In this COVID-19 year, UCLA students return to campus for graduation
Sophia Bautista, graduating with a degree in political science and labor studies, needs crutches after she broke her foot while skateboarding only days before her UCLA graduation.
After being off campus the entire academic year, UCLA’s class of 2021 got the rare chance to return — for graduation.
Although they had to have specific time slots, graduates got to walk through Drake Stadium with their names announced and image shown on a monitor, as part of a “Graduation Celebration.”
More than 9,000 students over six days are expected to participate. Some 14,000 undergraduates and graduate students are expected to receive their degrees from UCLA this year.
Al Seib was a photographer and videographer for the Los Angeles Times from 1984 to 2022. His photos have won numerous awards from national and international photographer associations. Seib’s work has helped win four Pulitzer Prizes for breaking news reporting awarded to The Times’ staff: the Los Angeles riots in 1993, the Northridge earthquake in 1995, the Southern California wildfires in 2004 and the San Bernardino shootings in 2016.