labanieh
- Ada Liang
- Alexza Lomeli
- Chloe Isabel Markowitz
- Susann Martinez
- Emily Martirosyan
- Angela Sandoval Mejia
- Diana Nakhmanson
- Tiffany Ng
- Ashlee An Nguyen
- Anthony James Nocedal
- Devenee Isabella Ortega
- Kadie Inae Park
- Diya Mukund Patel
- Annaree Romero Phintusunton
- Omar Pizana-Hernandez
- Taylor Kailie Pochron
- Maya Pourreza
- Daphne Rebeca Ramirez-Hernandez
- Dayana Ramirez-Venegas
- Mayerly Sarai Reyes Mejia
- Anahy Ruby Sarmiento Rosero
- Katherine M. Solorzano Estrada
- Riley Emilio Stickney
- Mia Carina Thorsen Noergaard
- Yeayoung Vac
- Viviana Natividad Villegas
- Riley Nicole Wrought
- Chiana Jinghua Xu Fujiwara
- Isaac Charles Young
- Alina Xinqing Yuan
— Mimi Ko Cruz
Watch the first June 14 Social Ecology commencement ceremony
Watch the second Social Ecology commencement ceremony
Watch the June 15 graduate hooding ceremony