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Rebekah Flores, a junior in Berkeley Connect Social Welfare, created this post to capture all the great advice students shared with each other at a recent Berkeley Connect session: *** Berkeley Connect is a donor-supported program. To help Berkeley Connect reach more students, make a donation today!

Professor Katherine Snyder, faculty director of Berkeley Connect in English, came up with the idea of scavenger hunts as a fun way for students to explore resources available to them on and around campus. Her brainstorm was a huge hit! Fabiola Vazquez (pictured at right) says: “The library scavenger hunt has to be one of … Continue Reading »

Berkeley Connectors: We hope you are enjoying getting to know your Berkeley Connect mentor and the other students in your Berkeley Connect group. Your first one-on-one meeting with your mentor is a great opportunity to talk about your academic goals and to share any questions or concerns that you have. The motto of Berkeley Connect … Continue Reading »

Dear Berkeley Connectors: Welcome to a new semester and a new year. And what a new year it is! We are—individually and collectively—still living through much sorrow, trauma, and challenge. But change is in the air. It feels electric, hopeful, and like it carries a personal message for each of us. In my own life, … Continue Reading »

Berkeley Connecters: We hope you are enjoying getting to know your Berkeley Connect mentor and the other students in your Berkeley Connect group. Your first one-on-one meeting with your mentor is a great opportunity to talk about your academic goals and to share any questions or concerns that you have. The motto of Berkeley Connect … Continue Reading »

Dear Berkeley Connectors: When I became a professor at UC Berkeley in 2012, I felt excited, nervous, and more than a little disoriented. There were so many people, so many opportunities, and so many expectations. I had to figure out how I fit into this complex ecosystem, navigate new academic norms, and learn to express … Continue Reading »

We are thrilled to announce the addition of a new Berkeley Connect program in Biology this fall! Read this welcome message from faculty director Rebecca Tarvin: Berkeley Connect in Biology is launching in Fall 2020, and we are especially welcoming transfer students this year. Come join us for a semester of activities that will enhance your experience … Continue Reading »

With UC Berkeley classes and operations moved to the virtual realm to combat the spread of COVID-19, Berkeley Connect has transitioned to Zoom, the online tool used to host meetings and classes remotely. In the first-ever Berkeley Connect English discussion session hosted on Zoom by mentor Katie Bondy, students shared their concerns and struggles dealing … Continue Reading »

Berkeley Connect is all about face-to-face human interaction. Right now we need to get creative in order to keep our sense of community going strong, while supporting efforts to limit coronavirus (COVID-19) risk on campus. From March 10 through the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester, Berkeley Connect small-group meetings and one-on-one mentoring sessions will … Continue Reading »

Has a Berkeley Connect mentor made a difference for you? Have you made some new friends through Berkeley Connect? Did Berkeley Connect open your eyes to new opportunities? Has participating in Berkeley Connect made this big university feel a little smaller? Would you like a way to show your appreciation and support? YOU can help … Continue Reading »

Imagine that you and a small group of conservationists must decide which lifeforms are most important to save from the brink of extinction. It’s a horrible task to be given; the extinction of any living thing is a tragedy and could cause immense damage. The web of biodiversity that connects ecosystems with their inhabitants, and … Continue Reading »

It’s not every day that the work of a UC Berkeley professor becomes a viral sensation. Professor Ronald Rael spoke to Berkeley Connect Architecture students about a recent project that thrust him into the national spotlight and shared with them how the work emerged from his personal background and passions. Growing up near the border … Continue Reading »

Did you enroll in Berkeley Connect, or hope to enroll? Are you trying to figure out where to go the first week? Most Berkeley Connect program kicks off with a welcome event; sections begin meeting the following week at the date/time/location listed in the schedule of classes. Check the schedule below for the date, time, and location … Continue Reading »

Ever been in this situation? You have an opinion or an idea and you just know you’re right. You set out to prove it, and all the facts you line up seem to prove your side of the story. This is confirmation bias– the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs … Continue Reading »

