Kristen Ahn sees herself in the students she helps at the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center. "As a first-gen immigrant, and also the oldest child of my family, I never thought about grad school," said Ahn, who was born and raised in South Korea. "If you come from lower socioeconomic background and are first gen, I think you tend to have imposter syndrome, right?"

While earning a bachelor's in psychology in the School of Social Sciences in 2011, Ahn began working a student job at SSARC. In addition to meeting mentors, she learned the value of furthering her education beyond undergraduate studies. Graduate school became a viable option. Instead of focusing only on local, ostensibly more affordable options, Ahn set her sights higher, at the encouragement of SSARC's director at the time, Jeanett Castellanos (now the associate dean of undergraduate studies in the School of Social Sciences).

"I remember clearly telling her, 'I don't think I can get in,'" Ahn said. "But she challenged me. She said, 'That's not true.'" And it wasn't. Ahn ultimately got into Harvard, an experience she described as eye-opening. After earning her master's degree in higher education, she worked at diverse institutions including Claremont Graduate University and the University of La Verne, both in southern California, before returning to UCI, where she worked in the Paul Merage School of Business and the College of Health Sciences. "After a decade of doing that, I saw this role, and it really hit me. I told myself, it's really time to go back to where it all began. My passion for higher education really began here at the center."

It was working at SSARC as an undergrad that had catalyzed Ahn's understanding of what she wanted to do with her career: student development and working in higher education to create new programming. "SSARC is one of a kind," said Ahn. "If you look at our campus, there are no other resource centers that are really specific to the school level. All the resource centers, they're centralized." Conversely, SSARC's services are tailored toward serving students within social sciences. As the first Director of Undergraduate Leadership and Community Programs, Ahn oversees not only SSARC but also other programming, such as LeadHER and SAEP. "I am able to build a bridge between the SSARC and all other student programming at the school," said Ahn.

SSARC, for its part, helps students with three things: applying to graduate and professional school, finding internships and developing careers and, most urgently, building community within UCI. With a small but mighty staff at her disposal, Ahn is laser focused. "It's really three full-time staff members, along with a few amazing students, running the show," she said. "I wanted to do certain things really, really well, instead of doing everything."

SSARC's annual calendar is tailored to mirror students' top-of-mind concerns. "During the spring quarter, a lot of our seniors and other students are concerned with their job opportunities, so I'm really mindful of that," she said. "We're going to do a lot more workshops that are focused on career development and job seeking." Meanwhile, many applications for research opportunities, UCDC and study abroad programs are due in the winter, so SSARC's offerings tend to focus on that during those months. For the rest of the fall, however, the focus is on grad school. There will be four different workshops in November, which will help students build their grad-school timeline, consider their options and draft resumes and personal statements.

In addition to trying to shift back to hosting more in-person events post pandemic, Ahn is incorporating student feedback into the types of events she plans. "The biggest thing was that they get intimidated by talking to staff and faculty. And it was staff and faculty—it's not just faculty or staff," said Ahn. "A lot of times, we think that students only want to get to know faculty, but that's not true. We have some amazing staff here. For example, students may go into marketing. We have an amazing marketing team, so why don't we invite them? Students may want to go into HR. Well, we have an HR person working upstairs, so why don't we invite HR?"

On November 14, SSARC will unite all three groups by hosting a social with the Center for Student Wellness and Health Promotion. "When we did socials before, it's like, maybe faculty and students, maybe staff and students, or faculty and staff—not all three groups," said Ahn. "The November 14 event, it's the first of its kind. We're inviting everyone."

Also different is the fact that it's being framed not as networking but as an event for socializing. "When you go to a networking event, sometimes you get really awkward, right? Or you speak to, like, two people," said Ahn. Instead, the mixer will have a speed-dating format, and everyone will be encouraged to connect on a more personal level. "When we do socials, sometimes it feels top down: the faculty is talking and students are only listening, and it's all about their research," said Ahn. "For this social, I'm making it personal, interactive and not academic. So I'm really, really excited for this event."

There is a transfer social coming up, and one for international students. There's another for first-time students. The bottom line is that Ahn wants students to get the support she did while at UCI. "I want, really, our students to find community within SSARC. It could be a faculty mentor, it could be with their staff, it could be with me, or it could also be with other students," said Ahn. "When I was a student here, it really transformed my life."

-Alison Van Houten for UCI Social Sciences
-pictured: SSARC staff with members of the UCI Spirit Squad at the UCI Social Sciences Dean’s Welcome BBQ