Pauley Pavillion at UCLA was packed Friday afternoon with graduates, their families and friends for one of two major commencement ceremonies that would see almost 5,800 College of Letters and Science students turn their tassels from right to left to mark this step in their lives.

Enthusiasm was high and hardly a seat was empty in the roughly 13,000-capacity venue. This year’s is the largest undergraduate class ever for the university, with about 8,800 graduating, though not all were planning to attend the two commencements.

“Every graduating class makes this university better,” Chancellor Gene Block told the audience. “Each class leaves an indelible impression on our campus, one that lasts for decades.”

Anita Ortega, of the Class of 1982, gave a compelling speech about the challenges she has met in her life and her achievements, including a successful basketball career and becoming the first black woman area commander for the Los Angeles Police Department. Her message to the graduates: be relentless.

“Even if it makes you uncomfortable, be relentless,” Ortega said.

After being the first in her family to graduate from college and earning a degree in psychology, she knew her decision to be a police officer wouldn’t go over well with her family. The LAPD then lacked diversity and had limited opportunities for women, she said.

“I grew up in poverty, crime and unemployment. And when the police officers drove through my neighborhood, I don’t recall seeing any minorities and I definitely didn’t see any women,” she said. “So I saw it as a great opportunity to represent my community, to be a role model for others and to challenge the status quo.

“I was challenged at every level, but you know what, life is full of challenges. It really is.”

Friday marked the end of years of study and hard work for thousands, some who balanced school, work and personal trials.

Kaylin Wesley had hoped her grandmother would live long enough to see Wesley graduate. Her grandmother, a teacher, had encouraged Wesley in her studies even as Wesley worked multiple campus jobs and was the primary caregiver, with her sister, for her grandmother in the last two years of her life. Her grandmother died in February, at 90, of lung cancer.

“That was her biggest thing, she was so bent on seeing me graduate,” Wesley said. “But knowing that she’s here in spirit, and knowing that I’m accomplishing all of these things … is a privilege I feel that I can share with her, spiritually.”

Wesley, graduating with a degree in psychology, hopes to eventually establish a research think tank to focus on issues black youth face, including educational achievement, mental health access and criminal justice to find ways to better meet the needs of black communities.

Luke Vellotti, 18, was one of the youngest people to graduate Friday. He started at UCLA at 14 and earned two degrees – in computer science and pure mathematics. His brother, Carl Vellotti, was graduating from UCLA, on Saturday, with an engineering degree. Luke, a champion chess player, also volunteers with mathematically-inclined grade-school students in UCLA’s Math Circle enrichment program.

“Nowadays, most people don’t even know,” Luke said of his young age at the school. “I’m as old as the freshman now!”

Luke already has a job, as a software developer at Google. Will he be the youngest person working there?

“I mean, they’re not allowed to legally hire people younger than 18, so I guess I’m automatically the youngest,” he said, laughing.

For James Anderson, Friday’s commencement was the culmination of a turn-around in his life.

Anderson grew up in an abusive family and became addicted to meth at 14. At 17, he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and other charges in a gang-related fight and was sent into the juvenile justice system.

With help from a handful of mentors who saw potential in the teenager, Anderson changed his path. One particularly influential person was Scott Budnick, an executive producer of “The Hangover” and an advocate for youth in the criminal justice system. Together they founded the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which provides a support network for formerly incarcerated men and women. Anderson now has met President Barack Obama, served on California’s Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and recently launched a clothing line, Los Mayores.

“Graduating today really is the symbolism of how far someone can come if you just believe and give someone the opportunity to redeem themselves,” Anderson said.