Bruins of a feather

"Proper names are poetry in the raw," W.H. Auden wrote. "Like all poetry, they are untranslatable." For these Bruins with arresting avian appellations, truer words were never spoken. Hailing from diverse areas of the UCLA College academic community, these scholars and alumni are weaving paths of discovery and progress as unique as their names.

"It's a reminder of my Mexican origins: in Spanish, my paternal name means 'eagle' (águila) and my maternal name means 'riverbank' or 'shore' (rivera)." -Isaac Aguilar

A postbaccalaureate scholar, Isaac is now concluding his role as project coordinator for PANGEA,a NASA-funded effort at UCLA to study tropical forests worldwide. He'll be moving from UCLA to Caltech this fall to start a Ph.D. in the earth and planetary sciences department.

What does your name mean to you?

My name is Isaac Natanael Aguilar Rivera. It's a reminder of my Mexican origins: In Spanish, my paternal name means "eagle" (águila) and my maternal name means "riverbank" or "shore" (rivera). I like both names because they emphasize a connection to nature.

What do you do at UCLA?

I work as a lab technician for Dr. Elsa Ordway's Forest Ecosystems and Global Change lab in the ecology and evolutionary biology department. I love being a tech in a biology lab because I enjoy the dynamic work schedule and learning new research and office skills. My main responsibility is coordinating the PAN tropical investigation of bioGeochemistry and Ecological Adaptation Scoping Campaign (PANGEA).Since joining UCLA last November, I have been learning a lot about navigating academic research in tropical ecology and imaging spectroscopy.

How does your work overlap with birds?

A key motivation for my research is the biodiversity decline crisis. Anthropogenic climate and land-use change threaten many bird species, including those with critical economic, ecological and social value for local communities. We are in a technological revolution for the imaging spectroscopy and data analysis fields, which can improve research and application tools for biodiversity conservation. For example, airborne and satellite instruments can collect images and spectral signatures of a natural landscape to identify suitable tree canopies and habitat for endangered birds.

What's your favorite bird?

The hummingbird - there are so many colorful and beautiful species. I like the sound their wings make; sometimes I think I'm about to spot a flying insect, like a bee, but then I am pleasantly surprised to see a hummingbird rapidly zipping by. Hummingbirds are incredible: They are capable of flapping their wings up to 70 beats per second!

"Something about the freedom, coyness, intelligence and mysticism 'raven' brings has always deeply resonated with me, guiding me through difficulties throughout my life." -Raven Maier Bell

An alumna with a focus on environmental justice and sustainability, Raven works as a consultant in sustainable home design and is teaching at UCLA this summer.

What does your name mean to you?

Growing up, my name was mocked daily - either by the croaking caws of someone doing their best raven impersonation, or the ear-numbing serenade of the "That's So Raven" theme song, followed by a cheeky "Can you see the future?" comment. However, I never once wished my name was anything else, and over time, I learned to laugh at the ridiculousness of the comments I received. I was born with jet-black hair covering my entire body, and something about the freedom, coyness, intelligence and mysticism "raven" brings has always deeply resonated with me, guiding me through difficulties throughout my life. Depending on the culture, religion, time and place, "raven" means different things: a good or bad omen, a messenger of death or life, a connector of the supernatural, a harbinger of transformation, or an embodiment of gods and goddesses alike. "Raven" is complex but straightforward in the way that, I believe, symbolizes the ever-evolving reality of humanity and the natural world.

Can you tell us about your time as a student at UCLA and the work you do today?

I transferred to UCLA in 2018, interested in international relations, and was accepted into the international development major, where I studied the impacts of colonialism/neocolonialism on femicide, environment and development in the Northern Triangle. Beginning in spring 2019, I was hired by the UCLA Africa Studies Center to conduct research on African migrant communities in the U.S. and sustainability from traditional African cultural practices, eventually leading to the launch of Atlas Africa, a multimedia undergraduate journal. In addition, I interned with the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies, working on social media and engagement. In my final year at UCLA, I joined the Global Development Lab, where I learned about rapid prototyping and won funding to carry out a project to track the impacts of COVID-19. In spring 2020, I helped create the International Development Summer Institute with Professor Erica Anjum and several colleagues. IDSI is a three-week international development camp for high school students, teaching qualitative and quantitative research methods/methodologies, international development and intervention creation. This summer, I will be teaching again at IDSI as a director.

