Sage Cerda is shown at the reception for the Second Chance Month art display she curated in the UC Irvine Science Library. Next to her is a portrait by artist Francisco Baldonado, whose instagram handle is @baldonadofrancisco.
Multi-talented social ecology undergrad Sage Cerda applies art to academics
Sage Cerda is a rapper, writer, composer and recent art show curator who pulls inspiration from her UC Irvine studies and life experience.
“I write music that follows my course work,” says the double major in social ecology and criminology, law & society. “I’ve written songs about topics within criminology such as the criminal justice system, police corruption, racial disparities, fighting the stigma of a criminal record, the criminalization of immigrants, and historical figures.”
A sample:
Social movements, brutality, and police reports
Found corruption deep in court.
And the day we question the judge
We rise, reform, and interrupt
That’s from a song Cerda wrote about wrongful conviction, which is a topic of interest that was reinforced by her field study placement with the National Registry of Exonerations under NRE editor and criminology, law & society Professor Simon Cole.
“I’ve also used art in other ways such as participating in the school tradition of ‘Petr drop.’ I created a positive Petr affirmation card to spread kindness,” Cerda informs.
After graduating in the fall, she plans to apply to law school. She will have the opportunity to put on applications that she is a Student Achievement Guided by Experience (SAGE) Scholar who has been deeply involved with the Underground Scholars Program (USP), Foster Youth Resilience in Education (FYRE), the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association, the Creating Options and Conquering Hurdles (COACH) program, and the Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees (LIFTED) student org.
“Her academic pursuits are marked by curiosity and rigor, while her extracurricular engagements reflect a deep sense of purpose and compassion,” says Claudia Lavenant-Jimenez, criminology, law & society lecturer and one of Cerda’s many UC Irvine mentors.
The undergraduate recently curated the Second Chance Month art display in the Science Library, performed for a second time at the Underground Scholars graduation ceremony, and has contributed songs and lyrics to FYRE, LIFTED and other campus groups.
“Of everything I’ve accomplished, curating the Second Chance Month art display stands out as one of the most meaningful to me,” Cerda says. “It featured my own original lyrics, which was especially important because music has always been my personal form of advocacy. Beyond the songwriting, I spent countless hours planning the project and truly enjoyed the collaboration with students from other college campuses, including UCLA and Long Beach City College.”
Taking the School of Social Ecology’s “The Power of Music” class connected her to UC Irvine’s Alec Glasser Center for the Power of Music and Social Change, which is leveraging music’s massive impact to galvanize students, other individuals and communities for social progress and well-being. Cerda was among 10 Anteaters the Glasser Center sponsored to attend May’s “Breaking into the Music Industry” conference in Indio.
“At this conference, I learned more about the music industry and met other independent artists,” she says. “Looking ahead, I’m excited about deepening my involvement with the Alec Glasser Center for the Power of Music and Social Change, where I hope to continue using my art as a tool for impact.”
Her use of art for advocacy is already making an impact.
“My latest song was for my ‘Chicanos and the Law’ class,” Cerda says. “This song is about Chicano history and brings light to the Mendez v. Westminster case, paving the way for Brown v. Board of Education.
In Westminster,
California dreams are made, oh
There’s nothing they can’t do—power in that courtroom These streets will make you feel stronger,
brown pride lives longer
Let’s hear it for Mendez, Mendez, Mendez...
“I wrote a song about school spirit for the LIFTED students to help connect them to campus and share what’s going on,” Cerda says. “They are current Anteaters at Richard Donovan Correctional Facility. Incarcerated populations are often forgotten so this was my way of including them.”
“We’ll Keep Zotin Higher” is an adaptation of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
Winter’s back, grab your gear, Mini-Anteater Fair is here
UROP, research grind, Ananda’s here to clear your mind
Basic Needs, food on the way, Mobile Pantry saves the day!
ICS Club Fair’s a go, tech careers, come and growWomen’s Center, networking, meet and greet, start working,
Twelve Angry Jurors play, Irvine eats—five tastes a day!
Student parents, dinner night, Family Center, set things right,
Budget smart, plan ahead, meals and money, keep ‘em fed!We’ll keep Zotin’ higher!
We’ve been always leading, never stop exceeding
We’ll keep Zotin’ higher!
No, we didn’t make it, but we elevate it
Ananda is a reference to Ananda Van Boeyen, a counselor/coordinator with the UC Irvine Transfer Student Center’s Formerly Incarcerated & System-Impacted Services, who also works with LIFTED students. Van Boeyen and Lavenant-Jimenez are among several women on campus Cerda credits with helping to guide her academic journey. Others include Ann Chan, FYRE counselor/coordinator; Jessica Ortega, COACH Program coordinator; Neda Moayedi, SAGE Scholars Program director; Cecilia Leyva, SAGE Scholars Program assistant director; and criminology, law & society Professor Nancy Rodriguez, who included Cerda in the inaugural cohort of Next Generation of Crime and Justice Scholars, a year-long program that helps first-generation and justice-impacted students prepare for graduate school.
“I am deeply grateful for the mentorship of these remarkable women leaders,” she says. “They have all been a tremendous help in all aspects of my life.”
“Ms. Sage Cerda is a remarkably driven, passionate, and dedicated student whose commitment to excellence is matched only by her unwavering commitment to serve others,” observes Lavenant-Jimenez, who has enjoyed many of the Anteater’s musical performances and supported Beyond Prison Walls, a UC Irvine Drama Emergent Series production, in collaboration with Playwrights Project and Underground Scholars, that Cerda consulted on. “My role was to bring my life experiences into the space to help keep the writers' roles authentic,” the students says of the six short plays by incarcerated playwrights that were presented Nov. 15-16, 2024, in Little Theatre.
“Whether in the classroom, within campus organizations, or out in the broader community, Sage consistently goes above and beyond what is expected,” Lavenant-Jimenez says. “She is often several steps ahead — not for personal gain, but because she wants her efforts to uplift, support, and create opportunities for those around her.”
For someone who started their college career at UC Merced, Cerda has truly found a home at UC Irvine.
The Central California university “did not offer the specific opportunities I was looking for,” she explains. “My growing interest in criminal justice prompted me to research programs across the UC system, and I discovered that UC Irvine offers one of the top criminology programs in the country. I was also drawn to apply because of their emphasis on research. I knew I made the right decision when I was introduced to the Undergrounds Scholars Program.”
The USP helps justice-system impacted students thrive in higher education, and Cerda has certainly thrived at UC Irvine. Her original intention was to become a forensic scientist. Then she toured the Orange County Crime Lab.
“I realized the environment felt too isolated and quiet for me,” she explains. “I’ve always known that I thrive in roles that involve constant interaction and communication. That realization led me to explore other areas within criminology, eventually broadening my interests to social ecology.”
Cerda found herself increasingly drawn to the field of law through presentations from attorneys in the Orange County Bar Association. A turning point came when she was invited to the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association’s 50th Annual Gala by Ruben Smith, an attorney she met through the Hispanics 100 Foundation.
“This experience exposed me to like-minded individuals and taught me the impact of law,” Cerda says. “I am thrilled to spend my final quarter in Washington D.C., continuing my research in juvenile justice.”
Outside of academics, “some of my most cherished memories come from the meaningful relationships I built here,” she says. “I’ll always remember the fun times with my COACH family, spontaneous beach dates with my boyfriend, and late-night conversations at the top of the ARC parking structure with the people who matter most to me. These moments made my time at UCI truly unforgettable.”
— Matt Coker
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