Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week

By Lilly Wellons
March 30, 2026

At the UCLA Veterans Resource Center, community rarely happens by accident. It is built through small conversations, mentorship, shared experiences and the steady work of students who invest their time in helping others find their footing on campus. At the center of that effort are the VRC’s graduate students.

Graduate students are not only advancing their own research at UCLA. Many are also mentoring undergraduates, building new initiatives and expanding opportunities for Veterans and military-connected students across campus.

At UCLA, graduate students often sit at the intersection of research, mentorship and leadership. They guide undergraduates through the early stages of academic discovery, collaborate across disciplines and help translate complex ideas into meaningful opportunities for others. At the Veterans Resource Center, that role carries an additional responsibility: helping Veterans, dependents and military-connected students navigate research spaces, academic pathways and the broader UCLA community.

During Grad Student Appreciation Week, the VRC is recognizing the many ways our graduate students have helped shape that community. Through initiatives such as Veterans in Research, Veterans in Law, Veterans in Healthcare, Veterans in Stem, and Veterans in Humanities, mentoring programs and informal support networks, graduate students have helped expand the resources available to military-connected students on campus.

Among those contributing to that effort are Moises Machuca, Shantée N. Ayala-Rosario and Min Kyu Lee, three graduate students whose work has helped strengthen mentorship and research access at the VRC.

Shantee, a sixth-year Ph.D. candidate in the molecular, cellular and integrative physiology program, studies the effects of stress and trauma on sleep and how those disruptions may contribute to PTSD-like behaviors. Her work in neuroscience focuses on the biological mechanisms that shape how trauma is processed and remembered.

At the VRC, she has played an important role in expanding the Veterans in Research initiative, helping connect military-connected students with research opportunities across UCLA. Through mentoring and outreach, she has helped guide students toward labs, introduced them to research environments and encouraged them to explore academic paths they may not have previously considered.

“Sometimes in science everything functions in a vacuum,” Shantee said. “You’re doing experiments continuously, but you don’t always have that connection to the people who might benefit from the work. Being part of the VRC helps bring that human element back into the conversation.”

Moises, a fifth-year doctoral student in comparative literature and a former Marine infantryman, contributes to the VRC through both mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration. His research examines how classical theories of emotion, morality and war shaped early modern military culture, bringing together literature, history and lived experience.

Within the VRC community, Moises has helped foster conversations that bridge disciplines and different fields and perspectives. Through discussions, mentorship and collaboration with other graduate students, he encourages students to think about how humanities research can intersect with questions about military life, memory and emotional experience.

Min, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a U.S. Army Veteran, has focused much of his involvement on expanding research access for military-connected students. His work in chemistry centers on polymers and sustainable materials, exploring eco-friendly approaches to developing new technologies and applications.

Through Veterans in Research, Min has helped connect Veterans and dependents with research labs across campus and has mentored several students in his own research group. He said those opportunities can play a critical role in helping students build confidence and find direction in their academic careers.

“This program really gives that connection and networking opportunity for Veterans to get exposure to research,” Min said. “Veterans have incredible qualities — resilience, teamwork and discipline — and research labs around UCLA really benefit from that.”

Together, Moises, Shantee and Min represent a broader group of graduate students who contribute to the VRC community. Through mentorship, collaboration and program development, they help create opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students to build experience, connect with peers and navigate their academic paths at UCLA.

As the center recognizes Grad Student Appreciation Week, their efforts highlight the role graduate students play not only in research but also in supporting the students around them.

To learn more about the VRC Career Path Program.