Alumni Spotlight: Livier Mora ’16

Doctor of Dental Medicine Candidate at UCLA School of Dentistry ’25
Transfer to UC with a STEM major, 2016

For Livier Mora, the dream of becoming Dr. Mora started at Cerritos College. As a young mother with big ambitions, she knew the road ahead would be difficult. Thankfully, she found a supportive community at Cerritos College that believed in her potential.

Her love for science blossomed in Professor Jeff Bradbury’s chemistry classes, where his engaging teaching style and mentorship fueled her confidence. This renewed determination propelled her to excel academically, earning her recognition in the Scholars Honors Program as well as several scholarships.

Inspired by a presentation from Professor Timothy Juntilla for transfer students, Livier set her sights on the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (JKCF) Scholarship. She imagined what it would feel like to be the first female Falcon to receive the award. Two years later, on her daughter’s birthday, she got the call from Professor Juntilla with the incredible news — she had been selected.

The JKCF Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is one of the most selective in the nation, designed to support top community college students as they pursue their bachelor’s degrees at four-year institutions with little to no debt.

Livier credits Cerritos College for providing her with a strong educational foundation, a supportive community, and life-changing opportunities. “As a young mother from a disadvantaged background, attending a four-year college seemed out of reach,” she said. “But at Cerritos College, I was able to experience smaller class sizes, build meaningful relationships with professors who became mentors, and receive numerous scholarships that helped me transfer to a four-year institution without the burden of debt that many others face.”

In 2016, Livier graduated from Cerritos College on a STEM track for students transferring to UC schools. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish from UCLA.

Today, Livier is just months away from graduating with her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the UCLA School of Dentistry.

Livier is now committed to paying it forward. She mentors pre-dental Latina students, many of whom have successfully pursued their own dental school dreams. Even more impressively, she co-founded the Mora/Coates Transfer Scholarship with the Cerritos College Foundation to support students on their journey to earning bachelor's degrees.