Citations are the bane of many a student, absolutely critical yet seemingly so hard to master. In a recent Berkeley Connect in History discussion, mentor and recent History PhD-recipient Camilo Lund-Montano helped students understand the tricky world of citing using the Chicago Manual of Style, the accepted standard for historical writing.  Lund-Montano acclimated students to … Continue Reading »

Ever received a comment on something you wrote that really helped you? What about something that really didn’t help or just confused the heck out of you? We’ve all gotten feedback on our work, whether in school or in the workplace. What we make of that feedback can mean everything for growing as a writer, … Continue Reading »

The world is a confusing place and we humans struggle to parse all the information thrown at us on a daily basis. The one thing we can rely on through all our struggles is logic and problem-solving skills, right? Not so fast! In a recent Berkeley Connect Math discussion, Berkeley Connect Mentor and math PhD … Continue Reading »

Ethics is the study of right and wrong and as such, it means different things to different people. In a recent small group meeting for Berkeley Connect in Philosophy, some of those differences were discussed and debated. Berkeley Connect mentor Erica Klempner, who recently received her PhD in Philosophy, studies ethics extensively. She challenged students … Continue Reading »

Recently, the Bancroft Library here on the Cal campus held an open day for multiple Berkeley Connect programs to view some of the amazing items in the library’s collection that can’t be checked out by anyone. Students had the opportunity to examine volumes by some of the most influential authors in history. The Bancroft is … Continue Reading »

The ways that we listen and engage with music have changed drastically over the past 150 years. Starting with the invention of the phonograph in the late 1800s, sound systems have evolved at lightning speed to match musician and consumer demands. That brings us to the central question recently posed by Berkeley Connect in Music … Continue Reading »

Did you enroll in Berkeley Connect, or hope to enroll? Are you trying to figure out where to go the first week? Most Berkeley Connect program kicks off with a welcome event; sections begin meeting the following week at the date/time/location listed in the schedule of classes. Check the schedule below for the date, time, and location … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2019 to enter our Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. Ben Mitchell, a junior majoring in Cognitive Science who participated in Berkeley Connect in Sociology, produced the first-ever contest response in video form. View his winning entry here:

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2019 to enter our Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The winning entry below was written by Michelle Zhou, a first-year Psychology student who participated in Berkeley Connect in Social Welfare. During my first semester, I had my … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2019 to enter our Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The winning entry below was written by Madelyn Ahr, a senior majoring in Media Studies who participated in Berkeley Connect in History.  During the week that our topic … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2019 to enter our Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The winning entry below was written by Arelli Adams, a first-year Media Studies student who participated in Berkeley Connect in English.  English has never been my forte. Which … Continue Reading »

  Music enchants both the musician and the audience, captivating them with every lilt of the next note. The beat of an instrument can carry far beyond the confines of the classroom, stretching to every aspect of life. Students in the Music department at UC Berkeley feel this enchantment and this power, and many seek … Continue Reading »

Truth may be stranger than fiction, but fiction can be quite strange as well. The world of books is enchanting; it transports you to another world, where you’re experiencing another life. At a recent Berkeley Connect in English panel, professors and fiction writers Joyce Carol Oates, Melanie Abrams, and Vikram Chandra discussed their journey towards … Continue Reading »

  Your future after graduation may seem difficult to determine. There are many preconceptions about the “real world”: Your first job will dictate the rest of your life! Once you start on one career path, you’re stuck with it! At a recent career workshop for Berkeley Connect students, an alumna speaker and counselors from the … Continue Reading »

Sometimes, life throws a curveball and sends you barrelling along a trajectory you didn’t expect. It can be difficult to maneuver these experiences. However, it’s something we all face, whether it’s entering university, moving to a new city, or getting a new job. In a recent Berkeley Connect Math small group discussion, students discussed the … Continue Reading »

