Cal-in-Sacramento

Ana Iris Navidad Rayon

Class of 2023
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento
I’m Ana Navidad, a fifth-year transfer student majoring in Sociology and minoring in Education. I was born in Guerrero, Mexico and immigrated to the U.S at the age of three years old. My family decided to leave their homeland and immigrate to the U.S for economic opportunities and to escape poverty and violence. We moved to Oakland, California where I had to navigate a new language, culture, and a new school system. Receiving a public education and higher education in the U.S was important to me and my family because it’s an opportunity that was inaccessible in our Mexican pueblo...

Jennifer Rodriguez

Class of 2023
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento

Jennifer Rodriguez is a senior from a small agricultural town called Orange Cove in Fresno County. Jennifer grew up without a car in her rural community and dealt with hardships getting to grocery stores and appointments, especially during extreme heat in the Central Valley. Upon moving to Berkeley, she noticed the stark difference between public transportation in her community and in the Bay Area. After taking several classes that discussed city planning, she became interested in working in transportation planning to help increase accessibility...

Katherine Rodriguez

Class of 2024
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento
2023 Ken Burt Fellow

Ayline Ruelas

Class of 2022
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Ayline Ruelas is a 22-year-old first generation college student. She grew up watching both her parents having multiple jobs to make ends meet. It wasn’t until she decided to take advantage of her education at community college despite feeling uncertain and lost whether education was the right path for her. She realized a common denominator with first generation-low-income students like herself, not having the ability to succeed at the same rate as other students. In effort to challenge these...

Carlos Santana

Class of 2025
2024 Washington Fellowship - Fall
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento
2024 Ken Burt Fellow
Placement: White House Internship Program, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Placement Location: Washington, DC

Carlos is a first-generation Latinx student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Chicanx Latinx Studies. Born and raised in the California Central Valley, he is the son and grandson of farmworkers. His paternal grandfather was in the temporary agricultural worker program known as the Bracero Program, and first came to the United States in 1952. His maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States in...

Jennifer A Serrano

Class of 2022
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Jennifer Serrano is a first-generation Latina student majoring in Political Science. She was raised by her immigrant parents in Elm Vista, a low-income primarily Mexican immigrant neighborhood. With the surge in hate crimes and violence against Latinos and other people of color, Jennifer hopes to use her degree to fight injustices for all people who face discrimination and inequalities, as well as to provide a fighting chance to higher education. Her love for her community has given...

Tristan Shaughnessy

Class of 2023
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Tristan Shaughnessy is a junior transfer studying political science. At community college, he wrote for the Diablo Valley College’s newspaper, The Inquirer. Watching county supervisors respond to a pandemic, he saw how the everyday decisions of elected and unelected officials impacted thousands of people. For him, this highlighted the importance of good governance and local politics, making him want to pursue a career in public service.

Tristan is currently working at Bay Area Legal...

Jackson Smith

Class of 2023
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Jackson Smith is a rising 5th year studying Political Economy and Business Administration. Born and raised in the Bay Area with strong family ties to California, he is excited to explore serving the state and its residents through a public service internship. He was inspired to enter a career in public service after witnessing the failures and limitations of governments to address critical social issues amidst the pandemic. His main interests lie in issues related to small businesses,...

Sinchana Srinivas

Class of 2024
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Sinchana Srinivas is a first-generation Indian-American intending to study Public Health and Political Economy. Having grown up in California and South India, she has experienced different healthcare systems and aims to continue to learn more about California-specific legislation and offices that aim to resolve issues regarding healthcare inequities.


She has worked with non-profits in Southern California and is currently involved with a nonprofit that connects...

Riley Thompson

Class of 2024
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Riley Thompson (she/they) is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying Political Science, Rhetoric, and Public Policy. They are passionate about policy and legislation, which they were introduced to in high school through a program called Youth and Government (Y&G). Now, as a staff member for Y&G, they are particularly interested in issues related to youth and are committed to empowering youth voices. This passion has resulted in their participation in a research project focused on...