Matsui Center Cal-in-Sacramento Fellows

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...

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...

2025 Cal-in-Sacramento and Schaeffer Fellows Info Session

September 17, 2024 6:00pm - 7:30pm Interested in public service? Apply for one of our internship programs today!

Information Session: Cal-in-Sacramento Fellowship and Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service | September 17 | 6:00-7:30 p.m. | 119 Philosophy Hall

Speaker: Megan Collins, Institute of Governmental Studies

Sponsor: Institute of Governmental...

2023 Diversity and Entrepreneurship Research Symposium

October 6, 2023 12:00pm - 2:30pm

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...

2024 Cal-in-Sacramento and Schaeffer Fellows Info Session

September 18, 2023 6:30pm - 8:00pm Interested in public service? Apply for one of our internship programs today!

Information Session: Cal-in-Sacramento Fellowship and Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service | September 18 | 6:30-8 p.m. | 119 Philosophy Hall

Speaker: Megan Collins, Institute of Governmental Studies

Sponsor: Institute of Governmental...

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...

2023 Cal-in-Sacramento and Schaeffer Fellows Info Session

September 22, 2022 6:30pm - 8:00pm Interested in public service? Apply for one of our internship programs today!

Information Session: Cal-in-Sacramento Fellowship and Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service | September 22 | 6:30-8 p.m. | 119 Moses Hall

Speaker: Megan Collins, Institute of Governmental Studies

Sponsor: Institute of Governmental Studies...

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Paola Castellanos Martinez

Class of 2025
2025 Cal-in-Sacramento
2025 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow

Paola Castellanos Martinez (She/Her)

Paola Castellanos Martinez is a first-generation Latina student at UC Berkeley majoring in Political Science and Chicanx Latinx Studies. Raised in the San Gabriel Valley and daughter of two working-class parents, she is motivated by her experiences of growing up in an underfunded community to address issues surrounding prison, housing, labor, and immigration reform.

In her last year at UC Berkeley, she focused her thesis on studying the relationship between being an undocumented student to...