2019 Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Christine Doan is a third year double majoring in Business Economics and Communications. She is a first-generation Vietnamese student and is passionate about empowering marginalized communities and sparking social change. Growing up in a family with little resources, she’s learned the importance of hard-work, perseverance, and advocating for yourself. After excelling in her economics and management courses, she wanted to use her financial knowledge and skillset to give back to her community–she has helped prepare income tax returns through VITA and worked to change collegiate perceptions on financial literacy and wellness through her internship at Pluto Money. She’s also involved in a handful of clubs at UCLA, and when she’s not preparing for culture nights with the Vietnamese Student Union and United Khmer Students or volunteering with Alpha Phi Omega, she’s pursuing her love of dance with Foundations.

Future Plans: This upcoming summer, Christine wants to study abroad in Milan to learn about brand strategy and business communications. With her dual degree, she plans on working as a corporate communications strategist or marketing consultant in the future. After a couple years of working experience, she plans to pursue a Master’s degree.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am extremely grateful and honored to receive the Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship award. I am humbled by their recognition of my achievements and will continue to work hard to carry the momentum of this success into the future. Prior to receiving this scholarship, I was working multiple work-study jobs to cover the payments for my remaining time at UCLA, and being able to alleviate this financial burden will allow me to focus more on my educational pursuits and internships. To me, receiving this scholarship isn’t just about receiving money, it’s receiving the opportunity to do more as well.

2019 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund Recipient

Biography:  Samantha Chandra is a fourth-year Business Economics major with double minors in Entrepreneurship and Digital Humanities. She grew up in Bali, Indonesia and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her college degree at UCLA. At UCLA, Samantha serves as the president for 180 Degrees Consulting, an organization with a mission to provide consulting services to nonprofits and social enterprises. Samantha was also involved in Bruin Entrepreneurs, the largest entrepreneurship community on campus, raising money for multiple events and eventually serving as Internal Vice President in her junior year. Samantha was also a Sharpe Fellow in the Consulting track, and was involved in other campus programs like the Social Enterprise Academy.  Samantha’s interests lie in the field of business, entrepreneurship, and design. Beyond campus involvements, Samantha has completed internships in various fields, including media entertainment, startups, venture capital, and consulting throughout her 4 years at UCLA. To put her interest and learnings in entrepreneurship into application, Samantha worked on a student startup in her senior year, developing and designing a location-based social media app for UCLA students.

Future plans:  Samantha will be pursuing a career in consulting upon graduation. She will be working at Deloitte Consulting as a Business Technology Analyst in their Chicago office. She plans to gain meaningful experience and exposure to different industries by working in consulting and eventually starting her own business, either back home in Asia or globally. She is also considering applying for MBA programs after a few years of professional experience.

What does the scholarship mean to me?  I am really grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Scholarship. Coming into college, I looked for scholarships and was told there were not many opportunities for international students. I was really thankful for this scholarship for giving me the opportunity to help out my parents who are supporting my education here, and I am really grateful to now be able to do that with this scholarship. I hope that my journey in the next few years will rightfully represent this scholarship, the economics department, and UCLA.

2019 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund Recipient

Biography: Vidur Bhatia is a 3rd-year student at UCLA majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Accounting. Born and raised in India, Vidur moved to the United States to attend UCLA in 2017. Since coming to UCLA, Vidur has held leadership roles in Bruin Hedge Fund and United Nations Association, UCLA. In addition, Vidur has interned at various investment banks and financial services firms and has been involved in business workshops such as Bruin Development Academy which have fostered his passion for business and economics. In his free time, Vidur enjoys playing tennis, investing in the stock market, and watching re-runs of Friends. 

Future plans: Vidur’s past internships and involvement in business clubs have inspired him to pursue a career in investment banking after graduation. He will be interning at Goldman Sachs in their investment banking division this summer. In the long term, he hopes to pursue an MBA and use his knowledge of finance and economics to start his own business. 

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am extremely grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship award as a recognition of my achievements at UCLA. I would like to thank the donors of the scholarship and the Department for their belief in my endeavors. The scholarship will help reduce my financial burden and allow me to focus on pursuing my educational and professional dreams. I hope to give back to the community one day and help others achieve their educational and personal goals like Mr. Mortenson helped me achieve mine.