I hope this message finds you well! At a time of year when it is traditional to give thanks, I am feeling deeply grateful that I have so much good news to share about the Berkeley Connect mentoring program:

• New data shows that, compared to non-participants, students who participate in Berkeley Connect perform better academically, are more likely to stay in school, and feel a greater sense of belonging at UC Berkeley. 
• The mentoring that students receive through Berkeley Connect has been recognized as a crucial stepping-stone towards undergraduate research.
• As they complete their PhDs, the graduate students who serve as Berkeley Connect mentors are getting good jobs in their chosen fields.
• As the university determined its budget priorities, a chorus of faculty, students, and alums have all expressed support for Berkeley Connect.
• Recognizing that the mission of Berkeley Connect reflects the core values of UC Berkeley, the university has renewed its funding commitment to Berkeley Connect, to be supplemented by vigorous fundraising efforts.

Please read on below for more details, and some personal stories about lives touched by Berkeley Connect. During this season of gratitude and generosity, I invite you to make a gift to Berkeley Connect. Every dollar makes a difference, and helps us reach more students with our simple but powerful message: "You belong here."

Wishing you and yours a happy and peaceful holiday season--

Sincerely,

Maura Nolan
Director, Berkeley Connect
Associate Professor of English, UC Berkeley

"For someone from a lower-income background transferring from a community college....making connections with faculty was particularly important to me. I chose UC Berkeley because I wanted to involve myself in research....However, I was so intimidated by the idea of asking for help from faculty that I completely avoided all opportunities for interaction with professors....Due in part to the confidence that Berkeley Connect inspired in me, and the mentorship....I was able to seek out the help I needed and build relationships with faculty....These relationships were invaluable to me in generating a proposal for a research project, securing a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.... completing an honors thesis, and completing applications for graduate study...I ultimately received admissions offers from Chicago, Cornell, Harvard, San Diego, Stanford, and Wisconsin."

--UC Berkeley and Berkeley Connect alum

About 60% of Berkeley undergraduates currently engage in "discovery experiences"- research, creative work, entrepreneurship, or public service. A new campus initiative aims to increase participation to 100% by 2022. As shown in the quote above, mentoring of the kind provided by Berkeley Connect creates "research readiness" in students.   Berkeley Connect mentors show students how to set manageable goals; how to approach faculty; how to seek out programs and funding available on campus.  Berkeley Connect lays the foundation for a fulfilling undergraduate education, as the first step on a "mentoring ladder" that each student can climb towards a culminating discovery experience.

 

"In the my interview for the tenure-track job I ended up landing, I talked about Berkeley Connect....because it was a small liberal arts college and it was really important to make the case for why I would be able to flourish in that kind of atmosphere, coming from a big place like Cal."

--former Berkeley Connect mentor

Berkeley Connect benefits graduate students as well as undergraduates. The graduate students who serve as Berkeley Connect mentors not only get valuable support for their doctoral research, they gain mentoring experience that can help them on the job market. Since 2010, two hundred outstanding UC Berkeley graduate students have received Berkeley Connect fellowships. Of the 90 Berkeley Connect Fellows who have graduated, 85% are currently employed in academia. When you make a gift to Berkeley Connect, you are helping to fund fellowships for Berkeley Connect mentors.