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“Sister, your standing up was a big deal — a big, big deal — becoming a lawyer to represent the poor and the left-behind.”

What President Biden did not say, when presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to Sister Simone Campbell, was where she earned her law degree: King Hall, UC Davis. A member of the Class of 1977, she was editor of the UC Davis Law Review and did legal aid work in the community.

Meet three alumni who’ve returned to campus to serve in the CORE Officer Program and help build a safe and supportive community for all Aggies: Jena Du ’15, Tabbasum Malik ’19 and Ricky Lee ’16. 

In 1952, Aggie Rifle Team shooter Audrey West ’53 became the first woman to earn a UC Davis varsity letter – and just a year later would go on to place third in the national college rifle championships. 

There were no intercollegiate women's sports at what was then the College of Agriculture at Davis. The rifle team seemed like a good diversion from West’s intense course of study, animal husbandry.

Joseph Patel’s walk from his seat onto the bright stage during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony took just moments. But his journey to Oscar fame, Patel ’94 says, began years earlier and miles away — in the windowless basement of UC Davis’ Freeborn Hall.

Already a music lover when he arrived as a first-year student from his hometown of Fremont, California, Patel (B.A., economics, ’94) quickly found his way to KDVS, the campus’s freeform radio station.

On behalf of the donors and volunteers with the African and African Alumni Association (5A), Cal Aggie Lambda Association (Lambda), Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association, and the Aggie Parent and Family Association (APFA), congratulations to the 2021-2022 recipients with outstanding leadership and dedication to the UC Davis community.

Celebrating Black History Month is part of my daily practice of gratitude that honors the freedom fighters in history. That includes those within my family and their long walks to freedom that paved the way for my liberation. Their strength from extraordinary accomplishments empowers my work as a change agent, one that I cherish and preserve. My heritage has a profound legacy fighting for voting rights and calls me to continue working on critical issues today.