UC President Mark G. Yudof yesterday brought a message of access and aspiration to more than 1,000 students at a rally at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles.

Joined by school leaders and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Yudof said, “No matter your race, your background, your income or your immigration status, UC welcomes all who make the grade.”

Yudof was invited to speak at the state’s largest high school by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board President Monica Garcia, a UC Berkeley graduate who introduced him and later said she believed he was the first UC president to address Roosevelt students.

Mayor Villaraigosa recalled his own challenges as a Roosevelt High School alumnus who went on to graduate from UCLA. He led the assembled students in a rousing chant of “I believe in me” at the conclusion of the program, after LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy urged them to work hard to “get to and through” college.

Roosevelt High School is one of 22 LAUSD schools managed by the non-profit Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, founded in 2007 as the cornerstone of Mayor Villaraigosa’s strategy to improve education in Los Angeles.

Go to the UC Newsroom for the full story and a link to President Yudof’s prepared remarks.

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