Do you think of learning as an activity primarily done indoors, in a generic classroom with uncomfortable chairs? A recent Berkeley Connect Social Welfare field trip shattered that stereotype. Students got a breath of fresh air as they walked around the Berkeley Botanical Garden in the hills above campus, enjoying the amazing variety of plants … Continue Reading »

Physicists get to puzzle over the great mysteries of the universe. But they were not born solving equations and pondering quantum mechanics. To get where they are today, professional physicists had to fit the pieces together in their own lives. Recently, a distinguished panel explained to Berkeley Connect Physics students how they solved the puzzle … Continue Reading »

Join the Big Give excitement on Thursday, March 14, 2019 and make a gift of any size to Berkeley Connect! It only takes a minute to give online at https://give.berkeley.edu/browse/?u=374. This Pi Day, make sure Berkeley Connect students get a slice! Thank you for your support.

It’s that time of the year. What’s your internship for this summer? Have you started looking? Already landed one? Scared that you haven’t even begun to think about it? Last week, Berkeley Connect in Math hosted a panel on summer internships to help demystify the process. The featured speakers were Rocky Foster, one of the … Continue Reading »

It’s another day of school, so you’re reading. And reading. And reading. Yet, nothing seems to be getting through your head. Retaining information can be a difficult endeavor in any field. It’s all too easy to read copious amounts of texts without actually having the information go to your brain. At times, the texts can … Continue Reading »

Welcome Week: Berkeley Connect Edition Welcome to a new semester, folks! The spring semester is a time to start anew, a time to stop procrastinating, to cultivate new friendships, to heighten your confidence. The first week of the semester was a busy one for Berkeley Connect, with welcome events happening all across campus.     … Continue Reading »

Did you enroll in Berkeley Connect, or hope to enroll? Are you trying to figure out where to go the first week? Most Berkeley Connect program kicks off with a welcome event; sections begin meeting the following week at the date/time/location listed in the schedule of classes. Check the schedule below for the date, time, and location … Continue Reading »

Moral guidelines can become difficult to determine when exploring new frontiers of science and technology. When pursuing scientific discovery, how do we know when we’ve gone too far? These challenges were on display when graduate student Amanda Mok led Berkeley Connect Computational Biology students in a discussion of ethical responsibilities related to gene editing.   … Continue Reading »

It’s sometimes difficult for students to see professors as people other than graders or lecturers. Recently, Berkeley Connect Sociology held an open, honest, and encouraging dialogue to help students get to know the professors who choose to teach sociology at UC Berkeley. Two new professors, Robert Braun and Yan Long, joined with experienced professor Michael … Continue Reading »

What can you do with a degree in English? Nervous English majors want to know! At a recent event for Berkeley Connect English students, three alumni on very different professional paths reminisced about their time within the English department and described how their careers took shape following graduation. Each of these alumni demonstrated how the … Continue Reading »

What does your future hold? Are you bound for success? These may seem like the opening lines of a kitschy psychic, but they are also questions many students ponder during their undergraduate years. Students with a strong social conscience may be drawn to majors such as Ethnic Studies, but wonder how their studies will translate … Continue Reading »

It’s midterm season. You know what this means –– studying, trying to focus, and drinking gallons of coffee. Self-care is especially imperative during the general stress of midterm season. There are some common problems that many students run into during this period. However, there are also solutions to these problems. It may come as a … Continue Reading »

Some may think that the field of philosophy is inaccessible, full of larger-than-life ideas that seem difficult to comprehend. From this point of view, the prospect of writing about philosophy can be daunting. However, in his recent talk to Berkeley Connect students on  “How To Write a Paper for a Philosophy Course,” Professor Niko Kolodny … Continue Reading »

Did you enroll in Berkeley Connect, or hope to enroll? Are you trying to figure out where to go the first week? Most Berkeley Connect program kicks off with a welcome event; sections begin meeting the following week at the date/time/location listed in the schedule of classes. Check the schedule below for the date, time, and location … Continue Reading »

