UCLA, Los Angeles
11 AM to 3 PM · meridianventura.com
CEOs come to you.
24 executives. 400 students.
Free for every student. Tell us what you need.
Meridian is a free conference on Saturday, November 14, 2026 at UCLA, for university students across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. It is built and run by a UC Berkeley undergraduate from Oxnard.
Leaders don't speak from a stage and leave. They circulate, sit with students, and each one names a single concrete thing they can do for someone in the room.
What the day looks like →
George Leis and Jaxton Wright
Who backs this
George Leis
Chairman, YMCA of the USA / Executive Vice President, CalPrivate Bank
George was the first person to believe in this conference and in the student building it. He put in the first $1,000, which is what made the first event possible at all.
He has never treated it as a donation and walked away. Every time Jaxton is in town they meet, without exception, and he was there at his high school graduation. What he backs is not an event. It is what young people from this community are capable of when someone finally opens the door.
How it works
You write down what you need. They come find you.
Tell us what you need
An internship, a mentor, funding, a field you want into. Whatever it is, write it down.
They come find you
No lining up, no elevator pitch. CEOs work the room and come to you, already knowing your ask. What you get is concrete: an introduction, a referral, a direct line in.
You leave with something real
Not a stack of business cards. A name to write to, and a room full of people who now know what you are working on.
Support
Who supported us
Dr. Ted Lawrence
Principal, Oxnard High School
Dr. Ted Lawrence has been Jaxton's mentor since he sent a cold email two weeks before arriving at Oxnard High School about his vision to improve the school. When Meridian Conference came together, he forwarded it to his entire student body without hesitation. His leadership is rooted in radical accessibility, the belief that the right student meeting the right opportunity can change everything.
Behind Meridian
Who is behind it
General Atomics
The General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation funds Meridian and the aerospace design lab, hosted by NASA engineers.
Partners
More partners will be named here as they are confirmed.
The day
What the day looks like
Arrive
Doors are open. Come in, get your name tag, and settle in.
Check-in and ask cards
You write your ask card: what you are looking for and who you want to meet. You wear it all day, so a leader can walk up already knowing why.
The open floor
Leaders and students mix in one room. No assigned seats and no queue, so you can move at your own pace.
Keynote conversations
A few leaders talk about their path, then take questions. Conversations, not speeches.
Direct access
The center of the day. Leaders sit with small groups and work through the asks on your cards, one at a time.
The close
You are welcome to join the Meridian network, so there is somewhere to ask for help long after the day ends.
In-N-Out, on us
Most conferences end over food. Ours does too. Anyone who wants to come is invited.
All day
Running all day
Aerospace design lab
Led by NASA engineers. You spend the day building something real instead of sitting through a talk about it.
Student demos
Already building a company, a project, a research idea? You get a table to show it. Sign up when you register.
Professional headshots
Photographers shoot you for free and the pictures are yours to keep.
The Favor Wall
A running list of what was offered during the day, kept so students can follow up on it afterward and nothing gets lost once everyone goes home.
Partner tables
The organizations that brought students run tables of their own. Walk up to any of them, no introduction needed.
Someone to introduce you
Hosts work the floor all day. If walking up to a stranger is not your thing, find one and they will make the introduction for you.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Yes. No ticket, no fee, nothing sold.
Anyone who is excited to be there. University students of any major or year, high school students, and people who already graduated. There is no cutoff. If you are ready to meet people, you belong in the room.
Yes, but they need their own registration. Seats are capped at 400.
Business casual is ideal. If you do not have that, wear whatever you would wear to meet someone you respect.
You are free to come and go. That said, the day builds as it goes. The best conversations tend to happen in the afternoon, once the room has loosened up and people know who you are, so there is a lot worth sticking around for.
Many people there have not. You introduce yourself, they introduce themselves, and it goes from there. Your ask card does a lot of the work for you, because people can see what you are looking for before they walk up.
Something else? Email us at meridianventura@gmail.com
Getting there
Covel Commons at UCLA
We are at Covel Commons, 200 De Neve, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Put that address into your maps app and it will take you to the door.
- Building
- Covel Commons
- Address
- 200 De Neve, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Date
- Saturday, November 14, 2026, 11 AM to 3 PM
Follow Meridian on Instagram for parking and day-of updates.
Free for every student. Tell us what you need.