Cassi Colangelo, ’22

Cassi Colangelo is a fourth-year student at UCLA pursuing a B.A. in Education and Social Transformation and a minor in Community Engagement and Social Change. Following her aspirations of working towards bridging the higher education accessibility gap for underrepresented groups of students, Cassi works as a Bruin Ambassador for UCLA’s admission office, as well as a youth coach for Los Angeles foster youth through UCLA’s Bruin Guardian’s Scholar Program. Both programs allow her the opportunity to work one-on-one with various communities of students in helping them obtain their post-secondary school aspirations. Outside of work, Cassi has been involved with three undergraduate research teams in education and interns at Horace Mann UCLA Community School. Through her time working with Mann, she helped develop a 3-part college access program for their seniors, as well as provided personal mentorship to their juniors and seniors. In her free time, she loves spending time with her dog, exploring LA, and going to various concerts and professional sporting events with her friends and family.

Receiving the Norma J. Ehrlich scholarship has not only helped alleviate her financial burden, but has allowed her the opportunity to connect with a diverse group of UCLA women who share the same values of determination and passion. She is beyond grateful for the opportunity to have such a dedicated mentor and network of women that she can learn from and grow with.