Undergraduate Advisory Board 2023-2024


Gwendolyn Berardinelli

My name is Gwendolyn Berardinelli, and I am a fourth year student from Fabulous Las Vegas! As a History major and Geography minor, I am most interested in the examination of historical developments through the lens of cultural and environmental analysis. My hope is to attend graduate school and produce historical-geographical research that centers on underrepresented spaces, namely recording the stories of places and populations that have often fallen in the shadows of big cities.

As a board member of the HUAB, one of my main intentions is to find ways to increase the feeling of connectedness between history undergraduates, as well as between history and other humanities-oriented departments. Many of our professors embrace interdisciplinarity—often using the arts and sciences to tell stories of the past—and I think we can expand this beyond teaching, so that students can interact with more mediums in producing research. This relates to my broadest interest as a board member: the future of history in an era where the nature of the traditional research and writing process is changing with the advent of tools that automate language. In this context, I believe it is important to find ways to refine the trajectory of those studying history in a way that opens the discipline to new forms of expression. Above all, with HUAB this year, I hope to determine how fellow undergraduates envision the ideal future of the field and promote that vision!



Emma Chuidian

Hello! My name is Emma Chuidian and I am a third-year student from Sonoma County, California who is majoring in history and pursuing a minor in Russian language. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to serve as one of the members of the History Undergraduate Advisory Board and I hope to help foster an accepting, inclusive, and welcoming environment for the entire history undergraduate community at UCLA.

My specialized interests in history include American and Soviet scientific developments during the Cold War. After graduating from UCLA, I initially plan to attend graduate school, but ultimately aspire to work for the Office of the Historian under the United States Department of State, particularly on the nations of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Russian Federation. I am eager to share my passion for history as a member of the HUAB in order to emphasize that studying moments of global reciprocity, conflict, and collaboration can help us to understand our individual role in the world today.

For the 2023-2024 academic year, I am also involved with Phi Alpha Theta: the History Honor Society at UCLA and Associated Students UCLA. Beyond academics and extracurriculars, I enjoy reading Russian classics, collecting CDs, and spending time with family and friends. I am excited to use my background to enhance the experiences of all history undergraduate students as a member of the HUAB.



Kaitlyn Coons

Hello! My name is Kaitlyn Coons and I am a fourth-year student from sunny San Diego. I am completing a double major in History and Classical Civilization along with minors in Digital Humanities and Latin Language and Culture. My passion for history stems from my insatiable curiosity and resulting love of reading and travel. As a student of history, it is my job to read, critically analyze, and present authentic stories of peoples past. What is more exciting than that? Supported by the UCLA/Keck Scholars Program, I am currently writing a departmental honors thesis in which I am reconstructing the intellectual network of the 17th-century broker of knowledge, William Leybourn. Beyond my academic commitments, you can find me swimming with friends at Sunset Rec or running in the neighborhoods around campus with Bruin Runners! As a member of the HUAB, I look forward to helping my peers connect with the amazing History Department –students, faculty, and staff– to find their passion and “their people.” I am excited to share my love for the subject and welcome others into this inclusive and supportive major. I hope this year is full of new and exciting opportunities for the history community!



Elliott Franklin

Hello! My name is Elliott Franklin and I was raised in both Santa Ana, California and Alajuela, Costa Rica. I am a Senior majoring in History with a minor in Central American Studies through the César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies. I transferred to UCLA from Orange Coast Community College and look forward to helping other transfer students achieve their departmental goals.

I love the UCLA history department! History connects us to our ancestors and it is comforting to realize they were in many ways just like us in facing their uncertain world. Through the study of history we’re able to explore difficult concepts with the brightest philosophers and academics of every age, and — with luck — find solutions for our time.

As a Dual Citizen of both the United States and Costa Rica I’m excited about the departmental honors program. It is enabling me to do a deeper level of historical research about Costa Rica, as well as the surrounding Central American countries.

The UCLA history department faculty and staff are among the best in the world. I want to help transfer students see that there are no limits to what they can accomplish in just two years.

After graduation I plan on attending a Costa Rican University and entering a Masters program while working there. The following year I’ll return to the U.S. and begin law school.



