Welcome

Jayathi Y. Murthy

Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean

To the Class of 2020,

On behalf of the faculty and staff of the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, I want to offer our warmest congratulations to you on reaching this major milestone in life. Through hard work, perseverance and creativity, you have earned your degree from one of the best engineering schools in the world.

I recognize these last few months have been extremely difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended all our lives, but especially those of our students. You’ve had to overcome so much. You’ve had to adapt nearly overnight to a new educational paradigm in the middle of a public health crisis — and far away from your UCLA friends and campus community. And you’ve managed to rise above it all. At times, I know it must feel disheartening and demoralizing, but make no mistake: The coronavirus will not define who you are, or diminish your many accomplishments.

UCLA engineers share a joint mission and commitment to improve society and address its critical problems through ingenuity, empathy and thoughtfulness. Today, as you graduate from UCLA, you and your fellow classmates will join the illustrious ranks of the UCLA Samueli engineers who came before you. I am confident that you will achieve even greater things and will make all of us proud.

As we celebrate and honor this chapter of your lives, may the many fond memories of your experiences at Samueli and the friendships you’ve made at UCLA long outlast any challenges along the way. Together, we will engineer change that impacts the lives of many generations to come.

Congratulations!