I never had a clear path to becoming an architecture major at Berkeley. I didn’t even know if architecture was the major I was going to stick to when I initially came here, but with my time in this program, the organizations I joined, and the world-class experience of being in the #1 public architecture program, I was convinced that I was in the right place.
Growing up, I thought that going to university was a near-impossible dream. I grew up in the Philippines, where necessities weren’t always guaranteed. I always remembered my mom telling me to study hard so we could have a better life. School was my only leverage, so I did my best in my classes every day. Immigrating to the United States, with everyone else but my mom with us, I kept my promise to work hard in school to assure her I never forgot my goal of getting us out of poverty. By the time I reached high school, I questioned my drive to excel academically. My oldest sister was fortunate enough to go to college. However, with a family of five children, it became financially difficult for my family to send us out to college. My brother, whom I looked up to a lot, wasn’t able to go to college because of our financial situation. Seeing this happen, I became jaded and thought, “So even if I do try in high school, there would be no point in the end.”
I was pretty much navigating high school aimlessly, but thankfully I was able to join a program called Upward Bound to prepare myself for college. But even then, I was still overly pessimistic about my outcomes. I remember visiting UC Berkeley in 2022 with Upward Bound. I genuinely believed that this would just be one of the colleges we toured that I would never get into, so I never gave much care for that matter. But funny enough, I had no idea that 2 years later it would become my newfound home. I honestly did not know about the academic prestige that came with Berkeley until I got accepted. I like to joke that I wish I locked in more for that tour and appreciated Berkeley before I came here. Regardless, I still held on to my mom’s advice to work hard in school and try new things, as well as the advice given by my college prep program and my eldest brother. Even by senior year, I had no idea what major I was going to pursue. College had just been out of my mind. But I knew that I had always had a passion for art and creative design. Art has been a way I expressed myself and the stories I created, especially when I first came here to the United States. I’ve dabbled in traditional mediums of art, painting, animation, 3D modeling, and comics. With enough push from my friends and my brother, I decided to apply to college. I chose the most random majors such as business, engineering, undeclared… but a common factor was architecture for the colleges I applied to. To be honest, I never knew that Berkeley had architecture. Seeing the major show up in the application portal, I went ahead and applied. I thought it was interesting.
Fast forward to spring, when I was getting more acceptance letters; I was very surprised. I just never pictured myself being in college at all. I kept the idea of going to college out of my mind because I wanted to save myself from disappointment. Then, Berkeley was one of the last college acceptances I was waiting for, and dread finally set in. Not because I was afraid that they were going to reject me, but more so because I was afraid that I would be accepted and be met with the same rejection my dad showed to my siblings.
I remember sitting with the acceptance letters and thinking. Berkeley was the one that I contemplated with even more. I just never knew that a top university would ever accept me, but then again, my dad shook his head. I didn’t want to throw in the towel just yet. It took a couple of months of convincing my dad to let me go to Berkeley. Its architecture program was also world-renowned, and I would be relatively near San Francisco as well. I just knew that this would be a great setting for me to learn about the built environment. The financial aid resources would be something I was going to utilize as well. I told him that this was a risk I was willing to take, and now it has been fully worth it now that I am halfway done. I utilized many resources offered to us as students, especially financial aid, and pursued scholarships to help me with my tuition.
To be honest, I didn’t know much of what I was getting myself into. I didn’t even know if architecture was for me, and I didn’t know anyone in my family in the same industry as well. But with my time here in Berkeley, I immersed myself in the clubs and organizations and tried out new classes like 3D animation in my first year. I grew closer with a lot of my peers in architecture and found that the architecture program offered a unique community of people that supported one another. 2 years ago, I wouldn’t have thought that I would be creating massive models and be led by world-class architects. The late-night hours in the studio with my peers are something I cherish as well. I remember that I am not alone in this journey. In the end, I decided to stay in the architecture program. Keeping that curiosity and tenacity are characteristics that helped me find my place as an architecture student.
This is a story I share with my tour group when it comes to why I chose Berkeley. It’s okay to be unsure. Even though I never put college as my end goal while I was in high school, I always made sure to work hard regardless of what the results were going to be. I always believed in working hard and never throwing in the towel. Because if I did give in to the belief that my work would be for naught, then I would never have the opportunity to go to the #1 public university at all. I say, try anyway. Be as driven as I was. Whether it's going to a university or something else in your future, people will see your hard work and tenacity and give credit where it's due.