Student Achievement

Shaped by a world of experiences

Four finalists for the University Medal — the cream of Berkeley’s academic crop — share insight into what makes exceptional students tick

Amar Kishan: Forget luck, ‘believe in hard work’

Hometown: Davis, Calif.

Major: Molecular and cell biology/public health, minor in chemistry

Favorite class at Cal: History of Art 51 (Introduction to Medieval Art) and Chemistry 3A (Organic Chemistry). The former introduced me to an entirely new subject of study, one which I had not appreciated before…The latter was the first lecture I had at Cal. The instructor, Steven Pedersen, emphasized “thinking outside the box” and using “chemical intuition” over rote memorization. Learning how to think about the “whys” of any given process influenced my interests in research.

Proudest accomplishment: I served as co-editor-in-chief of the ISSUES Berkeley Medical Journal, founded a chapter of the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children, lead the Hindu Students Council on campus, and conduct neuroanatomy research on the cat auditory system.

Who has been your inspiration? My immediate family — my older brother, father, and mother — have all inspired me to value my opportunities in life, to work hard, and to be a good person, and I owe 100 percent of my success to their efforts.

Thing I’m worst at: Dancing

Post-graduation plans: Pursuing an M.D. through the Health Sciences and Technology program, a collaborative initiative between Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Elaine Castillo: Reading with ‘critical joy and wondrous inquiry’

Hometown: Milpitas, Calif.

Major: Comparative literature

Favorite class at Cal: Robert Kaufman’s class on 20th- and 21st-century poetry and sociopolitical engagement helped me to further explore and develop my thoughts about the relationship between poetics, aesthetics, and ethics.

Proudest accomplishment: I am honored to have received the Eisner Award [recognizing creative talent] in writing three times.
Who has been your inspiration? My father was a surgeon, as well as an eccentric bibliophile with a generous and adventurous readerly eye. He encouraged me to read everything — poetry, philosophy, fiction, religious texts, scientific texts — with critical joy, with wondrous inquiry. Because of him I was raised not merely on the established canon of American or European literature, but also to seek the random, the unknown, the so-called “minor,” and especially the translated. I would not be the reader I am today without him; and it goes without saying that I could not be the writer I am without being the reader I am. My father died last October. If there has ever been a turning point for me, his loss is it.

Things I’m worst at: Sports! Guessing a person’s age. Getting around to taking driving lessons.

Post-graduation plans: I am currently working on a book of novellas, entitled Postcard from the Volcano, as well as a book of poems…. Really, the only plans I have are to read and read and read, and to write and write and write.

Joel Portillo: ‘I wanted to shatter all the stereotypes’

Hometown: El Salvador, and Los Angeles, Calif. (since age 11)

Major: Psychology, with a minor in Spanish literatures

Words to live by: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Emerson

Proudest accomplishment: That I can look back to my university years and know that I did not only devote my time to academics but also managed to do what I love: volunteering and promoting college awareness in groups that are often expected to fail and are therefore “tracked” into failing.

Important lesson learned: I doubted myself coming into this university. I always felt vulnerable because as an ESL Latino student from an inner-city school, I wasn’t expected to do very well. I have to admit that at times I almost gave in to those expectations. But then I remembered what I stand for: I am not only Joel. I am Latino. I am ESL. I am an immigrant. I am Salvadorean. I am from “the ghetto.” I wanted to shatter all the stereotypes that are associated with the different aspects of my identity. I am now graduating and can honestly say that I have learned to be confident and feel good about myself.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I can see myself as a professor, running for local office in Los Angeles, publishing books. Options are unlimited, and I love that!

Betty Sousa: Connecting public health and the environment

Hometown: Davis, Calif.

Major: Nutritional science

Favorite class at Cal: My Sustainable Gardening seminar, for letting me get my hands dirty and providing me with a solid grounding to begin studying and wondering about the environment and food…. Organic Chemistry for really changing the way I look at the world around me. The Human Diet and Earth Resources and Society for connecting so many different ideas and putting them into such a relevant and essential context. Medical Anthropology for providing me with a new way of thinking about the role all of the science I’ve been studying plays in our world.

Turning point: A year and a half after the levees broke in New Orleans, relief organizations were still calling for volunteers to help with recovery and rebuilding efforts. Though I could only spend two weeks there this winter, I was moved by the amazing people I met and the tireless work they continue to undertake there. I also came to more fully comprehend the violence of government inaction and the importance of continuing engagement….

Recent accomplishment: The sixth-graders at camp (for the Diabetes Prevention Project) taught me the dance moves to one of their favorite songs, “Walk It Out.” I finally gained their approval, reaching a level of semi-reasonable competence with the footwork.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Likely back in school, hopefully working excitedly on something related to public health and climate change.

Steve McConnell photos