|
President Janet Napolitano greeted 300 UC alumni at the University’s Washington Center last week including graduates from all 10 UC campuses.
Napolitano asked alumni to stay connected to their alma maters and consider mentoring or offering internships to students participating in the UCDC program.
“I know a few things about Washington,’’ Napolitano joked, referring to her nearly five years as President Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security, whose headquarters are located just a few miles from the UC Washington Center. She said students with internships learn skills that will serve their own futures, as well as California’s.
Napolitano described the university as a “powerful engine of social mobility,’’ noting that more than 40 percent of UC students come from families where neither parent attended college. She said the UC job interested her because of the vital role that secondary education played during her two terms as Arizona Governor. When she announced she was leaving the cabinet for California, she said many of her colleagues were puzzled initially.
“Then they’d ask me, ‘how can I get a job like that?’’’
The alumni event sold out quickly, leaving room for a limited number of current students.
Several dozen students staged a peaceful demonstration in the UCDC lobby, protesting their lack of access and voicing concerns over Napolitano’s record at the Department of Homeland Security and as UC president. Napolitano’s office said she would meet with UCDC students in a future visit.
The event was co-sponsored by UCDC and the President’s Office of Alumni and External Affairs. There are more than 10,000 UC alumni in the Washington, D.C. area.
Click here to view a photo gallery of the event (all photos by Chantal Quintero).