UCLA Pilipino Alumni Board Members from left to right: JP Schumacher, Rose Lyn Castro, Bobby Rimas, Rex Sampaga, and Steffi Yutan
On Tuesday, November 18th, the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association Board of Directors held a dinner at Park’s Finest Restaurant in Los Angeles to celebrate the renaming of their scholarship program to the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Lovell Sevilla Scholarship Program. The dinner is the first event of a renewed scholarship campaign to strengthen the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Endowment and to honor Ms. Lovell Sevilla, who served as the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Scholarship Director from 1995 through 2000 and was instrumental in establishing the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Scholarship Endowment. Ms. Sevilla also served as a UCLA student counselor for more than two decades. In 2010, she was awarded the UCLA Chancellor’s Excellence in Service Award for expanding diversity in the UCLA Honors Programs and in 2011, became the UCLA director of counseling. In August 2014, Ms. Sevilla died at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after a 9-month battle to acute myeloid leukemia. Students who were counseled by Ms. Sevilla remember her dedication to help them in any way she could.
Bobby T. Rimas, the current UCLA Pilipino Alumni Scholarship Director stated, “Adding Lovell’s name is very fitting for the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Scholarship program as it honors her passion and commitment to helping deserving students. It is our hope that this campaign will take the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Scholarship Endowment to the next level by eventually serving more students and inspiring subsequent leaders to carry on Lovell’s legacy for years to come.”
The UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association Scholarship Program usually culminates in the awarding of both the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Endowment and private scholarships at UCLA Pilipino Alumni’s annual scholarship benefit. To date, the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association has awarded over 100 scholarships. The UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association’s mission is to create an environment for current students, alumni, and community members to network, both socially and professionally, as well as raise monies to support UCLA Pilipino Alumni’s initiatives, which include scholarships for incoming high school, undergraduate, and graduate students at UCLA. If you have any inquiries regarding who may apply for UCLA Pilipino Alumni scholarships or contributions towards the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Endowment, please contact Mr. Rimas at Bobby.Rimas@alumni.ucla.edu.