Thesis: Leaders or Caretakers: Examining the Impacts of Ideological Diversity on California’s Legislative Leaders
As a UC Berkeley student, Varsha Sarveshwar dedicated herself to fighting for young people — in local politics, state politics, and student government. She aspires to a lifelong career effecting meaningful change in California through politics and policy, and she is excited to begin this career as a 2020-2021 John Gardner Public Service Fellow. As a...
Lesly Avendaño is a proud Oaxaqueña and community-college transfer. She is a senior now studying Legal Studies. Throughout her life, she has advocated for minorities and even led a movement to support undocumented students. She is passionate about socioeconomic issues that affect her community. She has previously worked in research centered around the impacts of climate justice on womxn of color and Indigenous communities. She currently mentors community-college students, teaches law to youth, works for East Bay Community Law Center, and is passionate about working on her research project...
Tara Madhav is a senior majoring in history and political science. Her research interests include twentieth-century American legal history, particularly with regards to the history of housing segregation and the history of educational inequality. Tara is an associate editor for Clio's Scroll, the undergraduate history journal, an undergraduate library fellow and a Travers Fellow at the Commonwealth Club of California.
Research Description: My thesis project examines the politics of integration in majority-black communities with a focus on the history of desegregation in East Palo...
Gracielle Li (she/her) is a second-year undergraduate student, studying Political Science, Psychology, and Legal Studies. Originally from the Philippines, she came to the United States at age fourteen. Upon matriculation, Gracielle has been involved in many organizations on campus: the Risk Resilience Lab as a Research Assistant, the ASUC as a Director of Basic Needs, the Migrant Advocacy Project as a Project Manager, and Zeta Tau Alpha as the Academic Mentorship Chair. Gracielle plans to use her experiences for her future career in Political Science research with a focus on Comparative...
Nabeela is a senior at UC Berkeley studying Political Science and Business Administration. As a first-generation Indian American, she cares deeply about Asian American and Muslim American advocacy. Nabeela has previously interned for EMILY’s List and New Blue Interactive, where she developed her background in political fundraising and digital strategy. Nabeela hopes to pursue campaign manager roles post-graduation to further her experience in political advocacy.
Research Summary: The role of politically extreme candidates operating within the framework of America’s two-party system...
Juliette is a fourth year Legal Studies Major, Public Policy Minor. Her concentration of study is in Constitutional Law and History. She received a Certificate of Commendation from the City of Los Angeles for her outstanding service in the community when she worked for the city. She previously worked for the Restorative Justice Center at UC Berkeley, where she helped build community and address social harm happening within the university. Juliette has been involved with multiple organizations on campus, ranging from her Political Computer Science club to participating in Latinx geared orgs...
Emily is a first-generation Chinese-American college student and a community college transfer. For the last six years, she has avidly volunteered for social and criminal justice centers, nonprofit organizations, homeless shelters, and mental health institutes throughout California. For personal reasons, she fiercely advocates for children, women, low-income families, and those with mental health conditions. She was a fellow in the Bridges Multi-Cultural Resource Center and now serves in the office of Sexual Violence and Sexual Harrassment Prevention within the ASUC Senate. Additionally,...
Tomi is an ethnic studies scholar and sociologist who is curious about her cultural and built environment. In her interdisciplinary honors thesis project, she is studying the politics of youth identity formation, the ethnic suburb, and spatial racial formation. Her broader intellectual passions include: cooperative business administration, sustainable economic development, system-impacted trans youth of color leadership development, and the nationalist and anti- imperialist politics of the Global South. In her free time, she likes reading critical theory, laying in bed with her elderly cat...