Scholarships

UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association Lovell Sevilla Scholarship Program "Bruin Community is in the Heart" in honor of Dr. Dawn Mabalon, author of "Little Manila is in the Heart"

Every year, students work hard to make a positive and lasting impact on campus, in the local community, in their hometown and beyond. Given the challenges arising for the 2020-2021 academic year, UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association (PAA) seeks to offer financial assistance in the form of scholarships to our students.
Students have the opportunity to apply and receive a $1,000 scholarship.

Inspired by Dr. Mabalon, whose work drew directly from Carlos Bulosan’s autobiography, “America is in the Heart,” in which the immigrant author depicts he and his brothers’ pursuits of America’s “promise of a better life” (Carlos Bulosan - America is in the Heart: A Personal History), the UCLA PAA Lovell Sevilla Scholarship Program “Bruin Community is in the Heart” seeks to reward a current Bruin who fulfills the promise of a better life ... for others.

Eligibility

“Bruin Community is in the Heart” award candidates come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, but all are universally defined by their experience or desire to change the world for the better. Applicants to the “Bruin Community is in the Heart” scholarship must:

• Demonstrate measurable leadership or specific aspirations and plans to "contribute something vital to the world." Carlos Bulosan - America is in the Heart: A Personal History;
• Be an undergraduate incoming, continuing or transfer student enrolled full time at UCLA for fall quarter 2020;
• Be in good academic standing;
• Be an active member of the Philipin@/x community. Membership can be demonstrated in many ways including, but not limited to:
  • Ethnicity;
  • Family;
  • Immersion or participation in Pilipin@/x culture and life;
  • Immersion or participation in the Pilipin@/x community; and
  • Any community work that specifically uplifts the Pilipin@/x population and world at large; and,
• If awarded, strongly consider volunteering at/supporting/attending one PAA event in each quarter of the 2020-21 academic year. Given the restrictions on live events during the COVID-19 pandemic, participation will be in a virtual space until further notice. Support could range from clerical support, technical support during virtual meetings, event support or any other support matching the scholar's skillset. The Scholarship Committee welcomes any input from the scholar in order to help the scholar increase professional and personal networks.

How to Apply

The 2021 program is open now.  Please see the application on Academic Works, or contact PAA Scholarship Director, A.R. Mateo '07, for more information at armateo@ucla.edu. 

How to Volunteer

If you are interested in volunteering to help read scholarship applications, please fill out a volunteer interest form or contact PAA Scholarship Director, A.R. Mateo for more information at ARMateo@ucla.edu.

About the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association Lovell Sevilla Scholarship Program

Prior to 2020, the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association annually awarded at least one 4-year $1,000/year scholarship for incoming first-year students. Scholars were selected from a competitive pool of applicants chosen by PAA volunteers and alumni. We take great pride in being a part of this scholarship tradition.

Wanting to have the ability to acknowledge the work that students have been doing after arriving on campus and to open our scholarship to the myriad of students, such as first generation students, AB540 students, transfer students, all other continuing students, as well as incoming students, the UCLA PAA Lovell Sevilla Scholarship Program developed the 2020-21 “Bruin Community is in the Heart” scholarship in honor of Dr. Dawn Mabalon. This scholarship is designed to be inclusive of all current undergraduate Bruins, rather than simply being only available to incoming first-year students.

PAA is honored to dedicate our new “Bruin Community is in the Heart” scholarship in memory of Dr. Mabalon.

Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon '94, M.A. '97 was a respected Bruin and professor whose work and advocacy influenced a re-awakening of Pilipino pride and culture. Dr. Mabalon was born in Stockton, California on Aug. 17, 1972. She attended UCLA as a transfer student and earned her bachelor's degree (magna cum laude) in history with a specialization in Asian American studies in 1994. She earned her master's degree in Asian American studies from UCLA in 1997 and her Ph.D. in American History from Stanford University in 2003.

Lovell Sevilla served as a student counselor at UCLA Honors Programs for more than two decades, and is remembered for her fierce “warrior” spirit and sincere interest in bettering other peoples’ lives. Lovell earned a bachelor’s degree in history at UCLA, then a master’s degree in counseling from Loyola Marymount University. In 2010, she was awarded the Chancellor’s Excellence in Service Award for expanding diversity in the Honors Programs and became the director of counseling in 2011. Aside from her formal position at UCLA, she served as a mentor, a confidant, an aunt, a sister, a friend--to so many Pilipino students during their time at UCLA and beyond.

Support Our Scholarship Program

The UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association thanks you for your generosity to support our community. The funds gathered here allow us to continually award scholarships to transfer and first-year students each year.

Give to the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association Scholarship Fund