First-Gen Student Builds Community Through UCSC Scholarship

When Rebecca Oregel became the first in her family to attend university, she carried more than her own dreams to UC Santa Cruz. She brought the weight of possibility for everyone watching back home.

The Southern California native received the Alumni Association Scholarship for all four years at UCSC, plus the prestigious Eric Thomas Memorial Award in her final year. But she didn't just accept the help and disappear into her studies.

Instead, Oregel turned her good fortune into action. As an intern with the Institute of the Arts and Sciences, she mentored high school students from Santa Cruz and Watsonville through the Art for All Teen Program. Many of those students were navigating the same questions about belonging that she faced as a first-generation college student.

One withdrawn teen particularly stands out in her memory. Through patient, consistent check-ins, that student transformed into one of the program's most engaged voices. It's the kind of small victory that doesn't make headlines but changes lives.

Beyond mentoring, Oregel hosted a weekly show at KZSC, the campus radio station, and contributed to TWANAS, a social justice focused arts magazine. She explored health policy through a Visualizing Abolition certificate program. Each role helped her discover how creativity, activism, and communication intersect.

"Being the first in my family to graduate from university, receiving this kind of support means a great deal," Oregel said. The scholarships lightened financial pressures while affirming that her work mattered.

The Ripple Effect

The Eric Thomas Memorial Award honors the legacy of a former UCSC Alumni Association President who believed in making the world better one small act at a time. By supporting Oregel's education, the scholarship created a multiplier effect: her mentorship touched dozens of high school students who now see their own college dreams as possible.

This spring, Oregel will graduate with a degree in global and community health. She plans to pursue a master's in public health, focusing on structural inequities and community-centered solutions. The girl who left Southern California seeking something new is returning to the world equipped to create meaningful change.

Her journey proves what's possible when communities invest in their students and students invest that support back into others.