To the UC Davis community:

At UC Davis, when we talk about saving lives, it’s often in a research lab or a clinic. But recently, one Aggie did it in the middle of a lake.

I’ll tell you more about her remarkable story at the end of this letter.

As I enter my 10th year as chancellor of this great university, I often reflect on how much change we have experienced together. We have persevered through incredible challenges, expanded our campus and its offerings and celebrated as our national reputation rose to match our impact.

I remain inspired by our students’ incredible achievements and the collective commitment of our community to ensure that Aggies build a thriving future.

I’m excited to highlight a few of those stories from our class of 2026 — and I hope you’ll consider sharing your Aggie success stories with us.

On many weekends, you wouldn't find student Sovie Prasad Shekhar in Davis. She was home in San Jose, caring for her grandmother who needed support at home after hospital stays.

Where many would see an insurmountable challenge, Sovie, a biomedical engineering major raised by a single mother, saw a problem to solve. As one of the first students in the Quarter at Aggie Square biomedical engineering cohort, she and two friends founded a startup through the Prototyping Labs and Startup Mentorship Accelerator, or PLASMA,designing a device to improve hand surgery. This year, she launched a second venture: technology to help older adults, like her grandmother, safely regain strength and mobility after leaving the hospital. This fall, she begins a bioengineering master’s degree at UC Berkeley on her path to becoming a physician innovator.

Sovie’s story is what the value of a college education looks like up close — a mix of personal growth and giving back to the community.

However, incomplete and sometimes misleading narratives are chipping away at public trust in higher education. A Gallup survey last year found that only 35% of Americans believe a college degree is “very important,” a dramatic decline from 75% just 15 years ago.

Some argue that in an age of artificial intelligence, a college education no longer provides an edge to prepare for a career and life.

Let me be clear: These critics could not be more wrong.

A college degree has never been more valuable. It’s an indispensable preparation for a lifetime of success. It allows students to explore complex ideas and train in labs, fields and clinics. Students build connections that begin the moment they arrive on campus and last throughout their careers.

That is especially true at UC Davis, where our staff and faculty prepare students not just for careers, but for lives of purpose and service.

Just a few stories from our recent graduates demonstrate how a UC Davis education prepares students to meet any challenge.

Persistence pays off

Lauren Calderon is the definition of perseverance. A design major and a member of our women's golf team, Lauren applied to roughly 100 internships during her junior year. She landed two interviews. One became a summer internship at Mattel, which led to her full-time job today as an associate digital producer, bringing iconic brands like Hot Wheels and Barbie into digital gaming. Lauren credits the discipline of a student-athlete and the communication skills she sharpened on a team with carrying her through a daunting job market. Her advice to new Aggies is simple: Say yes to the club meeting, the new teammate or the leap of faith. You never know what's waiting on the other side.

Serving the community

Siona Samanta, a proud daughter of immigrants, graduated as a neurobiology, physiology and behavior major after four years on a clinical research team in UC Davis Health’s Emergency Medicine Research Associate Program. She joined the program her first year on campus to learn about clinical research and treatment firsthand. She finished as its chief, leading her own research and presenting at conferences. She was also an academic mentor lead with the Redwood SEED Scholars Program, our program designed for people with intellectual disabilities. She received a Strauss Scholarship for work highlighting their creativity and potential. While she is applying to medical schools, she will also spend the coming year volunteering and shadowing physicians in Nepal and Thailand.

Kiki Raj, an animal science graduate, grew up in India, where she dreamed of attending UC Davis’ top-ranked veterinary medicine programs. She took a student job at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, cleaning kennels and doing laundry. She kept asking questions, kept showing up and kept earning promotions. By her senior year, Kiki was an animal health technician, independently caring for critically ill patients and teaching hands-on skills to veterinary students. A College Medal recipient, she began her doctor of veterinary medicine program this week at the Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, where she had long dreamed of studying. She is committed to bringing care to underserved communities and their animals.

Connections that endure a lifetime

I am inspired by how these students represent the transformative power of a UC Davis degree. Their journeys show not only personal growth, but also dedication to improving lives and creating opportunities through their careers, service and scholarship.

A UC Davis education is an investment in each student’s future, and the return on that investment is clear. University of California bachelor’s degree recipients earn $1.23 million more over 20 years than high school graduates.

Most UC Davis graduates leave without debt. Among those who borrow federal student loans, their average payment is $138 a month. And on average, low- and moderate-income learners make up the entire cost of a UC Davis education in one year of increased salary after graduation.

And our students finish what they start. At UC Davis, 86% of students graduate within six years, and 87% of our Pell Grant recipients earn their degrees, well above the 57% national average.

But those numbers only tell part of the story. Listen to these graduates, and you’ll hear the same theme: connection.

Lauren found it on the golf course, where she learned the power of teamwork. Siona found it in supporting a community of scholars with dreams as large as her own. Kiki found it in the clinicians and faculty who answered every question a student doing the laundry could ask. And Sovie found it in the Davis Songbirds, a club she founded to empower students to share their love of music.

Those connections don’t expire at commencement. They become enduring networks, powerful collaborators and lifelong friends.

Last week, I spoke to college-bound students at a Sacramento church. I told them they would hear voices claiming college isn’t for them — voices that treat life’s challenges as endpoints. I heard those voices as a young engineering student and never let them write my story. I urged those students not to let anyone write theirs.

The class of 2026 shows what happens when students hold the pen. They write their way into classrooms, clinics and companies of their own.

Sharing the power of an Aggie education

Now, we have a collective obligation not to let the critics of higher education write our story. We must continue to share how higher education empowers individuals and builds communities.

If you are the parent, teacher, counselor or friend of someone questioning whether college is worth it, I encourage you to forward this letter and share what a college education can make possible.

As an Aggie, you can help tell that story. We've created a form where you can share your own Aggie success story, whether your path led to the corporate world, community service or somewhere we’d never guess. I’d love to hear your stories and share them with our community in one of these letters, on my Face to Face podcast or in another venue.

In a few weeks, our campus will buzz back to life as we welcome thousands of new and returning students, each one arriving ready to outgrow the expected. The ultimate measure of our success as a university is how well we empower them to achieve those dreams.

As these four graduates remind us, there's no better place to do that than UC Davis.

Returning to that Aggie who saved three lives: UC Davis water polo player Lillie Vehling, a double major in mechanical engineering and aerospace science and engineering, was on the shore of Lake Washington near her home in Seattle when she spotted three girls struggling in the water. Drawing on her experience as a lifeguard, she leaped in and rescued all three, one by one.

Lillie’s story is extraordinary, but her response was distinctly Aggie. She saw a need. She used her knowledge and stepped up to help. 

For Lillie, saving lives isn't a one-time act. She’s the co-founder of SWAG, or Swim Ags, a program that provides free water safety instruction for adults in the Davis community. 

That’s the kind of Aggie success story I hope you’ll share with us.

Sincerely,

Gary S. May
Chancellor