"Why I Chose Cal" by Guest Contributor: Will Smelko, ASUC President

I decided to go to Cal on the last day possible after a month of questioning and drawing up pro and con lists. I probably had about 10 pages of notes on why I should/shouldn't go to Cal vs. other schools... I'm not kidding. I went to the beach on the last day that I could possibly submit my SIR so I could figure everything out away from school. After going through my 10 pages of notes of how Cal could provide me opportunities to do what I thought I wanted to do, I came to a stunning realization that I truly had no idea what I wanted to do in college. I had some ideas, but wanted to go in with an open mind and pick up new activities that I might not have even thought of before.

After I made this realization, the choice to go to UC Berkeley became clear. I knew that whatever I decided I wanted to do while in college, there is no place that offers more opportunities to do anything than UC Berkeley.

I was definitely right. I had no prior involvement in student government or even student leadership, but once I got here student government was just one of many new things I was able to try out and the experience has definitely been rewarding.

This past weekend a collection of student leaders organized a UC-wide Summit to aid in the redevelopment of Haiti after the major earthquake. Major scientists, engineers, doctors, and economists across the UC system got together in one place to come up with a strategy to provide relief to Haiti.

Even cooler, the Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. flew in, and I got to pick him up from the airport and hang out with him in San Francisco on Friday night before the summit. During dinner, he was telling us stories of how he was hanging out with Bill Clinton just a few days before. Oh, and earlier in the week I got to meet and introduce Bill Gates when he came to campus to speak. While this was an exciting week, it is just one of many I have had because of my involvement in student government at UC Berkeley.

Student government is just like many other activities on Berkeley's campus that provides wonderful and unique experiences to the students here, and really sets Berkeley apart from the rest.

Will Smelko,
President, Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley (ASUC)