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“At times Cal feels like a very large campus, but I found my group and my niche there… We built this connection to who we are as students today, and then who we can be as alumni.”
Reflections from the Lair staff on their connections to the Lair, a home away from home for all who visit.
Jason Gant ’06 reflects on his time at Cal and how it shaped his desire to get involved and give his time to support the Cal community through programs like Cal Alumni Mentors.
As a first-generation student, Art Wong ’63 found his footing at Cal and beyond. Now, he supports other students so that they can do the same.
First-generation, low-income, underrepresented, and underserved* UC Berkeley undergraduate students will be given an opportunity to build social capital by being paired with alumni who share similar identities.
Being a new face in a big place like Berkeley can be overwhelming—but for one student, all that changed with one dinner.
In a year marked by physical and often emotional isolation, the Cal alumni community found new ways to connect to each other and to the university. Robust virtual programs engaged more than 9,000 UC Berkeley alumni in activities that inspired our Cal spirit anew.
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.
Ten years ago, I was exactly where you are right now: graduating with big dreams and aspirations ahead.
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.
The November 2020 election season is not one that anyone will forget. It was an exhausting period that brought many first-time voters and more people paying attention to the voting process. Berkeley alum Amber Gonzales-Vargas ’15 was meant for this.
Born and raised in Oakland, CA, Cal alum Candice Elder ’06 has a background in law and philanthropy and uses it to serve her community every day. Elder is the founder and executive director of The East Oakland Collective, a nonprofit organization that addresses and focuses its efforts on racial and economic equity in East Oakland. She was appointed by the mayor of Oakland in November of last year to a new advisory commission on homelessness as the city’s crisis escalates.
