Governor Schwarzenegger’s UC Merced 2005 Visit Recalls a Special Memory

Pictures from the 2005 visit by Arnold Schwarzenegger to UC Merced were recently posted to social media, and they show a side of the former Governor few have seen.

The photographs show the Governor getting the attention of a young and seemingly shy boy. The boy, likely a pre-teen, was among the hundreds of area residents who came to the campus on the Thursday before Labor Day weekend: September 1, 2005.

The young boy was Minhaz Azam, and like many in the crowd that day, he probably thought he might get a glimpse of the Governor.

After an amazing career starring in the first three Terminator movies, Schwarzenegger was elected in a memorable 2003 recall election that saw the office transition from Gray Davis to the actor-turned-politician.

The pictures were taken by professional photographer Roger J. Wyan who was on duty that day with his camera. “I was and I still am in a unique position to experience the development of the campus,” Roger said.

Roger’s connection to UC Merced began in the late 1980s when he was chief photographer for the Merced Sun-Star covering the story of how the tenth campus of the University of California system came to be located in Merced. His photographs have documented every major development of the new campus.

“I do not know why Minhaz was attending the Governor's visit except that it was The Terminator visiting,” Roger recalls. It appeared Minhaz may have had some affiliation with the University given his shirt.”

Roger was in a position to capture the image of the most important person in California at the time. The Governor stopped his hurried pace to meet the young constituent.

Roger writes in a recent social media post: “Arnold lifted Azam's chin and said a few words of encouragement which brought a smile. The Governor later met up with Azam away from the crowd.”

It was that later encounter that really touched the people who witnessed it as well as Roger J. Wyan. From the same post, Roger wrote “The governor gave Azam a big bear hug.”

It was a special moment early in the first year at UC Merced.

A visit from the Governor, a promise of continued state support for the institution, and as Roger wrote, “It brought the biggest, sweetest and heartfelt smile I’ve ever seen.”

Efforts to track down Minhaz now have yet to pay off, but there’s little doubt it was a special moment for him.

Roger has been engaged with the UC Merced community since those early days. He taught photography there for a couple of years, and he’s been on the scene for such special moments such as the groundbreaking, the first graduation, and Michelle Obama’s commencement address as First Lady in 2009.

He’s nearing the twentieth anniversary of starting the Transitions Project, a study of the first UC Merced students. The project details what some students have been doing since attending the University.

Those students likely have some fascinating stories to tell, and the Transitions Project will share those stories in the coming years.

But for Roger, September 1, 2005, remains a special memory.

That’s when the Governor took a few moments from his busy schedule to greet and hug young Minhaz Azam. It remains a memorable moment.

“It was pure joy to witness then,” he says. “And still is to this day.”

Steve Newvine has lived in Merced for eighteen years.

One of the first invitations he accepted upon arriving in the City was from UC Merced to attend the first commencement ceremony in 2006.

Steve’s book Beaten Paths & Back Roads is available for sale at the Merced County Courthouse Museum Gift Shop, or online at https://www.lulu.com/shop/steve-newvine/beaten-paths-and-back-roads/paperback/product-emmv6r.html?q=beaten+paths+steve+newvine&page=1&pageSize=4