Students

This I’m a Berkeleyan was written as a first-person narrative compiled from a UC Berkeley News interview with student Daniela Guadalupe Castellanos, who’s graduating this May.

This is my third year at Berkeley, but I’m graduating already. I am from northeast Sacramento, a really small town, Cameron Park, where there’s nothing really there except McDonald’s.

When I first arrived at Berkeley, I was overwhelmed by impostor syndrome. Back home, every passing smile felt like a reminder that I belonged somewhere. But here, I felt invisible. I could walk across campus, and...

Nihar Nuthikattu’s initial interest in Section 230 was kindled by following U.S. congressional hearings that included testimony from CEOs at major technology companies. A junior majoring in data science and economics at UC Berkeley, Nuthikattu said he was struck by “the stark asymmetry in technical acumen between lawmakers and digital platforms.”

Years later, Nuthikattu was considering...

One is a rising star in space research. One is a structural engineer, inspired by the experience of a devastating earthquake. One is a musician and opera composer, and another already has worked at the highest levels of U.S. politics. All share a common commitment: idealism and uncompromising hard work to make a positive impact in the world.

These traits unite the 2025 finalists for the University Medal — Corina Dunn, Owen Klein, Carlos Quezada and Miya Rosenthal — along with this year’s...

From using smartphone data to predict mental health relapses to leading French Club, Asher Cohen found community — and opportunities to serve others — in a myriad of corners of campus.

In the room that Asher Cohen will soon pack up, there’s a corkboard with mementos from his senior year at UC Berkeley: birthday cards, show programs for Carmen and Hamilton and an “I Voted” sticker. In the cabinet next to it is a math calendar a professor gifted him, tiny notebooks with Eiffel Towers that French Club distributed at Cal Day, a medical Spanish textbook, a...