[Berkeley Showcase booths. Photo Credit: Yujun Lee]

The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) hosted its Berkeley Showcase event on November 2nd, 2024.

The Berkeley Showcase is an annual event held within the UC Berkeley campus that aims to show campus life for prospective first-year and transfer students.

The day-long event, which ran from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., offered visitors comprehensive insights into university life.

Check-in began at 8:30 a.m. and continued until 11 a.m. for registered participants.

Following registration, participants gathered at the Wheeler Hall Auditorium for a welcoming message from students and the associate vice chancellor of enrollment.

The welcome session was followed by a resource fair, where different programs hosted booths highlighting their academic offerings.

There are seven undergraduate departments in UC Berkeley: the College of Chemistry, the College of Engineering, the College of Environmental Design, the College of Letters & Science, the Rausser College of Natural Resources, the Haas School of Business, and the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society, which was established in 2023.

The fair featured booths from various departments and programs, such as Berkeley Haas, the Berkeley College of Letters & Science, Berkeley EOP STEM, CalTeach, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Berkeley Engineering, and Berkeley M.E.T.

Each booth provided informational pamphlets and was staffed by student volunteers available to answer questions.

Throughout the day, visitors could attend three different breakout sessions, offering deep dives into specific programs and campus life.

These included admissions information, “Your Home at UC Berkeley,” a session about campus life, and major-specific sessions such as “Becoming a Berkeley Engineer,” “Empowerment in Computer Science,” and “Envision Haas: Business Transfer Applicant Session + Student Panel.”

Campus tours operated from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for registered participants.

Each hour-long tour accommodated about twenty participants led by a student guide.

While English tours were given from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., additional Spanish and Mandarin tours were offered at 2:30 p.m.

During the tours, guides shared various stories and personal experiences while walking around the campus.

Visitors learned about UC Berkeley’s history, including that the university’s creation was made possible by the Organic Act, which was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.

Guides also explained that the university’s colors, Yale Blue and gold, were chosen because UC Berkeley was founded with help from Yale professors, while the gold symbolizes California’s gold rush.

Tour guides highlighted UC Berkeley’s contribution to the world, noting its thirty-seven Nobel Prize laureates, including fourteen currently teaching on campus, and notable alumni such as Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple.

Through the comprehensive program of tours, presentations, and information sessions, prospective students gained valuable insights into life at one of America’s premier public universities.