Karla Vega Cervantes: Seeing herself at Berkeley [Video]

“I was struggling in my classes, and through EOP, I discovered the Student Learning Center, which provided free tutoring to students,” Karla said. “That’s when I felt like I could do this. Through EOP and the Undocumented Student Program, I built a community and became an internal outreach intern to help others find theirs.”  

Karla was accepted to the Transcending Beyond Berkeley Fellowship, which opened up new opportunities for her. She helped pilot EOP Osos, which supports Latinx/Chicanx-identifying students. During the first summer of the program, the events attracted 20-30 students, and this year’s welcome event already has around 130 RSVPs. During this time, she also met her Latinx success counselor, Sandra Arias. Sandra has played a pivotal role in Karla’s life, providing not just academic guidance but also emotional support.

A highlight for Karla has been attending yield events — the part of the college admissions process where students have received their acceptance and are deciding whether or not …