Matsui Center Cal-in-Sacramento Fellows

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,...

Ayline Ruelas is a 22-year-old first generation college student. She grew up watching both her parents having multiple jobs to make ends meet. It wasn’t until she decided to take advantage of her education at community college despite feeling uncertain and lost whether education was the right path for her. She realized a common denominator with first generation-low-income students like herself, not having the ability to succeed at the same rate as other students. In effort to challenge these...

Born and raised in the East Bay Area, Tristan Keene is the result of numerous public sector efforts to better her community, state, and country. AB 19 allowed her to attend community college for two years tuition-free, providing an inclusive and accessible educational setting that prepared her for the rigorous academic environment of UC Berkeley. The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 lightened the financial burden of being an independent college student by providing her and other students with grocery money every month. The Middle Income Student Assistance Act of 1978, which created the...

As the daughter of an immigrant mother and growing up 15 minutes away from the Southern border, Sofia’s upbringing included two very different languages and cultures. It is because of those unique experiences and interactions that she has always had a deep interest and understanding in the uplifting of her Latine community through policy and the field of law. Her personal experiences with challenges accessing professional opportunities and facing workplace discrimination, due to her background, further inform and inspire her undergraduate efforts. She works to increase access to...