Berkeley Scholars' Core Principles

Dear Scholar Family,

Last year, one of the biggest mysteries of the program was figuring out how to identify the "essence" of the Berkeley Scholars (BSC) model. In other words, what type of disposition do we want the scholars to have once they graduate high school and enter college? What qualities do we want them to use as "weapons" against any obstacles they face inside (academic) or outside (life in general) the classroom?

After thinking long and hard about these questions, and taking a closer look at what it takes to excel at a top university, Lee, Carol, and I agreed that the answers to these questions could be summarized using four principles: Integrity, Maturity, Proactivity, and Humility. Below is a brief description of how each principle applies to the BSC model.

Integrity. To be a person of integrity is to be a person of your word. Therefore, it is important for scholars to follow through on their verbal and written commitments (e.g., as they pertain to schoolwork, studying, ASP and SA attendance, and so forth). In the event the scholar cannot follow through on something, we expect them to communicate with a staff member (e.g., mentor, coordinator, etc.) and let someone know.

Maturity. This principles was best summed up with Denzel's line in "The Great Debaters." Basically, scholars are expected to do what they have to do before they do what they want to do. It's weird, I've found that getting my schoolwork out of the way actually makes my "chill time" that much enjoyable!

Proactivity. To be successful in anything, scholars are going to have to be proactive with regards to seeking out help if they need it, and resources to help them navigate high school, college, and life in general. In addition, scholars are going to have to be "go-getters" with regards to making sure they achieve any personal, academic, and professional goals they set for themselves. One of the things we as a staff are becoming increasingly more concerned about is making sure we balance the amount of support and advocacy we give the scholars with encouraging them to advocate for themselves. We want the scholars to appreciate the support and advocacy they receive from their parents and BSC, without solely depending on it. Put another way, we want scholars to use the power and "know-how" they already have.

Humility. This principle really speaks to the type of impact we want BSC to have on a local and national level. We want scholars to realize that no one succeeds purely on their own. Everyone receives some kind of help and encouragement along the way. Therefore, we want the scholars to use their brilliance and the things they learn from their parents and through BSC in the service of others. Although there are only 21 scholars in the program, the goal of BSC is to show all youth who may think otherwise that it's cool to be a scholar and to handle your business in school. It's cool to be a person of positive influence amongst your peers.

Lastly, I want to emphasize that we as a staff know that how well BSC is able to help the scholars cultivate these principles depends on how well we as a staff embody them ourselves. Therefore this is not a "one-sided" thing, so to speak. We are holding our staff accountable to each of these principles as well.

So here are BSC's core principles moving forward. We are looking forward to seeing these principles manifest themselves in amazing ways, and for BSC to continue to soar to new heights! Thank you for your love and support during this process.

A young student interviews the president

Recently, I was browsing the web and came across an intriguing interview between a 5th grade male and President Obama. This interview inspired me, because it points out the signficance of programs like Berkeley Scholars. Imagine if Mr. Weaver (the interviewer) continues to recieve adequate support from a college prep program as Berkeley Scholars. He will soar. He will do amazing things and will have the tools and perspective necessary to act upon his potential. Without such a program, his dreams are subject to the bludgeonings of his environment and is set at a disadvantage because of the lack of access of resources. Berkeley Scholars, hopes to be the answer by expanding its reach in the near future.

Dolores Huerta visits the scholars

Check the Scholars out in the International Museum of Women monthly newsletter!

I.M.O.W. and Dolores Huerta Visit Stiles Hall in Berkeley Huerta inspires a group of at-risk youth

Huerta with B.S.C. students, who gave her flowers and a commemorative certificate

As part of our on-going commitment to reach out to our community, IMOW facilitated an event with Dolores Huerta at Stiles Hall in Berkeley last Tuesday, July 21. Huerta joined us, along with Global Council member Pat Martel, to speak to 15 students from Berkeley Scholars to Cal (B.S.C.), a program which gives at-risk minority youth the tools to pursue a college education by providing them with mentors and academic support from 5th to 12th grade. The students' enthusiasm was evident throughout her inspiring talk about community organization and the fight for social justice. Afterwards, Huerta chatted and posed for pictures with the students, many of whom wanted a photo and an autograph as a keepsake. We are deeply grateful to Stiles Hall, B.S.C. and Dolores Huerta for making this event possible. To get a behind-the-scenes look at Dolores' visit with I.M.O.W., be sure to check out our most recent blog.

Any amount you desire to donate can help us continue great programming. Scholars on the MOVE.

Donate to Berkeley Scholars

Choose whatever amount you are comfortable with. Your kind donation allows us to provide one-to-one mentoring for black and latino youth for 8 years.

Significance of Working with the Little Ones

Recently I and a few other BSC II scholars were given a chance to teach BSC III about middle school life and give tips that worked for us, and share experiences in which we learned from. Working with the younger scholars was a mutual benefit. For BSC III it was a chance to learn about a new chapter in their life, middle school. For us, it was an opportunity to step up and be the ones passing on our knowledge to people who look up to us. It’s very important for BSC III to interact with the older scholars, just as it is for all the scholars to interact their mentors, for the same reasons as well. We use our mentors for people to look up to and for guidance. Not only do the scholars get a role model who is in college, but they also get role models who are halfway there, in high school, getting ready for college. So, BSC III has everything laid out for them; how to get through middle school, examples of how to get through high school, example of the process of preparing for college, example of how to get through college, and how to strive in all areas. Working with BSC III helps us to build life skills such as learning how to interact with a younger group of children and how to plan a lesson, which was a lot more challenging then I expected. In a less academic aspect, having interactions between both age groups is a golden opportunity to build a relationship; BSC II scholars gets a chance to serve as big sisters and brothers, and BSC III scholars more role models for guidance. I really loved working with BSC III, and look forward to many more future interactions with them.

- Super Scholar Shantel

Summer 2009 - BSCII Summer Scholars

Hey All,

This is Julian speaking on behalf of the Berkeley Scholars 2 about how the summer is going so far. We are most definitely benefitting from the Math SAT prep from Celeste and hope that the English part will be just as beneficial. Even though the Math portion may not be my particular cup of tea, I know that it will help me for the PSAT we will all be taking in October this school year. That is only the first hour and fifthteen minutes. Around 5:15 we have our break and move on to the "big project". We are still in the beginning stages of choosing our topics and planning the way we want to organize our poster board. Overall, there haven't been any major problems with any of our peers and everyone is working with each other. There have been many group activities with each other which I feel is great and I think I am getting the same vibe from the other scholars. All is well on the Scholar Front.

-Julian Morris-Walker

A photo journal from the 2009 Berkeley Scholar College Tour.