student life

What’s “relaxing?”

June 22, 2022
Alyssa Hurtado

Since I was 7 I remember being constantly on the move, going from one thing to another. After school, I had gymnastics at least 9 hours a week and was dragged to everything my older sisters had to be at – meetings, doctors appointments, sporting events, etc. My whole life, I haven’t known anything other than hustling. After being knowingly overwhelmed in high school with AP classes, sports, school clubs, and other extracurriculars, I decided that I wouldn’t let myself put too much on my plate when I got to college.

So I didn’t… until eventually I did. Freshman...

Why ALL FIRST-YEARS Should Do Summer Bridge (coming from a former bridgee!)

June 24, 2022
Ethan Collier

Hey there! Congratulations on making it to UC Berkeley! You are about to embark on an amazing four-year journey here. Now, you may be wondering… How can I make the most of my summer? Well, I have got the answer for you! Summer 2021, I was exactly in your situation. I was doing Golden Bear Advising (GBA) and wondering what else can I do to get a head start on creating my Berkeley experience. That’s when I signed up for Summer Bridge at the very last minute. Do I regret it? Absolutely not!

What is Summer Bridge (no for real though)?

Wait,...

How I figured out what I didn’t want to do at Berkeley

July 18, 2022
Lillian Jiang

At college, it seems that it’s essential to know what you want to do in the future, but what’s equally important is knowing what you don’t want to do. Before my freshman year started, I had a variety of interests and potential career goals. After one year at college, my interests and career goals have changed. I discovered new careers and interests and realized which careers and interests are not for me. The most notable of these careers and interests that I’m no longer interested in are consulting and economics.


Coming into Berkeley I was an intended double major in Data...

A Love Letter to My Hiring Class (The Tea on Being a UC Berkeley Campus Ambassador)

August 1, 2022
Ethan Collier

To my beloved hiring class,

We made it! The hiring process, five months of training, Cal Day, and the tours we did in the Spring finally paid off. We made it to the Summer! Now comes the lock-in shifts we have together, the tours we give on the weekdays, working the Visitor Center and Campanile on weekends, and bonding in our downtime by exploring the Bay and Berkeley.

This summer has definitely been a challenge for us. For many of us, this is our first real job. We have had to break out of our shells, take on new responsibilities and adapt to what...

A Reflection on my Chinese Minor-ing Experience at Cal

August 3, 2022
Josephine Lee

As mentioned in a previous blog, one of my accomplishments of the 2021-2022 academic year was finishing up my Chinese minor; and although that journey began just to practice my Chinese and have something nice to put on my resume, that experience was so much more fun and rewarding than I could have ever imagined it to be.

In order to gain a Chinese minor, you must have a minimum of 5 letter-graded courses and 20 units and a GPA of at least a 2.0. These courses include Chinese 10B or equivalent (students with previous language experience may test out of this course...

Berkeley activities you need to put on your bucket list

August 10, 2022
Lillian Jiang

Going to college means having almost unlimited opportunities available to you. With so many things to do at Berkeley – social, professional, and athletic events and opportunities – it can be difficult to decide what exactly to do, which is why students come up with a bucket list of items that they absolutely need to do before college ends. At Berkeley, two items that have to be on that list are picnicking on the glade and eating pizza from The CheeseBoard Collective.
The classic Berkeley experience is having a picnic on the glade. It’s 70 degrees and sunny, the breeze...

What It's Really Like to Live in a College Apartment

August 17, 2022
Kalysta

This summer, I lived in my first college apartment. In my first year, I lived in the dorms, which is the most common option for freshmen at Cal. During my sophomore and junior years, I lived in my sorority house. So, during my first three years, I was living in situations where I was more independent than I was at home. of course, but I still had a lot of help.

In the dorms, I could go to my RA if something was wrong with my living situation and get it fixed pretty quickly. I didn’t have to worry about cooking or cleaning beyond cleaning my side of the bedroom. I ate at the dining...