March 26, 2024
Graduating from UC Berkeley was bittersweet for Chaka Tellem, the former two-term student body president. He had made many friends and memories, but the future was calling him south to Colombia, where he’s been studying, applying for law school, and gaining work experience through Berkeley’s political economy program. Though he has missed campus, he is proud to see it in good hands as students elected his former chief of staff, Sydney Roberts, to the presidency of the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC).
Sydney: Hi Chaka! How’s Latin America? I want to hear all about it.
Chaka: I love it. I’ve been based out of Colombia for about five months, doing a couple of internships and taking classes at one of the universities. My first internship was working for a Bogotá nonprofit that does policy advocacy. They’ve been working on the Colombian peace process for 30 years. I helped coordinate international relations, making partnerships with NGOs [non-governmental organizations] across the world. I’m now working on community development in Medellín for another NGO.
I’m learning so much. As a political economy student, my emphasis was on law and poverty. Part of the reason I chose Colombia was a class I took on Latin American innovation that talked about the monumental change occurring in the country. Seeing that first-hand and working with NGOs trying to disrupt cycles of poverty has been really eye-opening. Not only did my political economy education provide me with a unique lens, but it’s also the reason I’m here since I got this opportunity through the Political Economy Student Experience Fund.
Sydney: I love to hear that. I’ve been staying up to date on social media with what you’ve been doing, from hiking up the volcano to attending soccer games, but it’s nice to hear how much you truly care about what you’re doing there and how much you’re learning while immersing yourself in a different culture and history.
Chaka: How are you? How has campus life been?
Sydney: The campus is good. A lot of people miss you, but we’re doing well. I love being in political science. I’m learning a lot, and it’s helping me prepare for what I want to do after college.
I’m in a Campaigns and Elections course that I absolutely love. We have guest speakers who are running for office, who have already run for office, and who fundraise. I took a class last semester called Campaign and Media Strategy, which was a wonderful experience. The professor taught us how different things in the world influence politics, from architecture to media, and that solidified my desire to go into campaign politics afterwards. I loved my experience doing Cal in the Capitol last summer and want to work on a senatorial campaign after graduation.
Being president is a wonderful, enriching experience surrounded by politically engaged people. I’m excited to graduate, but I will also miss Berkeley so much.
Chaka: Definitely. I miss it, but the 2024 election is probably the best time within the last four years to graduate as a political science student.
Sydney: Yeah, though there’s still so much work to do on campus. I hope to spend this last semester fulfilling the promises I made during my campaign. I want to push forward initiatives to increase multiculturalism, expand environmentalism, and ensure students feel career-ready.
We want a Black advisor for our Black or African student organizations. I also look forward to reestablishing the historically Black college and university exchange program. Hopefully, we’ll open up applications for next fall, which would be an amazing opportunity for our Black students. On the environmental front, we’re continuing the Environmental Justice in Education initiative started under your administration. We turned it into a DeCal course last semester.
A lot of our projects connected with students who are the most marginalized on campus. I remember when we did the mentorship program with the Cal Alumni Association — taking our low-income, first-generation, and under-served students and creating a program where they can get mentorships from experts in their desired career fields. It really is powerful. It makes people believe that they can do things they never imagined.
There’s been such a shift in culture. So many more people know about the ASUC, and I attribute a lot of that to your work to spread awareness about what we do.
Chaka: I’m reminiscing back to my time on campus, working with you on similar initiatives and platforms. Hearing you take what we did to the next level is amazing.
We started these academic and professional opportunities during the pandemic to make sure people weren’t getting left behind. That has since transformed into a campus-wide test-prep discount so people at Cal studying for the GRE, LSAT, MCAT, and other post-graduate exams can do so without such a high economic barrier.
To see it go from not getting left behind on Zoom to making higher education more accessible to creating mentorship programs — and now transform into the Career Readiness Internship Program that Berkeley Social Sciences has been incubating for the last few years — has been amazing. People are getting a much richer, more holistic academic experience because we’re realizing that the academic experience at Berkeley is not just what is taught in the classroom. It’s also the mentorship you receive outside the classroom and the internships you do in D.C. and Colombia. Seeing the university and the ASUC align in a vision that started a couple of years ago is just amazing.
Sydney: Absolutely. Your experience is a perfect example of that. Everyone should explore all the opportunities Berkeley Social Sciences offers because they can really impact your life. We have a foundation at Berkeley that sets us up to get out of our comfort zone and go into areas we didn’t come in thinking we would do.
Chaka: Definitely. I highly recommend taking time to study or work abroad. You don’t know what you don’t know, and that becomes more evident when you have these international experiences. The fact that Berkeley Social Sciences and the Department of Political Economy are creating infrastructure to make this financially and logistically easier for students is phenomenal.
Sydney: I want new students to know that this school has so many opportunities. Get out of your comfort zone and explore! Befriend random people. Do anything that brings you joy. Say “yes” to everything within reason, from studying different majors to joining different clubs, because you get more out of college and life.
Getting involved with the ASUC and other organizations during my first semester allowed me to find a new support network. You leave your hometown and come to this big university with 45,000 other students. It is daunting, but finding a network of people who are like-minded, share your interests, and push you to be a better person both personally and professionally helps you have a better, more balanced experience — one where you succeed academically while learning things about yourself and the world. That’s something I’m grateful for at Berkeley.
You also had a wonderful experience at Berkeley. What contributed to that experience?
Chaka: You summarized it really well. I would add not being afraid to ask for help. A lot of us at Berkeley are exceptional students, and we’re used to doing things ourselves. This university is designed to challenge you. It is designed to have you think in new ways and question the way you were taught so you gain a more multifaceted understanding of the world. In doing so, you may find struggles — you may not do as well in classes, and you may not get into every club you apply for. For me, there were times that I struggled and asked for help, and through that, I was able to navigate through those experiences, make new friends, and find new ways of approaching things.
It’s not about being the smartest. It’s the most dynamic person who typically has the best experience, not the person with the highest GPA or the person who goes out the most. Being able to balance things is important.
Sydney: Yeah, I totally agree. You change a lot in college because you’re becoming an adult. It’s important to let yourself learn and grow over this time period. When I started as a freshman, I was really quiet, and I didn’t like to put myself out there or speak up during meetings. But I learned a lot about the value of sharing your opinion. You could be teaching other people or sparking a conversation that will lead to other people’s growth.
Honestly, the biggest takeaway from my experience in the ASUC, especially with your administration, is to be a mentor. You helped me get to the position I am today. I want to do that for other people, too. I want to hold the door open for more people, especially those who come from our identity and share our struggles. It’s really important to see them at the forefront of leadership. You paved the way, and I’m happy to keep the work going strong.
Chaka: I appreciate it, but it goes both ways. You made it easy — I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish half the things I was able to if it weren’t for the amazing folks who ran our office and your leadership as chief of staff. I remember when you joined my senate office; it was very clear that you had a bright future, and you’re proving all of us right.
Sydney: Thank you! It’s so inspiring to see the impact you’ve had on students. It doesn’t go unnoticed. I hope you come to commencement.
Chaka: I’ll definitely be there in May. So many people from the class of 2024 have been instrumental in my college experience; seeing that graduation is going to be a very powerful moment for me. Are you going to speak at commencement?
Sydney: I am. I’m really excited. I have to figure out what I’m going to say, but I learned a lot from your speech. Hopefully, I can hold a candle to what you said.
It was nice hearing about what you’ve been doing and sharing a little about where Berkeley is at now.
Chaka: It was a pleasure catching up, and go Bears!
Sydney: Go Bears!