  We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2018 to enter our Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The winning entry below was written by Mindy Dai, who participated in Berkeley Connect in Philosophy. Mindy is pictured here with the blue floor tile that provoked … Continue Reading »

As any student who has ever worked on a creative project knows, at a certain point the distinction between art and identity begin to blur. The artwork we create become extensions of ourselves and frankly, it can get us into quite a frenzy. So when an outsider, an intruder, bags on our artwork and adds, … Continue Reading »

How do scholars decide on the focus of their research projects? Berkeley Connect mentor Robert Connell began his academic journey far before he began the PhD program in African Diaspora Studies at UC Berkeley. Even before he entered York University as a Environmental Studies Major, his experiences and family background were shaping his academic interests. … Continue Reading »

Berkeley Connect in Philosophy mentor Austin Andrews began a small-group discussion on objective truth with the question: Are there blergs? For a moment, I suspected this could be an insider’s jargon, popularized by a famous Aristotle essay I’d never read. I half-expected another student to answer, but from the muttered whats? and furrowed brows, I … Continue Reading »

  DDUN DDUN DUN DUN… Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony begins with four notes that create a burst of intensity, one that never seems to end. Through the entire piece, these four notes are iterated upon, weaving each movement into the next. These notes transcend time and space, re-appearing in modern music and movie scores. Berkeley Connect … Continue Reading »

Did you enroll in Berkeley Connect, or hope to enroll? Are you trying to figure out where to go the first week? Each Berkeley Connect program kicks off with a welcome event; sections begin meeting the following week at the date/time/location listed in the schedule of classes. Check the schedule below for the date, time, and location … Continue Reading »

  Ready for some good news? Click here to read about all the positive developments Berkeley Connect is celebrating. May your holiday season be filled with the joys of community, and connection!

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Fall 2017 to enter our Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The winning entry below was written by first-year Sean Tseng, who participated in Berkeley Connect in Music. Pictured: Sean displays the cupcakes she won for her Berkeley Connect classmates. … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Fall 2017 to enter our Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The winning entry below was written by senior Danny Hutto, who participated in Berkeley Connect in Philosophy. Danny (left) is pictured here with his Berkeley Connect mentor Richard Lawrence. … Continue Reading »

When graduate student Amina Alkandari asked a small group of Berkeley Connect Architecture students she is mentoring, “Who pulled an all-nighter this past week?,” five hands went up. With projects, exams, and paper deadlines, Berkeley students are often on the brink of exhaustion. Spending all night working in the studios of Wurster Hall is a … Continue Reading »

“Like the toilet, the footnote enables one to deal with ugly tasks in private; like the toilet, it is tucked genteelly away–often, in recent years, not even at the bottom of the page but at the end of the book. Out of sight, and even out of mind, seems exactly where so banal a device … Continue Reading »

Every student with a paper assignment and a deadline looming has probably wondered, “How do I get started?” or “How do I keep going?” or “What am I trying to say?” At a recent panel for Berkeley Connect English students, graduate students and professors opened up about their own writing processes. Here are some of … Continue Reading »

  Berkeley students are lucky to study at a research university: new knowledge is being produced around us all the time. Many students would like to make research part of their undergraduate experience, but some aren’t sure how to begin. Recently, graduate student mentor Micah Brush led Berkeley Connect Physics students through a discussion of … Continue Reading »

Researchers at Berkeley can take advantage of new technology that allows them to conduct, for just a few thousand dollars, experiments that once cost millions. Students in Berkeley Connect Computational Biology recently got a special opportunity to visit the Genomic Sequencing Lab (GSL) in Stanley Hall. Facilities Director Shana McDevitt gave them an orientation to … Continue Reading »

Often the first question on anyone’s mind is a deceptively simple one: “Why?” Why do I have to go to class today? Why do cicadas emerge only once every 17 years? Why am I here? Philosophy Berkeley Connect invited faculty to entertain some of these “Why” questions. Of course, they were not able to address … Continue Reading »

