The story of UCLA’s 2025 Veteran of the Year illustrates how the university changes lives.
I first met Daniel Martin at a Veterans Day event on campus last fall, and his story has stayed with me. Daniel was being honored as UCLA’s 2025 Veteran of the Year — for good reason.
Daniel, like so many veterans, had faced the daunting question of how to translate his military experience into a civilian career. He turned to UCLA Extension’s Success Academy several years ago. What he found there was not just a set of classes, but a community that saw his potential long before he fully recognized it in himself. Through tailored coursework, hands-on coaching and guidance that bridged the gap between service and professional life, Daniel charted a new path. He learned how to tell his story, strengthen his technical skills and navigate an unfamiliar job market with confidence.
Those skills — and the sense of purpose that grew alongside them — led him to meaningful work serving fellow veterans. When I saw him honored last November, he stood as a shining example of the power of lifelong learning and all that it can unlock. Daniel’s journey illustrates something fundamental about UCLA: We are here not simply to educate; we are here to transform lives, hopefully for generations.
This belief is at the heart of our new initiative, UCLA for Life — the unifying theme of this spring’s issue of UCLA Magazine. As you read through the articles and see the immense power of a UCLA education, I hope you will come to understand the scope of this initiative and the reason why the phrase carries two distinct meanings.
First, it reflects the belief that the education our students receive on campus should last their entire lives, and that they should see UCLA as their educational home long after they graduate. Learning should not be confined to a few formative years. It should be a lifelong companion.
Second, UCLA for Life means that we prepare students to live meaningful and rewarding lives — lives filled with a sense of purpose, realization and the ability to make a difference in the world. We want our students to carry UCLA in their hearts, wherever they go.
To fulfill this vision, we are working to better support continuing education — opening our systems so that learners can access meaningful, relevant learning at every stage of life. Closed models that front-load all education before a career begins no longer serve the needs of today’s dynamic labor market. Instead, we are expanding lifelong learning opportunities, building bridges between UCLA Extension and campus programs, and bringing to life our new UCLA Downtown building as a hub where people can return again and again to acquire new knowledge and skills.
Pedagogical innovation will also contribute substantially to the goals of UCLA for Life. Education is undergoing a long-awaited technological transformation, and we owe our students the very best of what emerging science and technology can offer. That means redesigning classrooms, supporting faculty in adopting new instructional approaches and exploring the possibilities of artificial intelligence to enhance — not replace — the human relationships that define great teaching.
Our students are entering a workforce in which jobs are continually disrupted and created; we must prepare them not only with specialized knowledge, but also with the agility to keep learning for a lifetime. Pedagogical innovation may allow us to support greater numbers of learners — and thus better meet our public mandate.
Daniel Martin’s story reflects the promise of UCLA for Life: an education that does not end with a diploma, but continues to support and inspire a learner for decades. As we move forward, I am committed to ensuring that UCLA remains a place where every Bruin can grow — today, tomorrow and throughout their lives.
We are One UCLA.
Read more from UCLA Magazine’s Spring 2026 issue.