My name is Hugo and I am privileged to be spending two semesters in what might possibly be one of the world’s most unique learning environments — something just over a year ago I would’ve never thought I would be doing. At the time I had finished my first master’s degree in Corporate Law and had begun a second master in Financial Law at Leiden University, The Netherlands. I just returned to Holland after spending part of the summer in London, where I did an internship at a renown law firm. The experience had made me realize the amount of energy and fulfillment I got spending time abroad, in a place where nobody knows you and your only resource is yourself. I had thought of studying abroad before, but never made serious work of it. Since I was slowly reaching the end of my student years, it occurred to me this was my final chance to pursue that dream. However, after four degrees in law, my appetite for more legal education had been satiated. In a world that keeps changing at an ever higher pace, I was looking for something to make me understand and own that change.
In my search for a fitting experience abroad, I stumbled across Berkeley. Kilroy, an agency which helps students with a variety of things, brought the Berkeley Extension International Diploma Programs to my attention. I was immediately interested because of the location of the program: next to Silicon Valley, breeding ground of innovation, and San Francisco, a city with a culture really unique for the States. While I was looking a bit deeper into Berkeley, I learned about the Berkeley Haas Global Access Program, or “BHGAP”. After talking with a number of people about the International Diploma Programs and BHGAP, I soon realised BHGAP was the perfect match. In addition to the location, BHGAP provided the opportunity to study at Haas, one of the world’s best business schools. It also has a very non-traditional set of courses, which have a more practical focus and are widely applicable. Lastly, BHGAP connects students to Bay Area companies by organising site visits, guest lectures and other events, a feature I believe is quite unique to the program. Aside from these factors, the BHGAP application frame closes only two months before the program starts, which allowed me to start the next semester already.
After a few weeks of consideration, I applied for the Spring 2019 semester. Although I had read quite a lot about the program itself, I had no idea what was actually ahead of me. I took a dive into the unkown — and I loved it. To me, part of the experience was about going to the bay with a blank sheet of expectations. I was going to explore a new part of my interests and tried to be as open minded as possible. A few months later, I realised that mindset is actually one of the key aspects of Berkeley and the Bay Area. What I did know was where I was going to live: I rented a room in the International House — a campus-style residency which houses a very diverse mix of almost 700 students. A friend of mine recommended it to me and although I had my doubts at first, it ended up being an enormous addition to my time in Berkeley. First, because of its location. The International House is in the epicentre of all places you need to be. Within a 5 minute walking distance are Haas (classes), the stadium (with a small gym), the fraternities and the Berkeley Hills (great for hiking). The area is the heart of the student community and very lively. Second, because the International House is a unique opportunity to easily get in touch with hundreds of very different students. The International House focuses on getting a diverse group of residents and does a lot to facilitate social connections between them — such as going to the Golden State Warriors or the biannual Boat Party. Thirdly, the International House rent is including three meals per day, which means you will not have to do groceries or cooking. Although I love to cook, it does allow you to spent more time enjoying your Berkeley experience.
It’s the different experiences that shape us from who we are to who we will be.
My first week in Berkeley was all about filling that blank sheet. I used most of my time to see what opportunities were in front of me that semester — both in terms of people and activities. It didn’t take long before I realised those opportunities were almost endless. Berkeley has a very strong affection with diversity, which is noticeable in every part of your daily life here. It’s students come from any kind of culture and background you can think of. The university itself is active in a wide range of fields and a leader in many of them. The city of Berkeley is small but filled with different cultures; the gourmet ghetto, an area with a abundant variety of little restaurants is a great example. Across the bay — only a 20 minute ride — is San Francisco, a city renown for its diversity and inclusion. This all follows from the fact that California, and especially the Bay Area, has been a destination for immigrants ever since the first people crossed the mountains. Even the land itself — California — is one of great contrasts, with the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Nevada mountains in just 3 hour driving distance from each other.
It’s precisely that diversity which shaped my personal development during my time here. Berkeley does not promote a single way of thinking; it promotes all of them. In addition to my courses at haas, I visited a robotics conference, saw an animator from Pixar do a live animation and attended guest lectures on a wide variety of topics — all the while getting to know so many inspiring people and their stories. BHGAP even adds an extra dimension by organizing many company visits — from tech giants like Google to young startups like Boosted. Having such a diversity of experiences did not only help me gain a better understanding of the world, it also brought me a better understanding of myself. As a bonus, it left me with friends all over the world: from Brasil and Mexico to India and Hong Kong.
Today, one semester later, I’m back in Berkeley again. This time however, I know exactly what to expect. I decided to return for another semester of BHGAP because I only took a dive in that endless pool of learning opportunities. Now, it’s time to swim. There’s so much going on in the Bay Area, it’s hard to grasp it all in a year — let alone one semester. But that’s the beauty of being in Berkeley. You can come unprepared, might not even know what you’re looking for, but you will still get the same experience. Nothing can prepare you for everything that’s in the Bay. All you need to do is walk up the spring board, take a deep breath and…
go!
See http://bit.ly/HaasGlobalAccess for more info on the Berkeley Haas Global Access Program.