Friends, pizza, nature, and beef skewers! Berkeley Connect held Welcome Events across Philosophy, History, Mathematics, ESPM, Architecture, and other departments. Here are some pictures from the first week of instruction: Computational Biology formed a circle to introduce themselves after Professor Nicholas Ingolia gave a brief presentation on Computational Bio and Berkeley Connect. English students were … Continue Reading »

Did you enroll in Berkeley Connect, or hope to enroll? Are you trying to figure out where to go the first week? Each Berkeley Connect program kicks off with a welcome event; sections begin meeting the following week at the date/time/location listed in the schedule of classes. Check the schedule below for the date, time, and location … Continue Reading »

Entering a classroom in Morrison Hall, Berkeley Connect Music students were greeted with an array of sensory pleasures: the speakers played “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter and the strong smell of garlic and Chinese takeout pervaded the room. Once the students had settled down, graduate mentor Elizabeth (Beezer) de Martelly explained the focus of the day’s … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2017 to enter our Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The winning entry was written by Surina Gulati, who participated in Berkeley Connect in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.   Berkeley Connect has given me a tremendous sense … Continue Reading »

  How do you envision the future? Self-driving cars, virtual reality, Hyperloop passenger pods? Whatever gadget or gimmick might reveal itself in the future, all technologies have one commonality: their reliance on energy. Tackling the question “How can physicists shape our future?,” Berkeley Connect Physics students broke into teams of three or four to brainstorm … Continue Reading »

“What is your dream job? What job are you applying for? Do they match?” As the Spring semester nears its end and employers begin recruitment for internships and part-time jobs, many undergraduates are thrown into the professional world unsure exactly how to  pursue their dreams or whether they have the skills they need to thrive. … Continue Reading »

As students start to think about what they will do once their undergraduate years are over, they can feel like they are being presented with many pathways and little direction. In an effort  to connect students with more information about their options, Sociology Berkeley Connect planned two major career-oriented events: one focused on academia and … Continue Reading »

Consumed by our present reality, it can be difficult to imagine history as anything but words and dates: abstract notions of the past. History majors, however, seek to bridge the gap between past and present. Recently, the faculty for Berkeley Connect History facilitated this discovery process by bringing students to the Bancroft Library. Located at … Continue Reading »

Students who are interested in making a difference in the world have to sift through a bewildering array of opportunities available to them here on campus. To help with this process, a panel of students who have been involved with  the LEAD Center, Peace Corps, and Public Service Center recently shared their experiences with students … Continue Reading »

Ethnic Studies Berkeley Connect invited alum Ruben E. Canedo, described by faculty director Michael Cohen, as “irrepressibly inspirational,” to share his undergraduate experience and provide insight into his post-graduation path. Canedo began the session by asking the group two questions: “Who here is the first of their family to attend college?” and “How many of … Continue Reading »

This semester, Berkeley Connect in English has reoriented its syllabus to survey many modes of art. The students are being encouraged to move beyond the familiar practice of analyzing written texts and explore other avenues for understanding human expression. Last week, Berkeley Connect English students visited the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Archive (BAMPFA). There, … Continue Reading »

Did you enroll in Berkeley Connect, or hope to enroll? Are you trying to figure out where to go the first week? Each Berkeley Connect program kicks off with a welcome event; sections begin meeting the following week at the date/time/location listed in the schedule of classes. Check the schedule below for the date, time, … Continue Reading »

As the Fall 2016 semester drew to a close, Berkeley Connect students were invited to share their favorite Berkeley Connect moments. All three posts that were selected for publication focus on a moment of connection. Here, Kevin Yang describes how a professor in Berkeley Connect in Environmental  Science, Policy & Management helped him see the faculty as … Continue Reading »

As the Fall 2016 semester drew to a close, Berkeley Connect students were invited to share their favorite Berkeley Connect moments. All three posts that were selected for publication focus on a moment of connection. Here, Sahil Sheth describes how his Berkeley Connect in History mentor helped him and his classmates see that the divide between undergraduate students … Continue Reading »

