Semel HCI Center 2019 Celebration: Health in Harmony

On May 23, 2019, Semel HCI celebrated its annual event with a theme of music and health (Health in Harmony) at the jane b semel HCI Community Garden, with more than 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members in attendance and comments from Chancellor Block, EVC and Provost Scott Waugh, Jane Semel, and Quincy Jones. The event showcased the many ways in which music plays a universal role in improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities.

The pre-show fair featured the Semel HCI poster session spotlighting various student and staff health and well-being research and projects supported by Semel HCI. Other engagements available for guests during the pre-show fair:

• UCLA Recreation participated through various FITWELL space activations, including spikeball, Jenga, cornhole, paddle ball, giant chess, martial arts demos, and sand volleyball.
• A paint-by-number community art project was facilitated and the Bruin Plate piano from the UCLA Piano Project was relocated for the event to one of the event entrances to welcome eager guests with smooth melodies.
• Each pod participated during the pre-show fair by hosting a resource hub and facilitating activities related to the pod focus ranging from offering taste tests from the De Neve Dining Hall Flex Bar, to a gratitude letter writing station, to a campus mapping station to identify underutilized spaces.

After a brief introduction, Associate Vice Provost Wendelin Slusser invited Chancellor Block and Jane Semel to the stage to provide welcoming remarks. The program featured an all-star lineup of various undergraduate, graduate and staff musician performances: The Bash Dogs rock band, Mindful Music founder Dalida Arakelian on piano, Women in Jazz Ensemble, The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance Ensemble, and Resonance A Cappella. Musicians played a mixture of original compositions, as well as covers of popular tunes associated with Quincy Jones.

The jane b semel Healthy Campus Initiative Appreciation and Recognition Awards were presented to the students, staff and faculty selected who embody Semel HCI’s principles in striving to promote the health and well-being of the UCLA community. Jane Semel then presented Quincy Jones with the 2019 Semel Eudaimonia Lifetime Achievement Award. The crowd listened spellbound as Jones regaled stories from his past and shared tips with the audience on how to live a life full of meaning and purpose. His mantra, “YOLO KOKO” or “You Only Live Once so Keep On Keepin’ On,” was by far the most popular piece of wisdom shared. Following the conclusion of the Live Show, attendees were welcomed to the Mesa Lawn, where they enjoyed more live music as well as healthy grab-and-go bowls featured by Everytable.