The Sierra Program

Requirements

Curriculum & Requirements

The Sierra curriculum is shaped around developing how to think–how to tackle and address problems, arrive at solutions, make decisions, and reflect on experiences. In college, acquiring knowledge is just the beginning; the key to learning centers around the development of critical thinking skills that utilize information to support conclusions, mastering concepts versus facts.

The Sierra Class – Social Ecology 74A, B & C: Moral Development and Just Communuity

All residents that live in Sierra take a mandatory 4 unit, pass/no pass class, each quarter. Class is held in the hall on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• The Fall Quarter curriculum is organized around three themes: Community Building, Skill Building, and Values Clarification. These themes create a launching point for in-depth community exploration of sensitive and critical issues.
• The Winter Quarter curriculum is organized around topics of diversity and participating in dialogues about identity. It is an exploration of oneself and others.
• Spring Quarter is a continuation of the past two quarters with a strong focus on student participation and empowerment.

Journalling

As part of the class, Sierra residents write in a journal on a weekly basis. The journal is an opportunity for reflection and exploration of issues, beliefs/values, and experiences. Journal entries are shared with a program staff member, who will challenge you to think critically about the issues and content presented in your journal.

Simulated Society Retreat (SIMSOC)

In the Winter quarter, Sierra residents go on retreat off campus to participate in SIMSOC (Simulated Society). This activity challenges participants, individually and collectively, to develop their ideal society, determine how best to achieve objectives, and reflect on issues of power and the social distribution of resources. The experience is designed to expand your thinking about how communities function and to inform the way that Sierra residents go about building community throughout the year.

Questions? Email us at: housing@uci.edu.

Staff

Christabel Ukomadu, Resident Advisor

Pronouns: She/Her
One thing you like about UCI: The people.
A Future Goal: I hope to become a dentist and utilize the resources that will open up to me through that path to invest in my community and the multiple programs that aided in my cultivation.
What are you excited about for Sierra this year? I am excited to get to know the other staffers and residents and to overall be in an environment in which personal growth and communal learning is prioritized.

Gerry Villegas, Sierra Curriculum Coordinator

Pronouns: He/Him
One thing you like about UCI: The academics.
A Future Goal: To be a successful clinical psychologist.
What are you excited about for Sierra this year? To meet new people and apply school concepts to the program.

Aki Nguyen, Sierra Programmer

Pronouns: They/Them
One thing you like about UCI: Student-designed Anteater merch! The holiday-themed anteater enamel pins are super cute, and the UCI Petr drops (where you get free designs if you can find and get to them first) have honestly been some of the most exciting things I’ve done on campus! It’s kinda like buying concert tickets, but with Anteater merch.
A Future Goal: Advocating for the acknowledgment of the diverse experiences within our country! So many peoples and their perspectives within American society aren’t properly acknowledged, and finding myself at the intersection of some of many of these underrepresented identities, I’d love to reframe the conversation so that our voices can be respected and factored into large-scale conversations and proceedings. Otherwise, I’m currently saving up for a longboard and hoping to learn how to longboard dance.
What are you excited about for Sierra this year? I lived in Sierra last year and everyone in the hall warming up to one another and sharing their past experiences, passing moments, and major accomplishments was a huge part of what made Sierra amazing. This year, I look forward to seeing how everyone makes connections with each other as they navigate college and our shared experience within the hall, on top of getting to know you all!

Alex Ruiz, Sierra Programmer

Pronouns: He/They
One thing you like about UCI: One of my favorite things about UCI would definitely have to be the ducks and bunnies you can find around campus! Getting to walk by them on the way to class or when taking a stroll around campus is always a mood booster for me!
A Future Goal: One of my future goals would be becoming a psychotherapist to hopefully help end the stigma surrounding mental health. In doing so I hope that people struggling with mental health issues will be better able to seek out the assistance they desire without being ostracized or looked down upon by others. Too often, we struggle to ask for help in our daily lives and I hope to become an individual that others can trust and come to whenever they need anything so that they know they do not have to face the world or their issues alone.
What are you excited about for Sierra this year? I am really excited to help foster an environment that will allow for growth and development for everyone within the hall. I hope to help all who need it in any way I can and to grow alongside everyone. I truly can not wait to see the bonds that will be formed within the hall next year and I hope to be able to form plenty of them myself!

Elizabeth Ramin, Sierra Programmer

Pronouns: She/They
One thing you like about UCI: I like spending time in Aldrich Park!
A Future Goal: I want to study abroad in Spain next year!
What are you excited about for Sierra this year? I’m excited to meet new people through Sierra and introduce them to UCI!

Mai Nguyen, Sierra Programmer

Pronouns: She/Her
One thing you like about UCI: One thing I like about UCI is its location. The unique aspect of the location is that there are many places and attractions around UCI to explore, such as the neighborhoods and the Ecological Preserves nearby. When I have free time or on the weekends, I usually walk to those places with friends to take a break from my studies and relax. It is great to have those interesting places surrounding the school because they make it easy for me to remain active and find new things to do.
A Future Goal: I have interests in addressing environmental problems and starting up a business to help people. My future goal is to create a company aiming to improve people’s living conditions by producing technology and services that encourage people to adopt a sustainable way of living.
What are you excited about for Sierra this year? I am excited to share knowledge and collaborate with a diverse group of people to learn new skills and solve problems. Exploring the job responsibilities of a Sierra programmer, I am fascinated with the duty of reading students’ journals. From my experience of writing journals and re-reading them for self-reflection, I am curious to explore what students write in their journals because journaling provides insight into a person’s worldview and development. My goal as a Sierra Programmer is to connect with students personally and learn more about their needs so that I can be a helpful leader who can best assist them.

