Casual Astronaut
11 Shuttered Berkeley Establishments Cal Alumni Still Cry Over
Time has changed the foodscape around campus, and many a student's old haunts are no longer in business. Here are 11 Berkeley institutions whose closures made alumni weep.
After a Year of Online Instruction, Raven Gatson Refocuses Her Goals
Raven Gatson has been living with her sorority sisters near the UC Berkeley campus since January 2021. It’s the first time she’s been on campus. The buildings are still closed, but she’s able to walk around and imagine a bustling Sproul Plaza at noon. At last, after years of planning for college, she was at the school for her.
For Gabby Cole ’05, Self-Care Is Following Your Dreams
I knew then—and I am even more sure of it now—that the path to the real me was through Cal. It was challenging, but no one grows in their comfort zone.
UC Berkeley Alumni Celebrate Juneteenth
On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth became the first federal holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1963. Here's how Berkeley honored the day.
2021’s Best and Brightest Alumni, Faculty Honored at Berkeley Charter Gala
In partnership with the UC Berkeley Foundation, the Cal Alumni Association honored this year’s Achievement Award recipients at the all-virtual Berkeley Charter Gala on May 13, 2021. Get to know the esteemed award recipients—alumni and faculty who are pushing through the boundaries of what’s possible.
Kai Mai ’01 Bridges the Gap Between Students and Alumni
I was a transfer student from the City College of San Francisco. Coming to Berkeley was a huge shock for me, and everyone seemed smarter than me. I remember that my introductory computer science classes had a few hundred students. I spent a lot of time in Cory Hall and Soda Hall and pulled a few all-nighters. Looking back, I wish I had engaged with other aspects of campus life more.
“Pursue Your Dreams Fearlessly”: An Entrepreneur’s Wisdom for Graduating Scholars
Ten years ago, I was exactly where you are right now: graduating with big dreams and aspirations ahead.
Advice for the Class of 2021: “Carry Berkeley With You”
After a long journey filled to the brim with unexpected twists and turns, the time has finally arrived for UC Berkeley’s Class of 2021 to graduate. Years of growth and transformation, beginning with the seemingly distant days of anxiously waiting for college acceptances, campus tours, and that fateful commitment to Cal, are now coming to an end under challenging circumstances that still feel unusual after all this time.
Students Learn Techniques to Build Generational Wealth
Many students graduate from college with limited experience with financial planning. As they start full-time professional positions, new grads are not only making the transition from school to work; they also have to learn quickly about budgeting, saving, student loan payments, and taking advantage of 401(k)/403(b) matching and other retirement benefits.
Margarita “Maggie” Landeros ’09: Leading On Campus and Beyond
My parents are from Guanajuato, Mexico, and I am the oldest of four siblings. As a proud Compton native, my identity as a Mexican American and the educational disparities I witnessed in my low-income community drive my work as an educator. I help to improve college access in communities like my own through my work with school counselors and my involvement with Cal.
Celebrating LGBTQ+ Alumni Career Journeys
“It was only in June of 2020 that the US Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-discrimination laws now protect LGBTQ+ leaders from employment discrimination in every state. This is a step in the right direction and a catalyst for us all to continue uplifting the rights and stories of our LGBTQ+ students and alumni,” says Cal Alumni Association (CAA) Chief Program Officer Anh Tran ’06.
COVID-19 Vaccine Science and Facts
In February, the Cal Alumni Association’s UC Berkeley Black Engineering and Science Alumni Club (BESAC) hosted COVID-19 Vaccines: Science and Facts, a virtual event on how the virus replicates, the impact it has on the immune system, and the transmissibility of its variants.
