Alumni Profiles

A half-century of Aggie excellence

The Cal Aggie Alumni Association of the University of California, Davis, today (March 2) announced the recipients of its 2023 Alumni Awards. This year is the 50th anniversary of honoring the achievements and impact of outstanding alumni and friends of UC Davis. 

The winners are leaders in engineering, global and local government relations, agriculture, investment and education who are being honored for their unwavering efforts to help others through their work.

Building a virtual closet

As an economics major with a passion for fashion, Jae Allen ’22 conceived a plan to help people declutter their closets and to keep unwanted outfits out of landfills.

Before graduating last June, Allen found his way to the UC Davis Student Startup Center, where campus and business mentors helped him flesh out his business plan.

From KDVS to Oscar: A Parallel Education

Joseph Patel’s walk from his seat onto the bright stage during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony took just moments. But his journey to Oscar fame, Patel ’94 says, began years earlier and miles away — in the windowless basement of UC Davis’ Freeborn Hall.

Already a music lover when he arrived as a first-year student from his hometown of Fremont, California, Patel (B.A., economics, ’94) quickly found his way to KDVS, the campus’s freeform radio station.