Tony Auth, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and former Daily Bruin staff member, died Sept. 14 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after undergoing treatment for metastatic brain cancer. Read more...

Photo: Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Tony Auth started working at the Daily Bruin at UCLA before going on to become a professional cartoonist at The Philadelphia Inquirer. His cartoons were known for the emotions they drew from readers and for their ability to boil complex issues down to single images. (Daily Bruin archives)

While his peers go out to get lunch, Noel Medrano goes to the practice room every break between classes to improve his playing technique. This persistence to perfect his music has made Medrano a meticulous band director, a job he takes on during the summer at his old high school, John H. Read more...

Photo: Noel Medrano applied to UCLA three times with the goal to be a high school band director. (Brandon Choe/Daily Bruin senior staff)

Throughout his life, Sidney Thompson has seen students turn to gang violence because they were not given the tools to succeed by their educators. Thompson now has two goals: to recruit teachers to a UCLA graduate program specializing in underserved youth and to rewrite the way algebra is taught in schools – both to give all students a fair shot at academic success. Read more...

Photo: Sid Thompson, 83, is a volunteer mentor for the UCLA Principal Leadership Institute. The institute trains teachers in urban areas to become administrators. (Felicia Ramirez/Daily Bruin senior staff)