Together, we reached 2,289 donors with a total of $1,653,629 raised for our students and campus community. Thank you to the many generous challenge donors who helped drive community support throughout the day.
Today’s success is possible because of the strength of our Oxy community—alumni, families, faculty, staff, and friends—and our belief in the transformative power of an Occidental education. Thank you for investing in our students, both current and future.
Day For Oxy 2025 may be over, but you can still support our students with a gift to the Oxy Fund today.
The Oxy Fund
Giving to the Oxy Fund is the best way to make an immediate impact on students’ lives, learning, and ability to thrive.
Keeping Oxy Strong
Every day, Oxy students are working to lead lives of impact—researching global politics alongside their faculty mentors, traveling the world to broaden their perspectives, refining their skillset in and outside of the classroom and championing inclusivity on campus.
These students of today will be the changemakers of tomorrow. The Oxy Fund bolsters every aspect of their experience. Most importantly, your investment helps relieve our students from the burden of financial uncertainty, allowing them to focus on their dreams. Here are the stories of just some of these students.
On this Day For Oxy, invest in our students and their futures by giving to the Oxy Fund.
Kelsey Hertz ’27
The need for financial aid is greater than ever, with 80% of Oxy students, like Kelsey Hertz ’27, relying on this support. Kelsey is a Bay Area native pursuing her path to become a doctor, which includes a weekly internship working with postpartum patients. She also conducts research in her faculty mentor’s chemistry lab, where her two passions—sustainability and healthcare—have converged as she works to develop an environmentally-friendly battery storage system. “You can’t have healthy patients without healthy air!”
Kelsey’s ability to explore her diverse interests is made possible by the financial aid she receives to attend Oxy. “Oxy is truly the perfect school for me, and I can be my best self every day through the many, many experiences Oxy has to offer beyond the classroom.”
This Day for Oxy, your gift to financial aid is vital to ensuring future leaders like Kelsey have the opportunity to thrive and make a difference in the world.
Kelsey conducts research on sustainable battery storage with Professor of chemistry Emmanuelle Despagnet-Ayoub.
Amare Askerneese ’26
Amare, a Media Arts & Culture (MAC) major from Riverside, California, left the country for the first time to study filmmaking at Sussex University in England. Among the many moments that pushed him out of his comfort zone, he recalls attending a film festival where he was keenly aware of being the only American in the room. The experience “made me think about my audience and who I am making films for. I want to create films that speak to universal experiences that anyone can identify with.”
Now back in Los Angeles, Amare will stay on campus over the summer to teach formerly-incarcerated students the art of filmmaking through the Undergraduate Research Center. While he’s excited for his summer internship, he already can’t wait for his next trip back to London. “This experience was life changing, in so many ways.”
By giving to the Oxy Fund, you enable students like Amare to expand their horizons through immersive learning opportunities.
Amare and his mother in London during his semester abroad.
Alyanna McGrath ’25
Alyanna, a computer science major from Coral Springs, Florida, embodies both academic and community leadership. She revived the Women in STEM Club, plays on the basketball team, is president of the Computer Science Club, and has championed inclusivity through her involvement in the Black Student Alliance Club.
As she prepares for graduation, Alyanna reflects on finding her voice and standing up for what she believes in, one of the most valuable lessons she has learned at Oxy: “If my classmates have a differing perspective, they’ll say it. That’s the beauty of being at Oxy. Not everyone has the same point of view, but we welcome everyone’s perspective and lived experience.”
Your gift to the Oxy Fund supports students like Alyanna as they pursue their passions in and outside of the classroom, develop their leadership skills and thrive in their community.
Among her many leadership roles at Oxy, Alyanna played power forward on the women’s basketball team.
Peter Vartanian ’25 & Professor Logvinenko
Oxy’s exceptional faculty are experts in their fields, providing students opportunities for research with real-world applications. Peter Vartanian ’25, a diplomacy and world affairs (DWA) major from Tirol, Austria, formed an exciting research collaboration with DWA Associate Professor Igor Logvinenko. The two are examining how the world's most important players are turning toward renewable energy, and with what ramifications. Their research has led to international travel, conference presentations, and article publications.
Peter credits Oxy for providing an environment in which students and instructors can work closely together: “I would not be researching, traveling, or speaking at conferences were it not for the kind of intimate, informative, and community-fostering experiences that we students are able to have here at Oxy.”
The Oxy Fund helps uphold our promise to foster an environment conducive to students and faculty doing their best work in both research and pedagogy.
Peter and Associate Professor Logvinenko at the annual Celebration of Access & Opportunity Reception.
Featured Support Areas
Named Scholarships & Special Funds
Support scholarships and funds that ensure talented students have access to an exceptional education and life-changing opportunities throughout their time at Oxy.
Academic Departments, Programs & Services
Give to one of the 54 majors and minors and special programs that support student research, global engagement, and faculty mentorship.
On Day For Oxy, 100% of your gift can be directed to the team of your choice. Together, we can make an investment in our student-athletes that will last them a lifetime.