Tate Heinse

My name is Tate Heinse, and I am a third-year student from Sonoma County, CA. I am a History and a European Languages and Transcultural Studies with French and Francophone double major. I found my love for history in high school, but my passion for the discipline is constantly renewed with each course I take at UCLA. I do not have a specific area that I hope to study because as long as human society has existed, there have been fascinating events and phenomena. I do, however, tend to enjoy learning about monarchies and their bizarre interconnected nature. Following my undergraduate studies, I hope to either attend either law school or a different graduate program in History. If I’m not a lawyer, I would like to work as a historian, curator, or archivist. I have a lengthy service background as well, helping organize fundraisers, canned food drives, and blood drives for my local community. As a member of UCLA’s HUAB, I hope to help those unsure of their path to discover a passion in history and further involve myself in the History community here at UCLA.



Erin Hughes

Hello! My name is Erin Hughes, and I am a second-year transfer student from Moorpark College majoring in History and minoring in Religion Studies. History has been an interest of mine since I was a child, and my love for it has only grown throughout the years I have studied the discipline. The areas I am most passionate about are Women’s history, United States history, and the historical study of religions (and events pertaining to them) worldwide. As a member, I look forward to helping enhance the History department for students and faculty alike by creating a more inclusive, diverse, and supportive environment! Beyond the HUAB, I can often be found reading a good book or working with Writing Programs in Kaplan Hall. Always feel free to say hello if you see me around campus! It is an absolute honor to serve on the HUAB, and I look forward to a great 2023-2024 academic year. Go Bruins!



Ellen Lu

Greetings! My name is Ellen Lu, and I am a third year student majoring in History and minoring in Theater and Asian Languages & Cultures. I am absolutely honored to be serving the HUAB, and I hope to help create an even more positive and inclusive undergraduate experience where students feel encouraged to come forward and participate within the History Department’s community. As a historian, I hope to uncover invisible stories and amplify unsung heroes. I am extremely passionate about history as both a discipline and a set of teachings that are incredibly important to society. By learning about the past, we are able to avoid mistakes and work for a more inclusive and kinder future. Currently, I am the Academic Events Commissioner for the UCLA History Honor Society and I am involved with Associated Students UCLA (ASUCLA). I am also a research assistant within the History Department. My historical interests include global history and 19th-century women’s history. I am also an intern for the Department of State, working on diplomacy and institutional reform. In my free time, I enjoy knitting, reading fantasy books, frolicking in nature, and creative writing. As a member of the HUAB, I hope to utilize all my experiences to help create a welcoming and accessible environment in the history community.



Rachel Perets

Hello! My name is Rachel Perets and I am a second-year student from Los Angeles, CA. I am a History major and I intend to double minor in Global Studies and Entrepreneurship. I discovered my passion for History when I took AP World History in ninth grade. Throughout high school, each history course that I took not only challenged me, but deepened my passion. Coming into UCLA last year as a Pre-History major, I was able to further appreciate history as both an academic discipline and as a means to connect with our past. I am incredibly excited to create opportunities for the undergraduate class and ensure that all of their needs are heard by serving on HUAB. Besides HUAB, I am part of UCLA Model UN, Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, and the Pre-Law Society. In my free time, I love to go to the gym, spend time with my friends and family, try new restaurants, and binge TV shows. After I graduate, I plan to attend law school to become a business or international lawyer.



Dongshi Zhang

Hello! My name is Dongshi Zhang, a fifth-year student enrolling in this concurrent program called Departmental Scholars, which allows me to simultaneously pursue an undergraduate history degree and an East Asia Studies M.A. degree. Although I am also passionate in philosophy, I doubt I will have the leisure to pursue a degree in the subject.

As for my academic interest, I have just completed a research project in investigating a Chinese popular religion under early PRC (People’s Republic of China) context. My current interest orients around cultural history, based primarily on Carlo Ginzburg’s conception of the history of masses, as a supplementary perspective to a traditional top-down historical narrative that historians and states commonly employed. My current interest in methodology resides with oral history, an interpretation of historical experience through memories extracted using conversations, which leads me to also pay attention to understanding expressions of memories through languages, as a lens through which I attempt to observe formations of my informants’ respective mental landscapes. I also hold an interdisciplinary interest in European philosophical tradition resulted from my previous (failed) attempt to pursue a double major in philosophy, which continuously informs my historicism.

In my daily routine, I enjoy watching comedies and horror movies, reading thrilling stories and playing puzzle games. But I am beginning to notice my sense of humor or reactions to jumpscares gradually fading as time goes, possibly an indication of aging or excessive stress in real life.