During the first quarter of their freshman year at college, Julia Brock and Vincent Grospe had the opportunity to be mentored by alumni through UCLA ONE.

Dr. Antonio Moya was incredibly kind to take them both as mentees. Despite his long hours as a resident physician during the time, he was never too busy for a mentoring call and consistently checked up on them to help ensure college was going smoothly. As freshmen pre-meds starting their academic careers, they were amazed by his experiences, and they learned so much about medicine.

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Inspired by their exposure to disparities within southern California, they wanted to give back to the community through mentorship. They partnered with Kristen Bown and subsequently founded the organization in 2018. With the help of Brittany, Brandon, and Kristopher, they formed a partnership with an a public high school located in an under-resourced community.

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Today, Julia and Vincent both graduated from college and are pursuing careers in research and medicine. Furthermore, they are research assistants of Dr. Moya, who recently finished his research fellowship at UCLA. After two years of many meetings and talks, all mentees in the first graduating class have been accepted to four-year universities and received generous financial aid offers. In addition, a sister organization, a think tank, was created, which meets with higher education scholars ranging from medical students to distinguished professors in multiple fields (medicine, law, and humanities) in order to provide advice that will help their mentees navigate their career pathways. Lastly, the program will be expanding its mentorship to undergraduates beginning Fall 2020.