Matsui Center Cal-in-Sacramento Fellows

About the Program

Program Dates

During the spring semester, students receive academic instruction on topics related to California politics and policy, develop their original research proposal, and prepare for and apply to internships. During the summer, Fellows move to Sacramento to complete their summer internship and conduct original research.

Daniel Bui

Class of 2023
2023 Schaeffer Fellowship
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento

Daniel Bui is currently a fourth year majoring in Political Science with a minor in Global Poverty and Practice. Born in Oakland to two Vietnamese refugees, he has experienced hardships faced by working-class households, communities of color and refugees in the area. With so many aspects of his life being shaped by government programs and initiatives, he holds a deep passion for exploring public policy and governance—particularly in areas regarding affordable housing, education equity, and socioeconomic mobility. Daniel hopes to one day serve and connect marginalized communities with...

Beck Tran

Class of 2024
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento Student Director
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento

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...

Cal-in-Sacramento Fellowship

Cal-in-Sacramento is one of the University of California’s largest and most prestigious campus-based public service internship programs. For the past five decades, hundreds of Cal students have gone to Sacramento under our auspices to gain first-hand experience in the most dynamic state capital in the country. Many of these students have gone on to careers in politics, government, and public service.

Program Overview

Cal-in-Sacramento Fellows enroll in a 3-unit course (PS 110B) during the spring semester.

Fellows move to Sacramento in late...

Cal-in-Sac Research Fellowships

Research Fellowships

Cal-in-Sacramento Fellowship applicants are invited to apply to one of the following Research Fellowships, which provide additional summer funding in the amount of $2,500 for Cal-in-Sac Fellows. Research Fellowship applications are included in the Cal-in-Sacramento application form.

Irene Kou

Class of 2026
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento Student Director
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento

Irene Kou is a rising sophomore intending to major in Legal Studies at UC Berkeley. 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 Co-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...

Allyson Velez

Class of 2022
2022 John Gardner Fellowship
2022 Cali-in-Sacramento Student Director
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
Placement: California Health & Human Services Agency Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Raised in an immigrant household in Southern California, Allyson is passionate about creating solutions to health care challenges marginalized communities face. At an early age, Allyson’s father was diagnosed with a chronic health condition that required frequent interactions with the health care system. Through this experience, she became acutely aware of the high cost of health care and its disproportionate impact on BIPOC and low-income families....

2022 Cal-in-Sacramento Fellows

2023 Cal-in-Sacramento Fellows

2022 Diversity and Entrepreneurship Research Symposium

September 30, 2022 9:30am - 4:00pm

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 Color)- and women-owned, are faring across California and what can be done to strengthen them. IGS’s Diversity and Entrepreneurship...