HELP CONTINUE THE LEGACY
Support the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity
(CEED)

Help us reach our goal of $31,000 by July 27th!

  • Percent towards goal of $31,000! 100% 100%

Did you know that many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions made by their employees? Make sure to maximize the impact of your donation by checking HERE to see if your company has a matching gift policy!

Help Continue the Legacy!

Enrique “Rick” Ainsworth has dedicated over 31 years to the advancement of underrepresented students at UCLA Samueli through his work with the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED), formerly known as MEP and CUES. As Executive Director, Rick led and created programs designed to support students both academically and professionally.

Now, as Rick retires, we hope to honor him and continue his legacy by raising $31,000 in 31 days for CEED! As we say farewell to Rick, we ask that you continue to support the vision of CEED.

CEED Mission

The Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity promotes and encourages the development, recruitment, retention, and graduation of all underrepresented engineering and computer science students.

Why is CEED Important?

CEED is playing a very important role in helping to give all students the opportunity to succeed at UCLA Samueli and graduate with a degree in engineering. Since its inception, 36 years ago, CEED has supported underrepresented students both academically and professionally through a variety of different programs. Currently, about 330 students are a part of CEED, which accounts for approximately 8% of the UCLA Samueli’s engineering students.

Over the years, CEED has proven to be highly successful. As shown in the infographic to the right, the graduation rate for the underrepresented freshmen students (FROSH) and transfer students (TRNSF) who participated in CEED is much higher than the national rate. CEED helps further UCLA Samueli’s commitment to increase the pool of diverse engineers ready to enter this exciting and innovative field. It provides programs that prepare engineers of all backgrounds to help the engineering industry meet the ever-growing demand for a diverse technical workforce.

Key CEED Programs

Here are some of the numerous key programs that CEED offers to undergraduate students:

  • CEED Freshman Summer Bridge: A two-week, summer program for incoming freshmen students who are majoring in engineering or computer science. Summer Bridge provides advanced preparation and early exposure to Fall Quarter math, chemistry, and computer science curricula.
  • Introduction to Engineering Disciplines (E 87): A graded course that exposes CEED freshmen to the engineering profession, the principles of effective study, and team/community-building skills. The course includes experiential learning through discipline-based engineering research team projects, and computer literacy.
  • Computing Immersion Summer Experience (CISE): A three-week program focused on preparing freshmen and new transfer students for the introductory Computer Science 31 course.
  • Bridge Review for Enhancing Engineering Students (BREES): A two-week summer program for continuing students and incoming transfer students majoring in engineering and computer science. BREES provides an introduction to key topics covered in core engineering courses.
  • Academic Excellence Workshops (AEW): An approach for achieving mastery in math, science, and engineering courses through collaborative learning and facilitated group study.
  • Professional Development: The CEED Industry Advisory Board helps CEED students with finding summer internship opportunities. Additionally, company representatives host seminars and workshops on resumes, networking, interviewing, and leadership skills.

Hear from Students ~

Hear from students who are a part of CEED:

Sophia Martinez - 3rd Year, Aerospace Engineer

I can confidently say that CEED has benefited every aspect of my college career. I have made the Dean’s List several times and have been able to maintain a very high Major GPA. With all of this hard work, I have become the Project Manager for Bearospace at UCLA, a competitive high-powered rocketry team through CEED. This summer I will be interning at Boeing as a Structural Design Engineer. I don’t believe that I would be in the same place I am now without CEED.” 

 

Bradley Pickard - 2nd Year, Computer Science

“I came to UCLA because of all the opportunities I saw here for an aspiring engineer. CEED was the cherry on top; I was being given access to a supportive community and all kinds of professional development opportunities. I was hesitant to sign up for the special orientation session and the Summer Bridge program. Now, I can say doing so was the right decision because the friends I made there are still some of the closest connections I’ve made at UCLA, and CEED has impacted every aspect of my career.”

Mya Cross - 2nd Year, Materials Science Engineering

“Honestly, I chose to come to UCLA because of CEED. The opportunity to be able to meet other students like me in my field the summer before starting college contributed heavily in making my first quarter as smooth as it was. Knowing that you have a group of peers to rely on make the transition to college life much easier. As part of CEED at UCLA, I have made connections, and been given opportunities that I most likely would not have known about had I been “alone” in the school of engineering.”

Help us reach our goal of $31,000 by July 27th!

  • Percent towards goal of $31,000! 100% 100%

While we very happily accept donations of any amount, consider donating at $31, $310, $3,100, or $31,000 to commemorate Rick’s extraordinary 31 years of dedication to CEED! Thank you for your support!