Though still filled with school supplies, books, groceries, technology and of course, the must-have UCLA clothes and gear, the UCLA Store in the Ackerman Union does have something new as the school year begins. On July 18, Peter Poon took over as director of the UCLA Store.

“I am excited to be part of the Associated Students UCLA family,” said Poon, who succeeds Patrick Healey as director of the UCLA Store. Healey led the store for an impressive 34 years.

During his career, Poon, who is married with two daughters, has worked as a regional buyer for JCPenney and May Company after graduating from the University of Southern California with a business marketing degree. After six years working in the corporate world, he made the transition to the college bookstore industry where he has spent the last 20 years working as a store manager and director at several university stores, including Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach and most recently, UC San Diego. 

What are you most looking forward to in your role as UCLA Store director?

I look forward to working with my new team and campus partners to provide retail and academic services that align with, and support, the university’s mission. I am also excited to be part of the ASUCLA staff that strives to help promote student success and become the on-campus service provider of choice.

Why did you want to join the ASUCLA team?

For me, culture is paramount in a workplace. ASUCLA has a reputation for empowering its students and staff, which I find very appealing. I also find working for a student-led board of directors to help bring initiatives to light and enhance UCLA students’ academic experience is a benefit for the entire campus community.    

Now over a month into joining ASUCLA, how are things going?

Everything is going well. I am getting to know my team and am learning about the culture and needs of ASUCLA and the UCLA community it serves. During the past month, the UCLA Store teams have been exploring ways to help reduce textbook costs by promoting the benefits and savings of our inclusive access program to the campus community. 

Inclusive access is a UCLA Store program that converts physical course materials into instantly accessible, interactive and adaptive digital content students need for instruction at a reduced cost. All UCLA faculty have the option to include their materials in the inclusive access program so students can have their books and course materials ready by day one of classes and save on academic expenses.

I am proud to say we also recently launched the fall BearWear catalog in August and introduced the acceptance of CalFresh/EBT benefits at the UCLA Store Market in Ackerman Student Union to help fight food insecurities among students on campus.         

Now that you’re officially a Bruin, what were your first UCLA store purchases?

I’ve already purchased my daughters several UCLA soccer T-shirts and myself a hat and polo to represent our Bruin pride. As an official soccer dad, I am rooting for my girls to play here one day!

Do you have a message for Bruins as we kick off the 2022-2023 school year?

I wish everyone a safe and outstanding back to school season and fall quarter. To the UCLA students interested in working for a student-led organization, ASUCLA is the place for you. Here at the UCLA Store, we are looking to hire responsive, innovative and motivated student staff to help with academic, retail and service needs to join our team. I encourage those interested to apply on the ASUCLA website!