2020 Marcie Rothman Centennial Scholars Undergraduate Scholarship awarded to Desiree Felix

Desiree Felix, a graduating senior with a major in environmental science and minors in environmental systems and society and food studies, received the 2020 Marcie Rothman Centennial Scholars Undergraduate Scholarship for her exemplary service in educating others on how food influences our health and wellness.

As a certified diabetes lifestyle prevention coach for UCLA Recreation and as the health education chair of the UCLA Mobile Clinic Project, Felix coaches individuals to build healthy food habits.  Her work extends beyond campus to Panama and Nicaragua where she leads educational presentations and prescribes appropriate diet and exercise plans under the supervision of a local Global Medical Training physician. 

Felix hopes to serve the Bruin student community by creating programming that encourages mindful eating with locally sourced ingredients and by developing an intersectional course that teaches students how to cook easy, nutritious meals while also learning about culture, history and environmental impacts.  

“From volunteering abroad on a medical mission, being a caseworker for persons experiencing homelessness, working as a resident assistant for UCLA housing and being a daughter, I have a passion for understanding how narratives of our tangible world, like people and the environment, and intangible ideas, grow,” Felix said.  “Today, I am just trying to unravel how food, health and the environment are weaved together.”

The Marcie Rothman Centennial Scholars Undergraduate Scholarship supports students in the food studies minor with their academic interests and endeavors at UCLA. This scholarship is awarded annually to food studies minors and aims to support the expansion of food in the world as an area of interdisciplinary study, including research and practice as it relates to culture, public health, nutrition, sustainability, the environment, food activism and justice.