Since graduating, I have focused my passion on environmental justice and sustainability, particularly working for companies like the Go Green Initiative (promoting environmental justice for every child in every school); as a program manager for the Local Leaders of the 21st Century; and as a consultant for Passive House California (a sustainable architecture and energy efficiency building nonprofit). Through my work, I have partnered with nonprofits like the Green Bronx Machine, StopWaste, USGBC, Habitat for Humanity, Humanity Way, Family Building Blocks, Meals on Wheels and more to help connect people to needed resources and improve services. Recently, I returned to school to work on developing my skills in environmental science.

How does your work overlap with birds?

I work on environmental justice and climate action issues in the hopes of creating a better world, not just for humans but for all organisms that call Earth home - including birds, which play such a pivotal role in nature as pollinators, fertilizers, dispersers, habitat maintenance crews, pest controllers and keystone species for a myriad of other organisms.

What's your favorite bird, aside from ravens?

I love emus - they are just so goofy-looking, and I appreciate their grumpy disposition. I also adore blue herons after watching Hayao Miyazaki's "The Boy and the Heron," which resonated with me since I lost my grandmother shortly before seeing it. My last bird shoutout goes to shoebill storks - gentle giants that alarmingly sound like machine guns when they clack their beaks.

Any other notes to share?

For anyone who might be a little lost or not sure what they want to do in life, remember that you do not need to commit to any one thing. What you want and who you want to become will change, and I hope you can give yourself the grace and kindness to allow for that change to happen. I have found that life is about transformation, and it is much easier to go with the flow than to try to fight it or fit yourself into some idea of what you should or shouldn't be.

"My name represents a resolute fearlessness, a love for adventure, and appreciation and care for nature - all qualities that I strive to embody in myself and in my life." -Paloma Doreza Dimaya

A UCLA alumna and past director of SPEAR, UCLA's Pilipino retention program, Paloma works at UCLA as a counselor in academic advising, guiding students through the undergraduate experience.

What does your name mean to you?

I love my name! My mother named me Paloma after the heroine in Peter Benchley's novel "The Girl of the Sea of Cortez." Like Paloma in the story, to me, my name represents a resolute fearlessness, a love for adventure, and appreciation and care for nature - all qualities that I strive to embody in myself and in my life. Also, paloma is Spanish for "dove." "Dove" is my family's nickname for me, so it also reminds me of my roots and love for my family and our Pilipino culture.

Can you tell us about your time as a student and the work you do at UCLA today?

In my undergrad years at UCLA, I really enjoyed my humanities and ethnic studies classes (English major, Asian American Studies minor) and was heavily involved in the Pilipino student community in various leadership and community organizing roles. It was through my role as a peer counselor for SPEARand my work in STEP, its accompanying internship program, that I realized my passion for creating educational experiences, teaching others and building a self-sustaining community. Today, I am a college counselor in academic advising at UCLA, where we teach, guide and support students throughout their undergraduate journey and in reaching their personal and professional goals. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with and advocate for students from historically underrepresented and underserved communities in this way.

How does your work overlap with birds?

Birds symbolize flight and freedom, and I believe the pathway to a truly free and just world starts with education in all forms, on all levels. Cultivating the confidence, empathy and critical consciousness of our students is like giving them the wings to fly out into the world and change it for the better.

What's your favorite bird?

The phoenix because of its beautiful, warm colors, its association with the sun, and its life story of cyclical death and rebirth. I think it's such a captivating, powerful idea to continually rise from your own ashes - to grow from your failures, to unearth the joy from the grief, to build something new from something broken.

"Even though humans don't always think to value birds, they nevertheless fit into the universe as a valuable piece of our system; this is a nice reminder for me that I am an essential, ecological piece of the puzzle - and if that is my biggest contribution to the world, it is worthy." -Sparrow Gates

A doctoral student in the UCLA Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Sparrow studies early Jewish literature and the Hebrew Bible.

What does your name mean to you?

My name was actually given to me by my mother later in life. I adopted Sparrow as my first name when I was still a kid in high school, as it felt truer to me than my birth name. My mama likes to say that not only do sparrows fly and sing, but they always return home. To me, my name represents freedom, expression and the close relationship I have with my family.

What kind of work do you do at UCLA?

I am a Ph.D. student here at UCLA in the Near Eastern Languages and Culturesdepartment. I study early Jewish literature, the Hebrew Bible and extrabiblical materials, along with the languages required to read these texts in their original languages when possible.

How does your work overlap with birds?

