Yvonne Gutierrez, a three-time NCAA softball champion at UCLA, now serves the people of Southern California as a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Gutierrez credits her college coaches with keeping her focused on academics and credits athletics with preparing her for a career as a firefighter and fire engineer.

For only the eighth time in NCAA men’s water polo history, a team completed a perfect season. When the University of California, Los Angeles, defeated the University of Southern California, 10-7, on Dec. 6 in Los Angeles, the Bruins capped a 30-0 season and extended their overall winning streak to 33 games.

Growing up in a blue-collar town in southern California, Dan Guerrero placed his hope for a better life in sports and the pursuit of a college degree.  Knowing he wanted to excel in sports and in life, he looked to his community’s heavyweight boxing stars, fellow Hispanics and other minority athletes for inspiration. One of those athletes just happened to be Jackie Robinson.

Mark Harmon, the Burbank-born star who calls Los Angeles his home, excelled at sports long before he ever got in front of the cameras. He was the quarterback of the UCLA Bruins’ football team during the 1972-73 seasons and graduated in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. Today he is widely recognized for his achievement in the entertainment industry.