This post was updated March 10 at 11:35 p.m.
On Feb. 25, Eugene Chi set his table, laid out food and waited for 11 strangers to arrive.
Chi was not the only alumnus setting his table that night. Across three evenings, the Student Alumni Association hosted its annual Dinners for 12 Strangers to connect students, faculty and alumni.
The event was created in 1968 by the Gold Shield Alumnae of UCLA – a women-led alumni organization – to foster understanding between the UCLA community during the Civil Rights Era, according to an emailed statement from UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez. These dinners continued and eventually became an annual tradition for the Bruin community.
Kathryn Maffeo, a member of the SAA and the director of the Dinner for 12 Strangers program, said the dinners, which match students to alumni with similar interests, have since grown into casual events where students can bond with alumni.
“It’s evolved into this wonderful UCLA tradition in which students get to interact and bond with alumni in an unprofessional manner,” she said. “It’s not necessarily networking. It’s just learning from our fellow Bruins past and present.”
Chi, who graduated in 1991, said this was his first time hosting a dinner at his home in south Orange County. He added that, although the travel time for students was longer than usual, it ended up being a meaningful experience for them.
“The students were there for three hours, and time flew,” he said. “I got a couple thank you notes from some of the students as well, so that was nice, because you didn’t know what they were getting out of it.”
Lucy Zises, a third-year computer science student, said she has participated in dinners all three years of her UCLA experience thus far and was an organizer of the program as a freshman. She added that one of the reasons she enjoys attending the dinners is the exposure it gives to a home environment, something she misses now that she lives on the Hill.
While Chi hosted the event in his home, dinners can take place anywhere the host chooses. Margaret Meyers, a third-year environmental science student, said she previously watched the sunset on a roof in Redondo Beach, went on a hike in Brentwood and visited a home in Mission Viejo as part of the tradition.
Christine Davis, another alumnus, said she has hosted dinners both at her house and at restaurants, this year taking students to a Persian restaurant in Westwood. She added that she remembers being excited to leave the Hill when she participated in the program as a student.
Davis added her group was particularly interested in learning about what UCLA was like when she was a student, discussing dorm room conditions as well as more longstanding traditions including the Undie Run, Midnight Yell and Spring Sing.
[Related: With soaring Spring Sing 2023 performances, Samahang Modern sweeps top honors]
One of the most important parts of organizing the event is recruiting alumni to host the dinners, Maffeo said, adding that she was impressed with the amount of interest this year.
“It obviously is kind of a weird ask, like, ‘Hey, can you host a dinner for these random people you’ve never met?’” she said. “But that’s one of the beautiful things about our UCLA alumni – they’re so willing.”
Meyers, a member of the SAA, said she has worked as a substitute for students who had to drop out of attending their events, giving her exposure to dinners for people of all interests. She added that, in the past, she attended a pre-med-focused dinner and a dinner for students interested in business.
Interest-focused dinners also allow students to network with alumni who are in fields they might want to pursue. Meyers said the alumni she has met have offered her many opportunities, such as connections in their industries.
While faculty members are invited to participate in the dinners, their turnout is generally low, Zises said. She added that her first dinner included a faculty member in the geology department, and that she enjoyed hearing about their experience as a professor.
“Not that many faculty members attend D12s, and I think pushing for that would be awesome,” she said. “It really humanizes them and gives you an opportunity to build a relationship and meet a professor that you might never have.”
Chi also said he was unaware of the dinners until recently and believes more advertising could be helpful for alumni recruiting. Davis added she thinks the dinners should be hosted at more times of year to add flexibility for hosts.
Davis, who has experienced the dinners from both the student and alumni side, said she found that they promote empathy and awareness within the UCLA community.
“You’re just kind of taking it all in and realizing that, ‘Oh, I can actually connect with someone that’s totally opposite of me,’ or ‘Oh, we have something in common,” she said. “I think sharing a meal is a great place for that.”
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