Ever imagine building your own organization on a prestigious campus like UC Berkeley? Attending a school with 40,000 students is a great opportunity to start your own project or business. Not only is there a wide client base, but you also have access to a large audience and a ton of experimental room as well as opportunities for learning and growth.
During my junior year of high school, I told myself that I wanted to concentrate all my energy into making a positive impact in these three fields: medicine/healthcare, education, and business. Thus, as a current pre-medical student at Berkeley, I began my journey towards medical school. On the other hand, I also had a strong ambition to create an organization that can provide free education to low income students. I wanted to establish a type of educational platform that is unique—one that offers various services tailored for different types of middle and high school students (visual, audio, and kinesthetic learners). However, when I was in high school, I had a lack of resources and connections to make this happen. Getting admitted into UC Berkeley not only opened up a variety of options for my idea, but it also provided the environment that was necessary to get my organization, the Omniscient Tutor, to launch. The great thing about college campuses is that it’s the perfect place for recruiting and getting acquainted with individuals that have the same passion as yourself.
The Omniscient Tutor
The first step in creating an organization is establishing your target audience and mission. If you have that figured out, then you will need to think of the ways on how you are going to get your product and service across to your audience. This information is essential to have in the very beginning so that the purpose of the organization is solidified. For my non-profit, the Omniscient Tutor, our mission is to assist middle and high school students using an online network assisted by group tutoring, instructional videos, and a Q&A forum with an instructor team consisted of undergraduate students from the top 100 universities. After figuring out your organization’s mission, the next biggest step is finding like minded people that believe in your vision. It’s essential that you establish your executive team early on to help you carry out your organization’s administrative tasks. For example, I created an executive role/officer’s document that details the exact responsibilities of each member on this board (Recruiting Officer, Historian, Internal Chair, External Chair, Vice President, President). This gives clear guidance to everyone on my team and how their position directly assists the Omniscient Tutor on accomplishing its long term goals. Another reason on why an executive board should be established early on is so that you can alleviate some weight off your shoulder. All you need to do is to disseminate the tasks down to your officers so that they can do it for you while you focus on the most important objectives and the bigger picture.
iTOT Officer Positions
Once your team has been solidified, it’s now time to take advantage of what universities, like UC Berkeley, offer: a diverse range of students that can act as members to your organization. In order to have recruiting access to large events, both virtual and in-person, you will need to register your team as a student organization. This gives you rights to tabling on campus, access to on campus room reservations, as well as funding from the ASUC. Being a student organization at Berkeley requires a lengthy application process (this website outlines the exact requirements you need to be officially recognized as a RSO—Registered Student Organizations: https://lead.berkeley.edu/create-an-org-2/). However, it’s well worth it at the end because it provides your organization with an option for ongoing recruiting and marketing/advertising opportunities every school year.
Hence, this is the reason why I decided to establish an organization at UC Berkeley! If you have an idea for a project, then don’t hesitate and use the campus to your advantage
If you enjoyed this blog post, then please check out my 1st post here as I give you a glimpse of my Cal YouTuber life. If you want to know how I became a YouTuber or how you can become a YouTuber, then this is the blog for you. Please connect with me if you have any questions or additional resources that you would like!
Youtube video of Vincent's Life at the College Dorms(link is external)(link is external)
Youtube video of Vincent at Calapalooza: UC Berkeley Club Day