Cal Parents Board

Parents board brings families closer to Cal

Chairs Eileen and Simon Chow Peg Skorpinski photo

Fall 2007 | For most parents, supporting their children is second nature. After 18 years of carpooling, coaching, and volunteering at school, some parents still feel a pang of regret when their student heads off to college: they’ll miss their child and that familiar connection to a school community.

But fear not: Cal Parents and its volunteer board help families become part of the vibrant UC Berkeley community. The board reorganized this fall and is strengthening its outreach to help parents connect to Cal.

“We enjoy helping create a smaller, closer, friendlier network with other Cal parents, helping them feel that they are really part of a community,” says Eileen Chow of Hillsborough, Calif., who chairs the board with her husband, Simon. “And we believe in the excellent education Cal offers.”

Board members are ambassadors for the university, and, in turn, can give the campus a parent perspective on many issues. They also make calls to welcome families of new students or invite gifts to the Cal Parents Fund.

Both UCLA alumni, the Chows have a son, Eugene, who graduates in business and rhetoric next year, and their eldest daughter, Connie, is a 1999 alumna in economics. Their middle child, Sandra, graduated from MIT, where the Chows also chaired the parents board.

“MIT was very far away, and getting involved there helped us feel more connected to her and her school,” says Eileen. “Our work there started us on the ‘university track.’ We had such a great experience that we wanted to replicate it at Berkeley.”

“Kids don’t always tell you what’s going on,” Eileen Chow adds with a smile. “We benefit a lot from learning about Berkeley through our involvement with Cal Parents.”