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Optimism isn't about minimizing the size of the problems we face — it's about believing that, no matter how big our problems are, we can solve them. Get inspired to join the problem-solvers by checking out how <a href="https://optimists.ucla.edu/" target="_blank">UCLA's optimists</a> are meeting tomorrow's challenges!

Optimism isn't about minimizing the size of the problems we face — it's about believing that, no matter how big our problems are, we can solve them. Get inspired to join the problem-solvers by checking out how UCLA's optimists are meeting tomorrow's challenges!

Rank Society's Biggest Problems And We'll Give You A Reason To Hope For A Better Future

Mental Health Issues

The Wage Gap

Man-Made Climate Change

Student Loan Debt 

Lack of Diversity

Access To Higher Education

Homelessness

Lack Of Culture And Community

Infectious Diseases

Mass Incarceration

The future is female. More than ever, women and girls are being empowered and mentored to not only succeed at a university level, but to pursue career paths in STEM fields where they've traditionally faced difficult barriers to entry. One such initiative is [WE@UCLA](https://samueli.ucla.edu/women-in-engineering/), which encourages women to enroll in engineering and computer science programs at UCLA and provides a comprehensive toolkit including mentorship, team building, and internship opportunities to enable women to thrive and innovate in these fields!


Increased Gender Equality

Climate-change scientists and activists are being heard. People and institutions all over America today are taking climate change seriously and making investments in green energy, waste reduction, and sustainable living. UCLA has assembled a team of multi-disciplinary experts to take on the [Grand Challenge](https://grandchallenges.ucla.edu/sustainable-la/) of making Los Angeles fully sustainable by 2050. That means [training students](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-launches-program-to-train-students-on-sustainable-food-energy-and-water-management) and designing [forward-looking initiatives](https://grandchallenges.ucla.edu/sustainable-la/vision/) to rethink the way LA does things, from doubling down on sustainable energy sources, to using 100% local water, to finding ways to strengthen the overall health of Southern California's ecosystem.  

Rising Sustainability

The national discussion on health care is starting to change. More people are beginning to understand that health care isn't a privilege that should be restricted to the rich but a human right possessed by every man, woman, and child. And that awareness is leading to action. UCLA launched their nationally recognized [LGBTQ Health Initiative](https://www.uclahealth.org/lgbtq/) in 2016 to ensure that inclusive, equitable treatment is made available to this all-too-often overlooked and underserved community. Similarly, the [Mobile Clinic Project](http://www.mobileclinicproject.org/) focuses on improving the health outcomes of homeless people in the greater Los Angeles area, both through direct treatment and referrals to existing health resources.

Understanding Health Care Is A Human Right 

Bucking the common misperception of the "entitled millennial," a new generation of active and engaged students are hitting the streets to understand the root causes of severe poverty and address its most harmful effects on people in their own communities. Sometimes that means meeting the poor where they live. In Los Angeles, two UCLA-affiliated outreach efforts do just that. The [Care Harbor Health Clinic](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-volunteers-provide-free-health-care-at-downtown-l-a-mega-clinic) provided basic health services free of charge to about 2,200 low-income patients in 2017 alone, and the [Mobile Eye Clinic](https://uclahealth.org/mobile-eye-clinic/) patrols the streets of LA giving free eye-care services and glasses to underserved populations. 

Addressing Causes Of Extreme Poverty

By expanding access to higher education to more people from underserved communities, we infuse old ways of looking at things with much-needed fresh perspectives to help answer the difficult questions of both today and tomorrow. The [Center For Diverse Leadership In Science](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/new-center-at-ucla-raises-everyones-voices-for-environmental-science), the first university-based center for diversity in environmental science, focuses on increasing participation in the sciences among people of color and other historically underrepresented groups and helping them succeed through things like fellowships and professional development training. UCLA knows that diversity isn't passive. It means actively seeking out the voices and perspectives of those who have been historically underserved by institutions of higher education.

Expanding Access To Higher Education

With the divisiveness and conflict that seems so central to our public discourse, a sense of community and civic duty is more important now than ever. Young people are reinvigorating old forms of community engagement, like museums and libraries, while using digital spaces to update our understanding of what "community" can mean. UCLA knows that art is a powerful uniting force, so they offer [Design For Sharing](https://cap.ucla.edu/dfs/), a free arts-education program that inspires school-aged kids to find their passion for the arts. Not to mention UCLA's various [museums](https://hammer.ucla.edu) and [archives](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/about-archive) that make sure Angelenos never lose touch with their history and what makes the city special.  

Growing Communities Through The Arts 

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Rank Society's Biggest Problems And We'll Give You A Reason To Hope For A Better Future

The faculty, staff, and students at UCLA aren't afraid of the problems we face. In fact, they can't wait to tackle them head on. Come see how!

Rank Society's Biggest Problems And We'll Give You A Reason To Hope For A Better Future

The faculty, staff, and students at UCLA aren't afraid of the problems we face. In fact, they can't wait to tackle them head on. Come see how!

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