Giving Notes
Creation of The Achievement Award Program
In 1996 California voters approved Proposition 209, which prohibited the consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex in the admission process at public universities. Immediately, the percentage of students at the University of California, Berkeley from low-income, minority communities decreased dramatically. As a result, the Cal Alumni Association (CAA), encouraged by Chancellor Robert Berdahl, formed a task […]
Freshman Scholar Takes Flight at Berkeley
Justin Hogenauer ’22 dreams of becoming an Air Force pilot, but when it came to choosing where to go to college, he wanted a top-tier school—one that provided the kind of broad academic, professional, and social advantages for which Cal is so well known. “The Air Force Academy was an option,” he says. “But the […]
Celebrating 85 Years of Alumni Scholarships
Established in 1934 in the depths of the Great Depression, the Alumni Scholars Program now supports 800+ undergraduate scholars each year, awarding more than $2.2 million in financial aid.
A Letter from the Executive Director | Fall 2018
I have so much to be grateful for as we prepare to enter a new school year. I am still thrilled by the opportunity to serve as executive director of the Cal Alumni Association (CAA)—an opportunity made possible by the exceptional education I received at Cal. Each day, I collaborate with an amazing community of […]
The Value of My Public Education
Betty Yee ’79 made her first political act at age 13: a plea before city officials not to close the local school. The move would force her to bus to school, away from her responsibilities to her family business. Her act “was about giving a voice to people who didn’t speak English,” Betty says. “That’s […]
The Thrill and Awe of UC Berkeley
Independent and driven, Linnea Norton ’19 displayed leadership talent as a toddler with her earliest phrase to her mother: “Nea do it!” she protested. Now a recipient of CAA’s Leadership Award, Linnea continues to drive her own success. Prior to entering Cal as a transfer student and molecular environmental biology major, she studied veterinary science […]
Everyone Needs a Hand
Kruttschnitt Aspire Scholarship Program (KASP) scholar Pedro Flores, Jr. took the non-traditional route to UC Berkeley. An admittedly disinterested high school student, he hung out with gangs in his South Central LA neighborhood. “I had trouble staying away because my friends were gang members,” Pedro explains, who attributes much of his success to his mom. […]
Making Your Own Berkeley Way
Running and cycling. Both are fitting leisure activities for Phi Beta Kappa Cal graduate Glenn Kelman ’93, who operates at warp speed. Now the busy CEO of Redfin, an online real estate brokerage, Glenn chose Cal because “it was the best public university in the world, my best friend in high school attended, it had […]
Bringing Past and Present Together
The Cal Alumni Association (CAA) named the Bowles Hall Foundation as the recipient of the 2017 Loyal Company Outstanding Volunteer Group Award. The award honors a CAA alumni chapter that has maintained a meaningful relationship to Berkeley while successfully engaging its members through events, programs, and philanthropic opportunities. In 2005, a group of former residents established […]
Cal Alumni of Los Angeles Are on the Move
Cal and Stanford—besties? Yes, according to CAA’s Los Angeles chapter president Gerald Nicdao ’08. “We reached out to Stanford alumni with an invitation to join our Big Game viewing party, and a couple hundred Golden Bears and Cardinal fans got together for the Big Game. We want to broaden and deepen our connection to a […]
KASP Scholar Ups Her Cal Game
Accepted to all twelve colleges where she applied, including UC San Diego and Loyola Marymount, Frida Hernandez always had Cal in her sights. “I was used to being first in my class,” she says. “At Cal, everyone is, and some of my lectures are bigger than my entire graduating class. It means I’ve had to […]
Former Leadership Award Scholar Gives Back
Steve Sulack ’03, M.S. ’05 isn’t new to leadership. As an undergraduate, he was an outstanding Leadership Award scholar and treasurer of the Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honors Society. Now, he gives back to the community that supported him as a young student through the Sulack Family Leadership Scholarship he established with the Cal […]
