Aliyah George

Why continuing an education is so important to her:

"For me, continuing my education is the ultimate driver for breaking generational cycles. As a first-generation college student and the child of a single mother, higher education was never a given; it was a distant dream competing with the daily realities of housing and food insecurity. When I lost my mother just weeks before my first semester at UC Merced, the weight of navigating the university system alone felt insufferable.

Carrying my mother's resilience forward, I realized that being the first in my family to earn a degree means I am responsible for rewriting our narrative. My education is deeply personal as it is the direct answer to my mother’s sacrifices and a promise of stability for my family. It also extends far beyond us. At UC Merced, I turned my challenges into community advocacy by mentoring other first-gen students and volunteering in local food security initiatives. Continuing my education at UCLA will provide me with the advanced academic frameworks and institutional backing needed to dismantle the systemic barriers I’ve faced head-on. By earning this degree, I am equipping myself to build affordable, culturally competent mental health resources so that future generations of underrepresented families don't have to navigate trauma and poverty in isolation."

Aliyah proudly supports:

UCLA Free Harbor Clinic

New Heights Charter School

Aliyah, describe something that is plaguing young women today and explain what can be done to turn it around? What can you do to help?  

“A critical issue plaguing young women today (particularly women of color and low-income students) is the crisis of undiagnosed and untreated mental health struggles, driven by the societal pressure to be "hyper-strong." In many underserved communities, mental health is treated as a luxury rather than a necessity, forcing young women to silently weather financial, systemic, and emotional storms. This leads to severe burnout, anxiety, and unresolved trauma. To turn this around, we must demystify mental health care, destigmatize therapy in communities of color, and expand access to affordable, diverse, and culturally competent care.

I am familiar with this struggle, having spent an entire year searching for a therapist who understood my background as a Black woman. By continuing my education at UCLA, I intend to be at the forefront of changing this narrative. I will use my advanced clinical training to directly provide culturally competent mental health services, ensuring that marginalized women have access to healers who understand their intergenerational trauma without explanation. Furthermore, I will use my platform to educate and empower other young women about the vital importance of mental health, teaching them that seeking help is a strength, not a weakness. By openly sharing my journey of healing and academic perseverance, I want to mentor the next generation of young women to pursue higher education, showing them that our past circumstances do not dictate our potential and that we possess the power to heal ourselves while rewriting the future of our communities.”