Young Alumni
Dancing with Purpose
By Josephine ThorntonFor Leadership Award Scholar Robert Yu ’18, dedication to dance and Wushu endeavors at Cal opened the doors for new opportunities and set him up for success.
Finding Your Story
TAAP and TLA Scholar Neil Arcellana ’24 shares his story of overcoming obstacles and hopes to advocate for other students facing similar challenges.
9 Ways to Keep Your Connection to Cal Golden
By Amanda ChiuHow will you stay connected to UC Berkeley after graduation?
Setting a Road Map to Success
Attending college can be a challenge for formerly incarcerated students. No one knows better than TAAP scholars John Lam ’23 and Michelle Maxwell ’23.
Graduation at the End of the World
By Amanda ChiuTwo young alums compare notes—and find connection—around the pandemic graduation experience.
Sisters Create Health Initiative for Afghan Refugees
UC Berkeley students and sisters, Nazineen and Nilufar, developed a health education initiative for Afghan refugees.
Writer Maria Zizka Translates Haute Cuisine for the Home Cook
By Cirrus WoodIn an era when menus often double as moral statements, how refreshing it is to have Maria Zizka and her dozen joyful cookbooks out there, celebrating food without sermonizing to readers.
There’s No One Way To Be: How One Recent Grad Created Space for Trans and Queer Identities at Cal
Beyond academics, college is about finding yourself and becoming the person you want to be. This doesn’t happen in lecture halls, but in between classes, in student organizations, in dorms, and off-campus. For Lindsey Chung ’21, recipient of the Cal Pride Scholarship and The Leadership Award, it’s here, there, and everywhere in between.
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.
‘Justice for Communities of Color’: Amber Gonzales-Vargas ’15 on Inspiring Change
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.
Emily Pilloton Is Opening Up the World of STEM—and Possibilities—for Girls
It’s late September, and Emily Pilloton ’03 is at Girls Garage, a nonprofit she founded in 2013 in Berkeley. Girls Garage recently reopened for small groups of girls eager to get back to the space and get building again. "I just feel like failure is not an option," she explains. "This space means a lot to the girls that come here."
Who Are You Now? Maria Smith ’19 Asks Us to Look Inward
During the early weeks of the COVID pandemic, many of us hoped the pandemic would quickly pass and we could resume our lives. But Maria Smith ’19 believed this is a time to take stock of things that matter to us. This thought led her to create Who Are We Now?, a series of conversations with Cal alums that challenge us to think about how the pandemic has changed us. The first episode was released in July, and we talked with Smith about the series.
