Graduation 2019

From finding a home on this campus to finding a family, this special issue is a tribute to the memories we’ve made.

I’m so grateful for everyone who has reminded me to value each day, hour and minute. I only wish I had slowed down to spend more time making memories.

This academically rigorous institution and its remarkably challenging English program have given me the tools and strength to tell my story.

From Santa Ana College to my graduation from UC Berkeley, it's been a visual journey.

Suddenly, the office wasn’t just a new place that I spent a lot of time in — it was a place where I loved the work I was doing and I loved who I was doing it with.

And now that I’m looking back at it from the other side, when I wake up in the mornings, I feel overwhelmed by a different human emotion: gratitude.

UC Berkeley, it may have been a real nail-biter, but it was a great game. I’m excited and ready to play in whatever my next one may be.

I cannot help but feel thankful that the wider campus community continues to question norms and ask why — the same culture that changed me in 2015.

In these moments, I started to find a version of myself I could be proud of, and a composite of lighthearted, fun and funny moments emerged out of the months of haziness.

My path toward uncertainty hasn't been an easy one — nor will it be after graduation. But I'm fortunate that I won't have to walk it alone.