As the Fall 2016 semester drew to a close, Berkeley Connect students were invited to share their favorite Berkeley Connect moments. All three posts that were selected for publication focus on a moment of connection. Here, Taylor Chan describes how she connected with another student in Berkeley Connect in Ethnic Studies & African American Studies. … Continue Reading »

Berkeley Connect sends a simple but powerful message to students at UC Berkeley: you belong here. Every semester, students tell us that participating in Berkeley Connect increases their sense of belonging and confidence they can succeed at Berkeley. You can show your support for Berkeley Connect today during the Big Give, the 24-hour fundraising marathon for UC … Continue Reading »

Students at Berkeley care. We care about our environment, we care about social issues—and we care about academics. With midterm season well underway, you don’t have to travel far on campus to see students frantically studying or comparing the number of hours they slept the night before. Sometimes it seems that we can care too … Continue Reading »

Exploring cities, whether as a resident or as a traveler, is an architect’s bread and butter. To an architect, wandering the city is akin to visiting a living museum where buildings are the exhibits and the people, cars, and greenery bring those exhibits to life. Last week, Berkeley Connect Architecture students discussed their philosophies for … Continue Reading »

    Students at UC Berkeley know that a history of our university would be woefully incomplete if it didn’t mention Cal students’ longstanding engagement with issues of social justice. We are reminded of past victories every time we refuel at the Free Speech Movement café. Ongoing protests and open letters to campus leaders remind … Continue Reading »

“Hate. It’s a strong word,” began Berkeley Connect Music mentor Andrew Ly. He paused to wait for the chattering to die down but he didn’t need to—the students in the classroom were already curious to see where Andrew’s provocative opening might lead. A recent Berkeley Connect in Music discussion session was all about hate—starting with … Continue Reading »

  For the non-historians out there, the past is often taken for granted. We know what we learned in high school and we have the “facts” to back it up—the atomic bomb touched the world in 1945, humans touched the moon in 1969. But who decides what qualifies as history? How do primary and secondary … Continue Reading »

  As students, we can sometimes lose sight of the fact that we are surrounded by incredible resources on a daily basis. One such resource might be the people who grade our problem sets, discuss readings, and mentor us on a daily basis—our graduate student instructors. And one of their areas of expertise is the … Continue Reading »

A new year is beginning at UC Berkeley, and for many students, their first semester at a new school. Across the campus, Berkeley Connect programs have been holding their welcome events. Beneath the excitement and hubbub that marked each event, there was one consistent message that came across strong: You Belong Here. Despite the variety … Continue Reading »

  Did you enroll in Berkeley Connect, or hope to enroll? Are you trying to figure out where to go the first week? Each Berkeley Connect program kicks off with a welcome event; sections begin meeting the following week at the date/time/location listed in the schedule of classes. Check the schedule below for the date, … Continue Reading »

During “Dead Week,” while students were frantically completing their final papers and preparing for final exams, Berkeley Connect in English held a study break, to give Berkeley Connect students a chance to enjoy some refreshments and each other’s company. Between bites, some of them shared their favorite memories from the semester: Hayley Hooson said, “Last … Continue Reading »

The public galleries of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology are closed for renovation and won’t re-open to the public until 2017, but some lucky students in Berkeley Connect Math got a chance to tour a portion of the museum’s vast collection (approximately 2.5 million objects). The students had the opportunity to view historical … Continue Reading »

We see them standing at the front of lecture halls, or maybe meet with them during office hours, but it’s fairly rare that we get sustained time with our professors up close, or hear them discuss how they approach their own work. At a recent Berkeley Connect History small-group discussion, distinguished historian Martin Jay spoke … Continue Reading »

The 2016 presidential election is everywhere, filling every headline from Buzzfeed to the New York Times. Everyone has opinions to offer – but sometimes, it can be hard to make sense of it all. As the Spring 2016 semester drew to a close, students in Berkeley Connect in Sociology got a chance to discuss the … Continue Reading »

