Catching waves, building community
Beach access was a non-negotiable for fourth-year business economics major Wynn Schoeman
when selecting a college. An avid surfer from Huntington Beach, California, he practically
grew up on the water. That made it easy to choose UC Irvine over UC Berkeley so that
he could earn his degree in coastal Orange County.
But surfing isn’t just about the waves for Shoeman. It’s about the people. He joined UC Irvine’s Surf Club within his first few days on campus, connecting with fellow Anteaters for early morning outings to the Newport Beach jetties, Laguna Beach, and the Huntington Beach Pier – before heading to class.
“What made the Surf Club special was the shared experience,” says Schoeman. “Whether someone was just starting out or had years of experience, everyone connected through a mutual passion for surfing, talking in the water, and exploring different breaks. It created a strong sense of community and made UCI an especially great place for surfers of all levels.”
Academic support
Schoeman found community on dry land, as well. As a business economics major in the School of Social Sciences, he visited the Economics Learning Center for academic support with a probability and statistics course, Economics 15A. Located on the first floor of Social Science Tower, the ELC offers drop-in support for a specific list of foundational economics courses, with students trained to serve as peer advisors. The ELC quickly became more than just a place to get help with coursework.
“The ELC was a good spot to meetup and get your feet set. You meet other students from class, talk through the problem, go to a professor’s office hours together,” says Schoeman. “For the students who become recurring visitors, it’s more than a tutoring center, it’s a place where people connect, get course recommendations, and ask about master’s degrees or future career paths. It’s a good educational community.”
In his fourth year, Schoeman transitioned from being a frequent visitor of the ELC to one of its staff members. As a peer assistant, he received training from the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center and Learning and Academic Resource Center to strengthen his skills as a tutor, including learning to lead collaborative discussions and redirect questions, and – importantly – to ensure students feel welcomed.
“Wynn pairs academic excellence with a strong sense of purpose,” says Brian Jenkins, associate professor of teaching and director of undergraduate studies in the economics department. “He is serious about learning and personal achievement while also making time to give back to his community.”
Looking back on his undergraduate experience, Schoeman says he appreciates how economics intersected with so many courses across the School of Social Sciences, from global studies to sociology. As he sees it, majoring in business economics allowed him to blend technical skills like math with people-centered social skills and real-world issues. For example, in econometrics courses, he learned statistical software including Stata and EViews, and then practiced running regression analyses on data to understand migrant workers’ impact on wages.
“I see economics as being at the forefront of combining social skills with technical skills, and the future of work is putting greater emphasis on these abilities," Schoeman says.
Indigenous roots
Before Schoeman accepts his UC Irvine diploma at the June commencement ceremony, he will be part of another deeply meaningful graduation ceremony: one for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s graduates. As an enrolled citizen of the 38,000-member tribe based in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Schoeman works to sustain connections to his family’s Native American roots – despite growing up 2,000 miles away from the tribal land where his grandfather was born. That includes attending the annual Thunder & Lightning Powwow in Morongo, California, with his family.
“What’s cool about that event is they say, ‘No one is a spectator,’” Schoeman says. “There are so many federally recognized tribes, and you don’t have to be in a specific tribe at the powwow to fit right in.”
At UC Irvine, Schoeman participated in activities with the American Indian Student Association and he took opportunities in classes to write papers about social and economic issues facing Native Americans living on reservations.
After finishing his coursework this winter, Schoeman embarked on some much-anticipated travel, which included visiting the Crazy Horse Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota. The enormous sculpture carved into a mountain, which has been under construction for nearly 80 years, depicts the Lakota leader gazing out over the horizon with his finger pointed ahead. The longevity and scope of the project inspired Schoeman.
Schoeman, too, is looking toward the horizon at what’s next. He’s already enrolled as an MBA student at UC Riverside’s A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management.
“My UCI experience has continued to resonate with me even more since finishing my final quarter,” Schoeman says. “UCI provided a structured and supportive learning environment as well as social experiences that strengthened my ability to work within a close-knit academic community and build meaningful professional relationships.”
All of which have set Schoeman up to successfully ride that next wave to his MBA and beyond.
-Christine Byrd for UCI Social Sciences
-pictured: Wynn Schoeman surfing, courtesy of Ricardo Soria. Wynn Schoeman on campus,
courtesy of Sebastian Shunda.