United Khmer Students is a student-run organization dedicated to fostering a positive environment for Khmer students and Khmer culture at UCLA. The club serves to represent and be an active voice for the the greater Cambodian community and to advocate for its relevant issues. Due to the lacking representation of Khmer people, UKS feels itself to be a necessary component within the UCLA community. UKS not only provides a social environment for Khmer and non-Khmer students alike but works towards creating a politically and culturally active space. The club is consistent with cultivating cultural education and traditions for its general membership as well as providing leadership opportunities for members to be involved within their communities.
UKS understands the significance of higher education and its condition within the Khmer population; Khmer Outreach Retention Education was created as an effort to combat low representation of Khmer-Americans in higher education. Along with KORE, various events, and components, the Mentorship Program provides on-site tutoring, field-trips and a mentor/mentee relationship for at-risk Cambodian youth at various LBUSD schools.
UKS is a resource for networking not only within the alumni and t
he UCLA community but also within the intercollegiate realm of Khmer student organizations. UKS is an active component to the efforts of the Khmer Student Coalition (KSC), a collective organization composed of various Cambodian organizations within the California universities and state universities system. UKS strives to provide a positive college experience for students through social, cultural, and political activities as well as being an advocate for Khmer community, culture and education.