Matsui Center Cal-in-Sacramento Fellows

Naydelin Chimil

Class of 2025
2025 Democracy Camp Student Director
2025 Democracy Camp in DC
2025 Cal-in-Sacramento
2025 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2024 Democracy Camp in DC

Naydelin Chimil (she/her)

Passionate about the intersection of environmental and social justice, Naydelin Chimil, an indigenous woman majoring in society and environment, is a recent transfer student. Fueled by firsthand experiences of environmental and social injustice in her community, she actively advocates against systemic racism. With a relentless curiosity and commitment to public service, Naydelin contributes a unique perspective to public policy. As a former Youth City Council Member for City District 1 of Los Angeles, she brings a passion for further learning about...

2026 Cal-in-Sac Fellows

Carlos Santana

Class of 2025
2025 Cal-in-Sacramento Student Director
2025 Cal-in-Sacramento
2024 Washington Fellowship - Fall
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento
2024 Ken Burt Fellow
Placement: White House Internship Program, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Placement Location: Washington, DC

Carlos is a first-generation Latinx student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Chicanx Latinx Studies. Born and raised in the California Central Valley, he is the son and grandson of farmworkers. His paternal grandfather was in the temporary agricultural worker program known as the Bracero Program, and first came to the United States in 1952. His maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States in...

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...

Irene Kou

Class of 2026
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento Student Director
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento
2024 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento

Irene Kou is a junior at UC Berkeley majoring in Legal Studies. Growing up as a first-generation, Asian American student living in a low-income community, she wants to further her understanding of the challenges she and others have faced first-hand. Through this past summer, she served as StudentDirector for Cal-in-Sacramento and interned at the Federal Defender’s Office. She also researched the generational differences in Asian communities using Holistic versus Western...

Molly Jacoby

Class of 2023
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento
2023 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow

Molly is a fourth-year student majoring in Sociology with a concentration in research methods and minoring in Journalism. Throughout her adolescent years, Molly felt confined by the close-mindedness of those in power in her hometown, and she created a goal to institute substantial societal change so that future generations would have the opportunity to feel heard and to express themselves freely. In her time at UC Berkeley, Molly has participated in two research apprenticeships with the Sociology and Political Science departments, in which she has studied the impacts of COVID-19 on...

Valeria Pasillas

Class of 2026
2025 Schaeffer Fellowship
2025 Cal-in-Sacramento

Valeria is a first-generation Mexican-American student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Political Science with a double minor in Education and Public Policy. Proudly raised in Fresno, California, in the heart of the Central Valley, she is the eldest of five children and the daughter of immigrant farmworkers. Valeria’s passion lies at the intersection of politics, education, and advocating for young, low-income students.

During the summer of 2024, Valeria interned at Bay Area Legal Aid in Richmond, where she served as a paralegal student intern. Bay Area Legal Aid provides critical...

Lauren Gonzalez

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

As the daughter of an immigrant father, Lauren is passionate about utilizing public service to fill in the gaps of unjust systems. Her background also includes family members exposed to environmental pollutants that had unjustly contributed to severe health problems. Due to her background, Lauren is focused on environmental justice and empowering disadvantaged communities. Currently, Lauren is majoring in environmental science and public health.

Previously, Lauren has worked in the ASUC Student Advocate’s Office as both a Financial Aid Caseworker and Director for...

How to Apply to Cal-in-Sacramento

Application

The 2026 Cal-in-Sacramento application is due by Sunday, October 5, 2025 at 11:59pm. The application includes:

Brief questionnaire Three ideas for your summer internship Two essay questions (250 words each) Resume Unofficial transcript(s) from all higher education institutions Optional: Supplemental application for one of three Cal-in-Sacramento Supplemental Fellowships
...

2024 Diversity and Entrepreneurship Research Symposium

October 4, 2024 9:00am - 1:30pm Strengthening Communities and Expanding Opportunity through Diversity and Entrepreneurship in California

In Spring of 2021, the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded a grant of more than $333,000 from the Wells Fargo Foundation to launch a two-year Diversity and Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program. The new initiative expands Berkeley undergraduate research, advocacy and internship experiences that focus on how small businesses, especially those that are POC (People of...