Undergraduate Advisory Board 2024-2025

Hello! My name is Sydney Baek and I am a third-year student born and raised in Los Angeles. I’m currently pursuing a double major in Art and History, both of which I have had an avid interest in since I was young. I’m honored to serve as a member of the HUAB and contribute to the integrity and inclusivity of the History department!

I’m passionate about the beauty of history being that students can dive in and reach no limit to the depth of knowledge that the past can provide. In particular, I love studying East Asian history, gender history, and the history of global relations in times of war.

In my free time, I love to read (a lot…feel free to ask me for recommendations!), write short stories, draw, and listen to music! I’m also involved in UCLA UniCamp and KASA, and in the future, I hope to pursue law. I’m excited to work in the upcoming year to really make the History department more inclusive and enjoyable for the entirety of the History undergraduate department!

Hi everyone, my name is Yasmeen Boraby and I am a fourth-year student double majoring in History and Political Science from San Diego, California. I don’t have a fancy or fun reason for why I love history; I just do. I really enjoy reading and the past is something I’ve always been very fascinated in, so this path just made sense. I particularly like learning about U.S. history, from the Civil War onward; Russian history, from 1905 to the Cold War; and Middle Eastern history.

Following my graduation this Spring, I will be taking a gap year where I either end up at a law school or graduate school to become a professor. In the meantime, I am very excited to have this opportunity to create social and professional connections for undergraduates and to meet people who share similar passions. As a first-generation student, I am also dedicated to using my experience in order to help others that may need guidance throughout their journey.

Outside of HUAB I am the photographer for Collar Scholars, which hopefully clarifies my love for all animals, especially dogs. I love to sing, listen to music (Lana Del Rey), watch Lakers and Padres games, swim in the ocean, go to the gym and rollerblade.

Hello! My name is Emma Chuidian and I am a fourth-year student from Sonoma County, California, who is majoring in history and pursuing a minor in the 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 inclusive and welcoming environment for the entire history undergraduate community at UCLA.

My academic focus lies in exploring the complex relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union throughout the twentieth century. Sponsored by the Department of Defense’s The Language Flagship and the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies, I completed an eight-week summer language intensive in Almaty, Kazakhstan to strengthen my proficiency in Russian and gain first-hand cultural experience in a post-Soviet country. After graduation, I hope to complete the year-long Russian-language capstone program in Almaty, attend graduate school, and eventually pursue a career in the US government.

For the 2024-2025 academic year, I am also involved with Phi Alpha Theta – the History Honor Society at UCLA, the UCLA Russian Flagship Program, and Associated Students UCLA. Outside of academics, I enjoy cafe-hopping, fashion, and collecting CDs of my favorite Korean pop group BTS. I am excited to use my background to enhance the experiences of all history undergraduate students as a member of the HUAB.

My name is Tate Heinse, and I am a fourth year student from Sonoma County, CA. I am a History and 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 prefer 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.

Hello! I am Elizabeth Karlin, a fourth-year student from Los Angeles, California. I am majoring in both history and psychology. I love studying history because of its depth of stories and lessons that mirror themselves in our modern world. I am looking forward to helping contribute to an involved and inclusive history community at UCLA.

While serving on the HUAB, I want to draw on the vibrant and expansive UCLA community and alumni to provide more information on the depth of opportunities a history degree provides. The history community and the professors and graduate students I have connected with through my classes has been an extremely valuable aspect of my experience within the history department. I want to continue encouraging these connections for current and incoming history students.

Other than serving on the HUAB, I am also a student researcher for the Luskin Center for History and Policy, investigating the state of the university in crisis. In my free time, I love reading, cooking, and sewing. I am also a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and HOOLIGAN Theatre Company on campus. After graduation, I plan to attend law school and work in entertainment law or public policy. I am excited to serve on the HUAB this year. I can’t wait to make a positive impact on the UCLA history department and connect with the greater UCLA community.

Greetings! My name is Ellen Lu, and I am a fourth year student majoring in History, with minors in Asian Languages & Cultures and Gender Studies. I am absolutely honored to be serving the HUAB for a third term, 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 student of history, 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.

Supported by the UCLA Keck Scholars Program, I am writing a departmental honors thesis that explores the Page Act of 1875’s role in preventing Chinese women from immigrating to the United States seven years before the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, as well as examining white women reformers’ contribution to anti-Chinese campaigns. Currently, I serve as President for the UCLA History Honor Society and I am involved with Associated Students UCLA (ASUCLA). I am also a research assistant in the History Department for Professor Nile Green. My historical interests include global history and 19th-century women’s history. 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.

Hello! My name is Grace Overman and I’m a second-year student double majoring in History and Disability Studies. I am also pursuing minors in Hebrew and Jewish Studies and Education. I am very thankful to be a part of HUAB and the history undergraduate community in general!

As a Navy Brat who spent my childhood stationed abroad I was given the incredible opportunity to see so many parts of the world and this is where I found my passion for history. Constant moving also left me greatly valuing connection and community, things I hope to help foster and bring to our community here at UCLA.

My specific interests in history largely revolve around those who historically have been underrepresented with their stories being left untold and forgotten, especially the history and stories of the Disabled Community. A particularly scrappy history, the Disabled Community has fought against great powers with little odds of success. Slowly making the progress we need for equality one fight at a time. Doing so while keeping their impeccable humor in tact.

I plan to attend law school in the future and someday become a disability rights lawyer. Whether I work in the courtroom or in policy advocacy remains to be seen, but I plan to continue the fight towards equality that so many incredible disabled individuals before me have started.

Hello! My name is Anton Stover and I am a third-year student majoring in History and minoring in Global Studies and Public Affairs from Redondo Beach, CA! I’ve been interested in history since I was a child, and am now incredibly honored and excited to serve on the HUAB for this year. I want to ensure that all history students at UCLA have the same enjoyment I have in their history classes and with the department as a whole.

My interests in history primarily lie in the intersection of history, law, and policy, especially when it comes to United States policy towards its citizens and abroad. I plan to attend graduate school at some point after UCLA to further that interest, but for now I am interested in taking what I have learned in my classes and extracurriculars to better the experience of all.

Outside of HUAB, I serve as the Editor-in-Chief of Quaestio, the undergraduate journal for Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honors Society at UCLA. I also compete for Model United Nations at UCLA and edit or write for the Bruin Review, the UCLA Undergraduate Law Journal, and Aleph, the Undergraduate Humanities journal. In my free time, I play a lot of card and word games, and watch motorsports.