Vina Siu Heng, Sierra Programmer

Pronouns: She/Her
One thing you like about UCI: I like that UCI has a very welcoming environment.
A Future Goal: I hope to better my time management this year.
What are you excited about for Sierra this year? I am excited to meet new people and explore Sierra with everyone.

Youssef Dessouky, Sierra Programmer

Pronouns: He/Him
One thing you like about UCI: The campus.
A Future Goal: Graduate.
What are you excited about for Sierra this year? I’m excited to see how this year will be compared to last year when I lived in Sierra as a resident!

How To Apply

Become part of Sierra! Here’s how to apply:

Submit your housing application by May 1st. (You must submit your Statement of Intent to Register before you can access the Housing application.)

Select “Mesa Court” and “Sierra” theme hall when completing your Personal Information (PI) Form. List “Sierra” first in your PI Form for Theme Preferences. (You will complete this form with your housing contract.)

During the housing assignment process you may be contacted by a Mesa Court staff member to confirm your interest in the Sierra theme hall.

You will receive your housing assignment via email in early September.

Questions? Email us at: housing@uci.edu.

Resources

Sierra History

“In 2015, the Sierra Project celebrated its 40th anniversary. The Sierra Project was founded by a diverse group of students, staff and faculty at the University of California, Irvine in 1974. The inspiration for the Sierra Projected emerged from summer conferences in 1973 and 1974, which had brought UC Irvine theorists and researchers with very original ideas on what institutions of society can do to promote an enhanced sense of equity and justice and make education more meaningful and transformative for learners.”

Excerpt from Whiteley, J. M. (2014). Character And Community During the College Years: The Rationale.

Staffing Model

The Sierra Program has a unique and intentional staffing model which was created to further the development of each Sierran and the Sierra community.

Sierra Resident Advisor

Resident Advisors act as the live-in link between Mesa Court professional staff and the residents, communicating the needs of each group to the other. They assist residents with problems and keep track of what’s going on in their halls. They attend weekly meetings with Mesa Court staff and conduct meetings with residents as a group. RAs rotate weeknight, weekend, and holiday duty to be available for emergencies. Resident Advisors get vast experience working as a leader, influencing their residents, and coordinating efforts with professional staff. The Sierra RA also works closely with the Sierra Programmers, Sierra Curriculum Coordinator, Instructor and Housing Liaison to plan for weekly curriculum and activities within Sierra.

Sierra Programmers

Sierra Programmers are a team of student leaders who provide support and guidance to the residents of Sierra Hall and to the students taking the weekly Sierra Class. Each programmer serves as a role model/mentor to the residents in the hall and facilitate connections between residents in Sierra. Sierra Programmers are assigned to individual suites within in Sierra (6 total) and also assist in development of curriculum and activities within Sierra.

Sierra Curriculum Coordinator

The Sierra Curriculum Coordinator has a primary responsibility of helping in the development and implementation of the Sierra class curriculum, based on the Sierra Project philosophy and goals. This is done in collaboration with the Sierra Hall Resident Advisor, Sierra Programmers, and class instructors.

Sierra Instructor

The Sierra Instructor serves to oversee the curriculum for the Sierra class and ensure that student staff as well as current residents of Sierra have input in their learning process. The Sierra Instructor works most closely with the Sierra Curriculum Coordinator but facilitates curriculum input and guidance from all Sierra staff.

Sierra Housing Liaison

The Sierra Housing Liaison is a Residence Life Coordinator who supervises all of the Sierra Student Staff positions and ensures program quality and assessment. The Housing Liaison also helps to set and guide the Sierra program philosophy and the day to day life of the Sierra community to ensure resident safety, community development, and connection to Mesa Court.

Alumni

Fall 2019

New Staffing:  This year we have 2 new instructors for Sierra.  We are fortunate, thanks to great collaboration with Dr. Frances Diaz from our Counseling Center, to have 2 Senior Staff Psychologists become Sierra instructors.  Dr. Jasmine Thilghman and Dr. Shruti Mukkamala both have extensive diversity and inclusion backgrounds.  thank you to Bruce Aquino, Residence Life Coordinator who has served as the interim Sierra instructor for the past year and a half. 

Endésha Pierson is joining the Mesa Court staff as a Residence Life Coordinator and Sierra Program Manager. Endésha come to UCI from CSU East Bay where she also worked as a residence life staff member.

2017-2018

We have some great news to pass on to all of you – news you may have already heard but news that needs to be reiterated. Thanks to all of you, the Sierra endowment fund achieved its goal, Sierrans have contributed $25,000 to establish the Sierra endowment fund. We should all feel extremely proud of this effort, and we can’t wait to see how the endowment will contribute to enhancing the Sierra experience in the future.

The Chambered Nautilus (N. Pompilius, Linn.) is the symbolic representation of the growth process which occurs in the development of character. In contrast to the occupants of “ordinary shells,” whose bodies fill the entire shell cavity,

The growth process of the nautilus and the Sierra Project conception of growth in the development of character are the leaving of the last year for the new, no longer being the person one was before, and the expectation that the next conception of life will be “nobler than the last.”