Thousands of graduating Bruins arrived at the UCLA campus on Friday, June 13, to mark the culmination of their college journey, as the city around them  swelled with more protests over ICE raids.

Around 15,000 students were expected to take part in dozens of commencement ceremonies unfolding across the campus this weekend, including the 11 a.m. College of Letters and Science event, one of three held by the college on Friday–in a send-off colored by both celebration and reflection.

The College of Letters and Science ceremony didn’t begin until nearly 11:30 a.m., but graduates began filtering into Pauley Pavilion well before then, clutching bouquets, draped in leis and waving to families and friends in the stands. They found their seats in rows of white chairs stretched across the arena floor, their faces showing a mix of nerves, pride and relief.

For the Class of 2025, the ceremony capped a college experience shaped by a global pandemic, January’s wildfires, ongoing political turmoil, and campus activism. The uncertainty of the world beyond the campus was top of mind for many—including keynote speaker Sara Bareilles, a UCLA alumna and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter.

“It is impossible to be in this moment, in our country, in our city, and in the world, and not acknowledge that this is scary,” said Bareilles, who graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. “I’m deeply concerned for us, for all of us.”

Rather than offering platitudes, Bareilles shared a deeply personal story about losing her best friend, actor and musician Gavin Creel, and the “crisis of faith” that followed. Through that grief, she said, she learned to meet fear with curiosity instead of certainty—a lesson she urged graduates to carry forward.

“If you are anything like I was, stepping away from that security might feel like a freefall, groundless and terrifying,” she said. “But fear is a fantastic indicator of a growth edge, and I dare you to go towards your discomfort with curiosity, and see what’s there.”

Julio Frenk, UCLA’s newly inaugurated chancellor, praised the Class of 2025 for its resilience through an unusually turbulent college journey.

“And yet you are here,” he said. “Your tenacity and grit have brought you to this moment, and more importantly, you have grown into people who think critically, care deeply, and act with intention.”

Drawing on his family’s history—his grandfather and father were Jews who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s and found refuge in Mexico—Frenk spoke of the power of kindness to strangers and its ability to reshape generations.

“Let your actions shine light in places shadowed by injustice or indifference,” he said. “And when you’re unsure of where to begin, always, always begin with kindness, especially toward those that you do not know.”

Student speaker Harriet Grace Leibowitz, a pre-medical student from England, recalled arriving in Los Angeles with uncertainty but also hope, and finding both community and challenge at UCLA.

“UCLA wasn’t just a test of endurance, it was a lesson in resilience,” Leibowitz said.

She described late-night study sessions, rigorous science courses, and the emotional weight of leaving home, experiences that, she said, shaped a mindset she urged fellow graduates to take with them.

“Let’s remember what UCLA has given us, not just an education, but a mindset,” she said, “a belief that change isn’t something we wait for, it’s something we create.”