  Mathematics can seem abstract, separate from the “real world,” but actually, math is tightly wound into the history of humankind. At one of the last Berkeley Connect Math small-group discussions of the semester, students considered math’s origins in the ancient world, and the role it plays in our contemporary world. As a case study, … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2016 to enter our Berkeley Connect Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The third of three winning entries was written by Myron Liu, who participated in Berkeley Connect in Philosophy. My favorite Berkeley Connect moment was a discussion that began … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2016 to enter our Berkeley Connect Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The second of three winning entries was written by Danielle Veloso, who participated in Berkeley Connect in Sociology. My favorite moment in Berkeley Connect for Sociology was when … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Spring 2016 to enter our Berkeley Connect Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The first of three winning entries was written by Hoisum Nguyen, a junior transfer student who participated in Berkeley Connect in English. As a junior transfer, the feelings … Continue Reading »

What draws an individual to study a particular field? Or even dedicate their entire career to it? At a recent Berkeley Connect ESPM section, Professor Alastair Iles visited the class to discuss his career in environmental science with the students. Professor Iles is hearing-impaired, so he communicated with students by typing into a Word document … Continue Reading »

Being in college is not easy: studying around the clock, keeping up with extracurricular activities, and maybe even working a job on the side to help pay tuition. But the prospect of finding employment after graduation can be even more stressful and scary. Fortunately, Berkeley Connect recently held a career workshop to help students navigate … Continue Reading »

Undergraduate research may seem like a natural step for STEM majors. But for social science majors, it might not be their first instinct. At a recent Berkeley Connect in Sociology event, a panel of sociology undergraduates shared their experiences entering the world of research. Professor Kim Voss, the director of Berkeley Connect in Sociology, kicked … Continue Reading »

Despite what some politicians may tell you, the scientific evidence is clear: climate change is a real problem, and it’s a big problem. At a recent event jointly organized by Berkeley Connect in ESPM (Environmental Science, Policy, & Management) and Berkeley Connect in Physics, a panel of professors spoke to students about this pressing environmental … Continue Reading »

We all know a hit song when we hear one. But just what goes into making one – well, that gets a little more complicated. At a recent Berkeley Connect in Music small-group discussion, graduate mentor Jamie Apgar asked students what they thought were characteristics of a hit song. “A hit song is easy to … Continue Reading »

The opening of the brand-new, sleek, and beautifully-designed Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive building has been long-awaited. Berkeley residents and out-of-town visitors alike flooded the museum at its opening to the public at the end of January. Some students might not have wanted to brave the long lines snaking around the block at … Continue Reading »

What does it mean when your professor writes “so what?” on your paper? How can you make sure you get the best grade possible? At a recent Berkeley Connect in English event, Professor Hertha D. Sweet Wong joined a panel of Berkeley Connect graduate mentors to discuss how to get the most out of instructors’ … Continue Reading »

Recently, Professor Scott Shenker gave a special lecture to Berkeley Connect students on internet architecture. The event was fascinating and surprising in more ways than one. Shenker opened by speaking humbly about his academic beginnings. He got his PhD in theoretical physics, and admitted to having no training in computer science. “I can’t program my … Continue Reading »

English majors hear a lot of dire statements about the less-than-abundant job prospects awaiting them after graduation, but many remain hopeful about their futures despite these nerve-wracking warnings. Some are interested in going into journalism, a field that seems particularly risky to enter in the digital age. At a recent Berkeley Connect in English event, … Continue Reading »

We invited students participating in Berkeley Connect in Fall 2015 to enter our Berkeley Connect Student Voice Contest and share with us a memorable experience they had in Berkeley Connect. The second of two winning entries was written by Elizabeth Ellis-Falik, a senior majoring in Integrative Biology who participated in Berkeley Connect in Environmental Science, Policy & … Continue Reading »