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5th Annual Professional Writing Minor Capstone Seminar Colloquium
Event Overview
Join us for the 5th Annual Professional Writing Minor Capstone Seminar Colloquium!
“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.”
-Joan Didion
About the Colloquium
UCLA Writing Programs and the Department of English are thrilled to invite you to our fifth annual Professional Writing Minor Capstone Seminar Colloquium, organized as part of Undergraduate Research Week 2026. In a series of 45-minute panels across three days, students from the Professional Writing Minor will present an exciting array of capstone seminar projects. Fifty-six students will present on a rich diversity of topics that exemplify the range, depth, and individualized paths possible within the Professional Writing Minor. From astronaut hearts to queer horror, birthright citizenship to Los Angeles nightlife, students from diverse majors will share their original work in a range of genres including memoirs, websites, zines, research articles, and more. The colloquium is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served, and a short Q&A will follow each panel. Friends, family, faculty, staff, and students are welcome to attend. Join us to experience writing as an act of both communication and exploration as these emerging writers and soon-to-be graduates share their insights and discoveries.
Dates/Times/Location
May 19-21, 2026
126A Kaplan Hall
Tuesday, 2 to 4:45 pm
Wednesday, 9 to 10:45 am and 1 to 3:45 pm
Thursday, 9 am to 1:45 pm and 3 to 3:45 pm
Panel Schedule
| Presenter Name (Alphabetized by First Name) |
Presentation Title |
| Aatmi Mehta | Aatmi’s Anatomy: A Scrapbook Across Science, Culture, and Curiosity |
| Alexa Sanchez | Closing the Care Gap: A Community-Based Childcare Model in Los Angeles |
| Allison Broker | Waiting: Essays on Identity, Depression, and Prolonged Gratification |
| Allison Ito | Does My Vote Matter? A Case Study of Roe v. Wade |
| Amo O’Neil | Viva La Innamorati!: Gen-Z, Appetite, and the Lost Art of Eroticism |
| Anna Walburger | The Reasonable Person Standard: What the Law Says v. What Our Brains Do |
| Ashanti Bracamontes | The Hallyu Wave: A Look Into the KPOP Scene |
| Aurabelle Quinn | FLOW Los Angeles: Exploring The Science of Stress and Wellness |
| Berenice Limeta Jimenez | The Rise of Influencers & Its Effect |
| Dollie Swaim | Haunted UCLA |
| Dylan Choppin | The Issues Faced by Young Men Today (And What We Are Missing) |
| Eliana Bernstein | Resilient Coast |
| Evelyn Baran | Living With Mormons |
| Evrim Tuncel | State of Surveillance: Location Data Purchasing and the Omnipresent Border |
| Gia Boisselier | Between Species: Reflections on Human-Animal Relationships within UCLA |
| Isabella Alioto | How to Eat Like A Dancer: Nourishing our bodies, defining what is healthy, and enjoying cooking |
| Jake Wayne | The Shape Shifting Nature of Long-Term Memory: Remembering as a form of re-experiencing for the first time |
| Jennifer Lopez | “HEY YOU GUYS!!!”: A Brief History of The Electric Company (1971-2009) |
| Jessica Fine | More Than Friends: The Cultural Treatment of Lesbian Films Through History |
| Kaitlin Aguilar | Club Penguin: How A Game is Created by You, the Player |
| Katherine Gussman | Digital Nostalgia: Liminal Aesthetics and Emotional Experience in Digital Media |
| Lexi Adelstein | Visible Support to Meet Invisible Struggles |
| Lucine Ekizian | The Art of Dissent: When should I speak up? |
| Luke Nassief | Shakespeare in Love: The Invention of the Modern Oscar Campaign |
| Lupita Fernandez Garcia | Stu-Dents in History: An Archival Revival of the Voices of Student Activists at UCLA |
| Mariana de Oliveira Souza | The Space Cut: Identity and Representation in Space Sci-Fi Film |
| Mathilde Hebras | What the Constitution Has to Say About Birthright Citizenship: Trump v. Barbara Court Opinion |
| Maya Wertheim | The Elastic Heart |
| Meadow Vokes | Queer Horror Portal: Making Accessible the Queer History of Horror |
| Meghan Do | Terra Incognita |
| Michael Gallagher | Profile on a Soldier |
| Miranda Rodriguez Benavides | The Axolotl: Nature’s Most Unusual Survivor |
| Monica Thompson | The Death of General Aviation |
| Nadia Garabedian | Realities Turned to Identity: Painting My Own Armenian Story |
| Natalie Rodriguez Munoz | Speculative Futures for Inglewood: Reimagining Urban Development Through Speculative Fiction and Design |
| Nayaonika Vasishtha | Seen and Othered: The Racial and Ethnic Experiences of the South Asian Diaspora |
| Oliver Mascarade | Sleep, Punishment, and State Power: How Our Justice System Determines Eighth and Fifth Amendment Violations |
| Poornima Dorairaj | From Courthouses to the Streets: Exploring and Understanding the Intersection of Policies and its implications on the Unhoused Community via their Voices |
| Rachel Gima | Hurricane Season: Learning When to Rebuild and When to Walk Away |
| Reese Dahlgren | Growing Pains |
| Reid Sperisen | The Elephants and Me |
| Roma Yukilevich | Dressed to Kill: Toxic Chemical Exposure and Lack of Regulation in American Clothing |
| Rosario Acosta Guerrero | The Safe City Los Angeles: The Past and Future of Immigrant Legal Aid Nonprofits in Los Angeles |
| Samantha Padilla | The American Perception made by The French portrayal of French History and Society through Media |
| Samantha Preciado | Defending Jus Soli: Constitutionality, Racism, and National Consequences |
| Sarah Arrosagaray | Wuornos to Gacy: How Gender Impacts the Sentencing of Violent Crime |
| Sarah Hinck | Online Voices: A Website on Digital Sexual Abuse of Minors for Young Adults and Parents |
| Shaun Thomas | Medicine Needs Better Messengers: What Healthcare Can Learn from Media |
| Shirley Cruz | LA Nightlife: A Guide |
| Sofia Lykos | On Creation During Vision Loss |
| Taeya Mack | Searching For Clues: Investigating the Diversity of Detective Fiction |
| Tatiana Santiago | Gen Z and Social Media: The Sequel |
| Taylor Dierks | Forever Chemicals, Forever Impact: The Environmental Cost of Military PFAS Pollution |
| Tori (Victoria) Leighton | A Fisherwoman’s Guide: For and From a Beginner |
| Yehudis Weiss | Special Education: How the System Fails Students & Why We Must Support Them |
| Yena Cho | Firm in the Faith: The Evolution of Faith Across the Ages |
Access an 8.5×11 flier for the event in PDF format.