Born and raised in Oakland, Aisha Scott knows the pitfalls leading to a judicial system difficult to escape. Aisha was a gifted child whose love of reading had her literally bumping into street poles; and as a student, rarely having homework as it was completed before leaving school each day. Around the age of ten or [...]

What can touch us more profoundly than the stories our loved ones share with us? In the case of Crystrial Murphy, Christina speaks of the mental health crisis that turned her younger sister's life upside down, derailing the pursuit of her college education. Christina and Crystrial are multi-racial/cultural. Born in Berkeley to an African/Native American mother, [...]

Imagine being born into a world full of love and joy. The family cradling you and telling you how beautiful you are. Telling you how happy they are that you are here. That was not the scenario Adelaida “Ady” Rios was born into. Though she was as precious as any other newborn, her arrival ushered in [...]

Jean Black was raised in the East Bay cities of Oakland and San Leandro. From an early age she was aware of the imbalance of power between instructors and students. She realized the power educators had in supporting or derailing a student’s confidence and recalls encounters with teachers in the third grade leaving her with the [...]

Tyler Bennett is a cis-gendered gay man and Berkeley City College (BCC) student transferring to UC Berkeley, Fall 2021, majoring in Social Welfare/Public Health. Tyler grew up in two northeast Ohio counties spending formative years at the edge of Appalachia and adolescence in a “football” town. His personal struggles throughout school provided the impetus for his [...]

I'm always grateful for a lot of people who help and accompany me to get through the challenges in my life. As an international student who had mild autism during childhood, I can relate to people's feelings of suffering depression and mental stress. But thanks to my family and friends, especially my parents, who never give [...]