Bruin Belles Service Association: Blog

For the past two years, I have had the immense privilege and opportunity to be surrounded by the most passionate, kind-hearted, genuine, proactive, philanthropically-minded women, who constantly uplift and inspire me. Belles have been a constant source of support and encouragement, a safe space and an oasis away from South Campus weeder classes and the competitive nature of pre-health life. Belles has not only offered limitless community service opportunities, but also countless other ways to learn and grow. From Stop the Bleed’s bystander intervention training to my very first hackathon, I have learned so much more than I ever could in a normal classroom setting. Furthermore, I have had many meaningful and thought-provoking conversations that are often neglected, overlooked, or deemed unimportant to a college student.
Through Belles, I have experienced exponential growth. From showing up to my interview in a sundress with espadrilles—business casual was such a foreign concept—to now u…

The annual Women’s Leadership Conference is an event led by Bruin Belles that shows
the amazing accomplishments of women leaders in our community and amongst our
organization! It is a time where current Belles, Belle alums, and women in our community come together to show their support of women in leadership roles. This conference is a time to focus on leadership, professionalism and personal development, and to create a culture of respect for the women in our community.

One of the first events that I attended as a Belle was the Women’s Leadership
Conference, and it was the event that showed how impactful this organization was to my
community and myself! I was really inspired by the speakers, the dedication of Belles that led the conference, and the environment of women supporting women! It was so inspiring to be amongst so many girl bosses in one room!

This year, as a Distinguished Belle for the Women’s Leadership office, I got the
opportunity to be on committee for the conference and help …

The beginning of week 9… it’s a signal that the seemingly never ending midterms season is finally concluded, which means that it’s time to lift our gazes up from our notebooks and look toward the next daunting milestone in the quarter system: finals. This short transition period this quarter was leaving me with an unshakeable feeling of apprehension. On the Wednesday afternoon of week 9, I did what many of us do when panic sets in: I called my mom.
After venting all of my stresses to my wonderfully listening mother, she asked me if I had any Belles events going on this week. I told her I was going to Challah for Hunger that night, and she said “There you go! You’ll have some great ‘Belle-time’ and everything will be fine again!”
My all-knowing mom was right. Challah for Hunger, an event at UCLA Hillel in which volunteers roll and fold challah bread for a weekly charity bake, has become one of my very favorite Belles events. 
The atmosphere in the room was exceptionally positive. The bake…

As one of the main social events of the quarter, Winter Retreat is a night of activities that aims to strengthen the bonds within the Belles community. With everyone’s busy schedules and packed Google calendars, it can be all too easy to get swept up in academics and extracurriculars. Winter Retreat is a chance to relax for a night and enjoy some quality time running around (in onesies!) with fellow Belles. 
This year, the night kicked off with some classic games: we dashed around Wilson Plaza for Captain’s Orders, laughed through a UCLA-themed game of Pictionary-Telephone, and attempted to channel some Pitch Perfect energy for Riff-Off. My personal favorite activity of the night was the “Tap Someone Who…” activity, where you have a chance to anonymously show your appreciation for Belles by tapping them based on specific statements (e.g., “Tap someone who you admire”, “Tap someone who you learned something from”). It was a moment of reflection on how much the people in the club have im…

My very first year in college before I joined Belles, I distinctly remember the overwhelming feeling of homesickness during the holiday season. From every direction I heard students lamenting that “Christmas just isn’t the same anymore”. Being 1,000 miles away from my family who normally makes this time of year feel so special definitely did not help. Our holiday traditions leading up to Christmas like setting up the Christmas tree, baking holiday cookies, and listening to Christmas music together was exchanged for the dimly-lit bookstacks in Powell, the occasional *real* dessert at Bplate, and searching up “one hour of soothing piano music” to study to. Every fiber of my being just wanted to return home to the joyful festivities my family had in store.
Fast forward to two years later, I am sitting at home during Thanksgiving dreaming about coming back to school. What changed? I found a home away from home — Bruin Belles! I was so excited to come back for Belle’s annual Holiday festivi…

On September 20th, 2019, more than 4 million people, who were mostly young adults, took part in a Global Climate Strike to protest our political leaders’ failure to take action against climate change. This call to protest was inspired by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish activist, and her Fridays For Future movement. Though Greta is currently the most renowned climate activist, the Global Climate Strike was also led by many other young women, such as Isra Hirsi, Alexandria Villasenor, Hilda Flavia Nakabuye, Leah Namugerwa, Freya Brown, Adriana Salazar, and Jamie Margolin. This overwhelming leadership by young women in the global climate crisis is a true testament to our ability to inspire change and protect our planet.  Belles, too, have been doing their part to protect our planet, especially through their everyday actions. For example, many Belles use reusable water bottles and to-go cups rather than single-use plastic water bottles. Though this may appear trivial, Americans still…