Students

Tutoring at San Quentin helped UC Berkeley's top senior define his future

May 7, 2024
Robert Sanders

Growing up in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood, Christopher Ying had vague plans to become a lawyer and began prepping by joining the speech, debate and mock trial teams at Lowell High School.

But he credits the University of California, Berkeley, and the opportunities it provided — in particular, to report and edit for the Daily Californian and to tutor inmates at the former San Quentin State Prison — with helping him find his true passion in the legal field: giving a voice to marginalized members of society.

Those only-at-Berkeley experiences — plus a 3.981 grade...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/05/07/tutoring-at-san-quentin-helped-uc-berkeley-…

As graduation nears, student creates a ‘time capsule’ of her Berkeley experience

May 7, 2024
Anne Brice

This first-person narrative was written from an interview with Daniella Lake, who will graduate this May with a degree in media studies.

I was born in Los Angeles. I’m the first person in my family who was born in the U.S. My family’s originally from Sierra Leone, on the west coast of Africa. My parents spent a lot of time moving during the 1990s because there was a civil war in Sierra Leone and my dad worked for the United Nations, so my brother and sister spent time growing up in other African countries — Eritrea, Ghana and Gambia. I had a very different childhood...

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/05/06/graduate-profile-daniella-lake

Yuno Iwasaki selected as 2024 Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellow

April 19, 2024

Yuno Iwasaki has been awarded a 2024 Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellowship and will pursue a Ph.D. in physics at UC Berkeley. As a Fellow, Yuno will receive up to $90,000 to support her graduate education.

The Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellowship is a program for "outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants from all over the country and world who are pursuing graduate school here in the United States." The 2024 class is comprised of 30 honorees, out of a competitive pool of more than 2300 applicants, and Yuno is one of two UC Berkeley students included in this...

Alejandro Alvarez: "For those planning to participate in UCDC, put yourself out there and seize opportunities when they arise."

April 8, 2024
Each fall and spring, a cohort of UC juniors and seniors embark on an academic journey to the epicenter of American politics and culture: Washington, D.C. The UCDC program provides students from all majors with the unique opportunity to study and learn in the nation's capital, where they engage in internships, research endeavors, and academic coursework.

Below, Alejandro Alvarez shares his experience as an alum of the UCDC Program in spring 2023. Alejandro is majoring in political science and history, with a minor in conservation and resource studies. Alejandro plans to graduate this...