When people with a Christian upbringing meet me and learn what I study, they tend to respond with, "His eye is on the Sparrow!"I admittedly had to look that up but quickly fell down a rabbit hole going through biblical verses about birds. It's clear to me that birds have always represented something to us humans, from way back into antiquity all the way to today. Biblical sparrows often represent being part of creation, with a certain uninhibited freedom of movement. Even though humans don't always think to value birds, they nevertheless fit into the universe as a valuable piece of our system; this is a nice reminder for me that I am an essential, ecological piece of the puzzle - and if that is my biggest contribution to the world, it is worthy.

What's your favorite bird, aside from sparrows?

Corvids are so fascinating; I love watching crows talk, and the ravens who live at the Tower of Londonhave a fascinating history (not to mention their personalities). Apparently, one of their current ravens will play dead just to freak out tourists, only to laugh in their faces when they get pranked!

"Rather than simply saying that it is dusk and the night birds are about, Shakespeare writes 'Light thickens, and the crow / makes wing to the rooky wood' … Emily Dickinson likened 'Hope' to a bird, but in their own funny way, birds seem to suggest a range of imaginative experience." -Robin Kello

A graduate of UCLA's doctoral program in English, Robin is now a visiting assistant professor in the English department at Seton Hall University.

What does your name mean to you?

My full name, Robin Alfriend Kello, has always seemed a gift. I appreciate its uncommonness, its trochaic double syllables in each part and the middle name that I share with my uncle and grandfather. Despite the inevitable Batman and Robin jokes - more frequent, thankfully, when I was a kid - it's a name I am grateful to carry.

Can you tell us about your time as a student and the work you do at UCLA today?

I completed my Ph.D. in English at UCLA with a dissertation focusing on Shakespearean drama and questions of migration and mobility. While at UCLA, I also was involved with the Beyond the Bars initiative, focusing on education for currently incarcerated individuals; the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies, where I was able to publish a few short articles about sustainability; and the Diversifying the Classics project, where I assisted in translation of the Spanish comedia and production of the LA Escena theater festival. I am currently a visiting assistant professor in the English department at Seton Hall University.

How does your work overlap with birds?

As a scholar of literature and theater, I appreciate the metaphorical and poetic resonance of birds. Rather than simply saying that it is dusk and the night birds are about, Shakespeare writes, "Light thickens, and the crow / makes wing to the rooky wood." In another vein, Elizabeth Bishop's wonderful poem "Sandpiper" says of the titular creature that he is "looking for something, something, something / Poor bird - he is obsessed!" Emily Dickinson likened "Hope" to a bird, but in their own funny way, birds seem to suggest a range of imaginative experience.

What's your favorite bird-related fact?

Birds are the ancestors of dinosaurs - or, to be more direct: Birds are dinosaurs. We live in a brief flash of a light that exists on a timeline we can hardly fathom. I love that they have such remarkable sight. They are also quirky little weirdos and their high-pitched chirping, even at 5:00 a.m., is a music I never tire of.

"It's fun that 'Rhea' means many different things to different people - it's a kind of bird, a moon of Saturn, and probably something else, too. It's interesting to see what people's first association is when I introduce myself to them."-Rhea Kommerell

A newly minted doctoral candidate in the UCLA Department of Mathematics, Rhea looks forward to studying algebraic geometry and category theory starting this fall.

What does your name mean to you?

I was named after the Titaness Rhea, who is the mother of Zeus. I like Greek and Roman mythology, and I enjoy having that reminder of my parents' interests with me all the time. I also think it's fun that "Rhea" means many different things to different people - it's a kind of bird, a moon of Saturn, and probably something else, too. It's interesting to see what people's first association is when I introduce myself to them.

What kind of work do you do at UCLA?

I am about to start my very first semester as a Ph.D. candidate in the math department. I am excited to learn more about algebraic geometry and category theory, two areas of math that have lots of abstraction and lots of neat diagrams.

Welcome to the College! How might your work here overlap with birds?

I'm not currently a set theorist, but - you never know - I may end up working with cardinals. A cardinal is a size that a set can have - so 1, 2, 3, et cetera are all cardinals - but so is infinity. It turns out there are infinitely many different infinite cardinals, meaning you can have differently sized infinite sizes. This was one of the first pieces of advanced math I learned, and I've always found it so cool. The arguments that prove these facts are very clever, and you'll never forget them once you've seen them.

What's your favorite bird?

The mallard duck! The males are so striking with their iridescent dark green heads, and I love that they're common enough that we get to enjoy their beauty regularly.

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