Published 9/11/2024 by Praniti Gulyani
For Sanya Agarwal, the UC Berkeley experience can be best described as an intersection of Einsteinian expertise combined with Columbian curiosity.
A sophomore at UC Berkeley, Agarwal— an Economics and Data Science Major— sits on a coffee table with a warm cappuccino between her hands. Reflecting the calculative precision that comes with her course of academic study at Cal, Agarwal takes two second-long sips, before setting her cup down and bursting into excited laughter.
“Before we begin, I have to tell you what happened in my CS class today,” she says. “I was sitting on my chair, and there was this boy in front of me working on his laptop. The class was very tightly-packed, so I caught a glance at his screen. As I read the name of the startup and searched it up, I realized that this was something I was also very interested in. I found this so funny and inspirational at the same time, and realized this is the Berkeley-coded ‘X’ factor that everyone talks about,”
Describing how this concept of ‘omnipresent’ inspiration transcends into her everyday life as an international student from India, Agarwal goes on to talk about her friend group which constitutes a major part of her community at UC Berkeley.
“I’m lucky to have found a solid friend group here at Cal,” she says. “As an international student, living away from home can get somewhat overwhelming. During finals week, for instance, I really miss having my mother around me. Back in India, she had her little ways of making exam time easier for me, and now that I’m away, I value that so much,” she adds.
However, Agarwal’s community at Cal helps her cope.
“With my friends, I think that the void is gradually reducing— if not completely disappearing— over time. I think there’s something about sitting in one room, and doing the same thing together. Whether we struggle, laugh, conquer or even cry, the entire essence of floating in the same ‘academic’ boat makes the task at hand a lot more emotionally doable,” she explains.
While discussing the most significant transition that she experienced during her shift from India to the USA, Agarwal says that her so-called culture shock wasn’t actually a shock at all.
“When people use terms such as culture shock, I’m always very confused— because, for me, the term is a paradox. I didn’t experience a culture shock as such, and in fact, the biggest distinction that I came across was actually very refreshing. I was surprised to see how much co-curricular engagement and out-of-the-box ideas are actually respected here, in the USA.” she says.
Further elaborating on her experiences with beyond-the-classroom inclusivity, Agarwal dates back to her high school days, with an emphasis on the highly book-centric life that she lived. “Back at home in high school, it was almost as though my abilities were unidimensional and could be measured only by my grades in STEM subjects. Berkeley taught me that there isn’t one set way to measure ability, and I came to feel more included. It’s like there is a community for every ability,” she elaborates.
Talking about the one piece of advice that she has for incoming international students, Agarwal urges them to find community and discard their comfort zone. “I know this might seem like very common advice,” she says. “But I really feel that the importance of talking to new people, going out there and introducing yourself is underrated. You will be surprised at the goal-to-goal connections that Berkeley gives you an opportunity to build. Like, you talk to someone, you learn about what they want from their lives, and then you gradually realize that you may want the same thing as well,”
Tempting as they may sound, Agarwal describes how goal-to-goal connections do not occur in isolation.
“In a place like Berkeley, I think it is also important to realize that opportunity must be combined with initiative. Whether you’re in an elevator or just sitting behind someone in class and looking over their shoulder (chuckles)... I think everything that we’re looking for as Cal Students is all out there. It’s up to us to crane our necks and take a long and meaningful look,”