Cal-in-Sacramento

Jennifer A Serrano

Class of 2022
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Jennifer Serrano is a first-generation Latina student majoring in Political Science. She was raised by her immigrant parents in Elm Vista, a low-income primarily Mexican immigrant neighborhood. With the surge in hate crimes and violence against Latinos and other people of color, Jennifer hopes to use her degree to fight injustices for all people who face discrimination and inequalities, as well as to provide a fighting chance to higher education. Her love for her community has given...

Tristan Shaughnessy

Class of 2023
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Tristan Shaughnessy is a junior transfer studying political science. At community college, he wrote for the Diablo Valley College’s newspaper, The Inquirer. Watching county supervisors respond to a pandemic, he saw how the everyday decisions of elected and unelected officials impacted thousands of people. For him, this highlighted the importance of good governance and local politics, making him want to pursue a career in public service.

Tristan is currently working at Bay Area Legal...

Jackson Smith

Class of 2023
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Jackson Smith is a rising 5th year studying Political Economy and Business Administration. Born and raised in the Bay Area with strong family ties to California, he is excited to explore serving the state and its residents through a public service internship. He was inspired to enter a career in public service after witnessing the failures and limitations of governments to address critical social issues amidst the pandemic. His main interests lie in issues related to small businesses,...

Sinchana Srinivas

Class of 2024
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Sinchana Srinivas is a first-generation Indian-American intending to study Public Health and Political Economy. Having grown up in California and South India, she has experienced different healthcare systems and aims to continue to learn more about California-specific legislation and offices that aim to resolve issues regarding healthcare inequities.


She has worked with non-profits in Southern California and is currently involved with a nonprofit that connects...

Riley Thompson

Class of 2024
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Riley Thompson (she/they) is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying Political Science, Rhetoric, and Public Policy. They are passionate about policy and legislation, which they were introduced to in high school through a program called Youth and Government (Y&G). Now, as a staff member for Y&G, they are particularly interested in issues related to youth and are committed to empowering youth voices. This passion has resulted in their participation in a research project focused on...

Justin Toshima

Class of 2025
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento

Arriving at UC Berkeley as a junior transfer student, Justin is a driven political science major focused on applying political theories of ethics towards developing just public policy. During his time at community college, Justin was an active member of multiple student government committees within the Associated Students of Pasadena City College. He applied his passion for political science towards creating a more inclusive student environment through assisting in the coordination of on-campus events, and modifying the college’s constitution and by-laws to better represent the needs...

Beck Tran

Class of 2024
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento Student Director
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento
2023 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow

Beck Tran is a second-generation Vietnamese Taiwanese American. They grew up with two immigrant parents, one of whom was a refugee from Vietnam, resulting in their early exposure to issues regarding immigration, language barriers, and racial discrimination. As an aspiring attorney who is studying Legal Studies and Asian American Studies in their undergraduate education, they are especially driven to improve issues regarding diverse representation in positions of power, social equity for ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities, and diversity in business.

They are the 2022...

Maissa Trujillo

Class of 2025
2024 Schaeffer Fellowship
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento

Maissa is a third year political science major, also minoring in political economy, at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a first-generation college student from San Bernardino, where her upbringing sparked her passion for public service and how policy can impact communities like hers. Maissa has had the privilege of participating in the Cal-In-Sacramento Fellowship, as well as interning with the Bay Area JusticeCorps program. These extracurriculars, along with others, have allowed her to explore her passions concerning criminal justice and immigration reform, breaking...

Phoebe Truong

Class of 2025
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento

Phoebe is a recent transfer in her third year at UC Berkeley, majoring in society and environment with a minor in public policy. She is interested in equity in higher education, sustainability through solutions such as walkable neighborhoods and public transportation, public service, and more! She became interested in public service at her community college, where she was a student trustee for the San Diego Community College district. She also had the opportunity to intern with Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, and learned a lot from this great experience. Phoebe is passionate about advocacy and...

Hugo Vallecillo

Class of 2025
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento

My name is Hugo Vallecillo, and I am exchange student for the academic year 2022-2023 at UC Berkeley who was born in Valladolid, Spain. I am a full-time student in Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain, where I am completing a Dual Degree in Political Science and Law.

Since I became aware of the problems surrounding my community, I have been really interested in learning about socioeconomic inequalities and the difficulties that the most vulnerable face when accessing the political system.

In the future, I would love to focus my career on academic...