Andrew Moncada, an undergraduate student in the Public Affairs minor, is one of three UCLA students honored recently with the 2012 Charles E. Young Humanitarian Awards for outstanding commitment to public service.

The Young Humanitarian Award, established by UCLA in 1986 as an annual tribute to recognize and encourage projects that address communities' social needs, is one of the most prestigious honors given to UCLA undergraduates. Each student received $700, to be donated to a public service project of their choice. The awards ceremony, a private event for family and friends, took place May 3 in the Charles E. Young Grand Salon at UCLA's Kerckhoff Hall.

Moncada, a political science major and public affairs minor, received the Charles E. Young Humanitarian Award for his work with The Writer's Den, an organization that teaches creative writing to underprivileged middle school students. During his time with the organization over the past four years, Moncada has worked with over 250 students and has helped turn them into published authors by compiling their work into bound books. After graduating this upcoming June, Moncada will complete a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Korea. 

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