Beyond Yourself Consumption Function

Beyond Yourself!

That was the rallying cry for a great event we recently held at Haas (and not coincidentally one of the four Haas Defining Principles). One Friday evening each month, different student clubs host a “consumption function” on campus. It’s like a big happy hour with free food and a different theme each time. On March 16, which coincided with the first Days at Haas for admitted students, we wanted to show off all the great social impact work that’s going on at Haas.

More after the jump.

Days At Haas 1

The magic of Days at Haas!!!

Although the weather was less than perfect, the entire Haas community was excited to show our admitted class of 2014 what makes Haas unique. More than words on a page, we believe and act according to our four defining principles. They were present in each and every interaction that weekend.

These principles are, in our opinion, what makes Haas unique. One of our goals was to show the class of 2014 how integrated the principles are in our daily lives.

With more than 150 attendees (partners included, as always) and more than 100 current students volunteering, the weekend was a blast. We hope every attendee had fun, learned about the classroom experience, connected with alumni, professors, and clubs about career opportunities and most importantly got to know awesome new classmates. We were very impressed by next year’s class!

While organizing the weekend, we got to know the class of 2014 by name even before we met
them. We planned the Amazing Race teams, discussed seating assignments for dinner at the Faculty Club, and organized homes for student dinners!

We got to know students’ preferences, career goals and even dietary restrictions! We couldn’t wait for the opportunity to put faces to names.

By our first interactions, the dinner, and Bar of the Week, it was quickly apparent that the class of 2014 has amazing energy, broad and inspiring experiences and a huge desire to be agents of change. We saw bonds already being formed, future companies being discussed, and heard great real-time feedback about the weekend’s events!

While we had naturally hoped that Days at Haas would be a great experience for incoming students, the weekend was a truly eye-opening experience for the HSA team as well!

We realized quickly that we’d be honored to be your classmates. The admitted students reminded us of why we chose to come to Haas. We recalled our passions, our career goals and our enthusiasm.

We are now preparing for Days at Haas 2 and we are certain that it will be just as amazing as the first edition, so come with energy and curiosity!

-Andrea Schalka, HSA Team 2012

A Word from the Haas Tech Nerds…

…or you can address us by our more official name, the Haas Technology Club (HTC). One of the largest, most active clubs on campus, HTC recently launched an initiative that we’re excited to share with the greater Haas community. It’s a series of blog posts focused on “Why Haas?” but with a special swing to those students interested in the Silicon Valley world and technology careers.

From location to the expansive network out here, Haas is an incredible place for people like me. I came to Haas from a web-based education nonprofit, DonorsChoose.org, and am now pursuing a consumer tech career. From prepping for internship interviews with my incredible classmates to visiting companies right in our vacinity, Haas has done so much to make me successful on this path.

Check out the Why Haas? HTC blog series to learn more and make sure to follow along – we’ll be posting additional tips over the next few weeks.

In the technology mindset and have some Haas tech-related questions? Feel free to reach out!

Cheers,

Abby Feuer

Super Saturday: A View from Both Sides of the Table

Early last year, in the midst of my business school application process, I was invited to attend Haas’s Super Saturday, an on-campus, Admissions-led event consisting of lunch, student life and career panels, a campus tour and, most importantly, my Haas interview. Thanks to my stubborn unwillingness to take anything but public transportation and a total unfamiliarity with the Berkeley bus system, I remember arriving at Haas sweaty, semi-lost, and out-of-breath after hauling it through the greater Berkeley campus on an impossibly gorgeous February day. Way to make a good impression, right?

What Cooking Really Means To Me

Eight years ago, I fell in love and married a man who is Indian and Hindu. Back home, this choice for a Muslim woman was considered not only a religious suicide, but also a social one.

During those difficult times, Amit and I took a trip to Europe. Strolling out of an alleyway in the historic city of Bruges, we stumbled upon an establishment that took my breath away: “Ryad — Moroccan & Indian Cuisine”. In a time when not many people supported our marriage, the melding of Moroccan cumin and Indian saffron gave me hope. That was a turning point that deepened my fascination with food — what was once a hobby became what mattered most to me.

My “CookingWithAlia” show started a year before my trip to Bruges. Taking advantage of a visit from my grandmother, I filmed and posted online a video of us making my favorite Moroccan pancakes. I thought that having the step-by-step video would help me reproduce this recipe — and so did hundreds of YouTube viewers. I received dozens of requests from people of all sorts, and I quickly recognized that this was a niche to which no one catered. Through trial and error, I learned how to cook and to film videos with the goal of simplifying the mysteries of Moroccan cuisine.

Challenge 4 Charity Half Marathon

Serving on the board of Challenge 4 Charity is by far one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had thus far at Haas. Challenge 4 Charity is the only club on campus in which everyone is a member. We have a number of initiatives coming up, including a March Madness bracket challenge, an annual spring auction, and the C4C Sports Weekend held on the Stanford campus.

Sports Weekend is a highlight of every Haas student’s experience — a culmination of lots of volunteering, lots of fundraising and lots of fun! This year, we’ve decided to implement a few new fundraisers. I’m especially excited about our newest fundraising program, which involves training for a half marathon while raising funds for charity!

A little bit of background information…

Each year, a consortium of top-notch business schools raises funds and contributes volunteer hours to benefit the Special Olympics through a friendly competition. The MBA Challenge for Charity (C4C) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that draws on the talents, energy, and resources of MBAs from nine West Coast business schools to support Special Olympics and family-related local charities, to develop business leaders with a lifelong commitment to community involvement and social responsibility. Since 1996, C4C has contributed over $5.8 million to the Special Olympics and other local charities, as well as donated tens of thousands of hours of community service. C4C today remains the World’s Largest MBA Non-Profit Organization.

The UC Berkeley, Haas Running Group and Haas C4C Chapter have partnered to raise money for this great cause. 20 runners are training for the US Half Marathon 2, held in San Francisco on April 8, 2012, in an effort to raise funds and awareness for C4C. Proceeds will benefit the Special Olympics and Alameda Point Collaborative of Oakland, California.

I’m excited about this idea because it combines two of my passions: running and fundraising. I adapted the C4C Half Marathon idea from Team in Training–an organization for whom I’ve run and fundraised in the past. The C4C team has just set up a website to collect donations and will be jogging, walking and running all over Berkeley over the next few weeks to prepare for the big race. The funds we’ll raise as we train for the US Half Marathon 2 will facilitate free sports training and competitive events for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Because of our collective efforts, special needs athletes across the state will participate in aquatics, basketball, bocce, bowling, floor hockey, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field and volleyball free of charge. Through sports, Special Olympic athletes will develop physical skills as well as a powerful and resounding belief in themselves.

The idea of running a race to provide recreational outlets for special needs athletes really resonates with me and I hope we see lots of success with this fundraising endeavor. My dream would be to implement half marathon training/fundraising into our annual C4C fundraising agenda. I look forward to seeing what this season brings!

Shameless plug:
Support our cause! Please donate if you can!

-Alison Brock