On Friday April 23rd, The Your Future at UC Berkeley workshop was held online for students aspiring to find their place at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). Hosted by Victor Flores, a UCB student, and speakers Esau Torres, Pedro Rodriguez and Adrian Portillo from the prospective “Alpha Gamma class”. Presenters shared their advice and experiences to students gearing their academics towards being accepted into UCB.
Flores began by explaining the differences between a CSU and a UC. “Everybody is different. Depending on what kind of major you want, the kind of lifestyle, cost of housing, even graduate programs and network.”
“Take a look at the major you need,” he continued. “Take a look at the programs each university has and then decide.”
Flores then went through the application process and recommended assist.org to help students figure out the requirements for their respective majors,
“Start early. It’s never too early. You don’t want to get to the end of the finish line and realise your GPA is too low, or you took the wrong classes.”
The next section, led by Esau Torres, covered common obstacles when applying to UCB. Torres gave advice on paying for tuition, how to deal with “imposter syndrome” and shared some of his personal experiences when first being accepted into UCB,
“I remember sitting in my first Political Science class. I sit in the front, I’m all excited and I remember the professor starts talking, “ Torres said. “Like (in) the military, all of the students start taking notes. The teacher is talking. I have no clue what she’s saying. So I felt like I didn’t belong. I thought someone made a mistake.”
Torres then powerfully told students that they did not make a mistake, and that sometimes we just need to, “get up to par.”
Pedro Rodriguez continued the conversation, covering social capital and explaining how networking with like minded individuals and communities can help students discover opportunities aligned with their goals.
“Create an elevator pitch,” Rodriguez said. “Take 20 seconds to one minute to share your story.”
Ending the presentation, Adrian Portillo spoke about building one’s foundations for success, emphasising that students should “put yourself out there and ask for help when you need it.”
The presentation finished up with a raffle for a T-Shirt designed by presenters Rodriguez and Torrez, with final words from Torres,
“We’re available for any type of mentoring. If any student here today would like to talk to us individually or as a group, we are more than happy to.”
