Staff Spotlight - Ricardo Avitia
Serving in an interim capacity since October 2021, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions is pleased to announce that Ricardo Avitia has been named the new Senior Assistant Director and Transfer Reading Manager. Ricardo is a proud Golden Bear Alum! He has been working in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions since 2014 and has served in various capacities as a Transfer Specialist, Diversity Coordinator, Alumni Ambassador Coordinator, and was recently appointed to Transfer Manager. His 15 years of professional experience have all been student-driven and primarily dedicated to working for transfer students. He believes in creating equitable and accessible practices that further support, make visible, and enhance the transfer student experience. In his free time, Ricardo likes to discover new music to add to his extensive vinyl collection comprised of music from all around the world. Please help us welcome Ricardo Avitia to his new role as Senior Assistant Director, Transfer Manager in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Upcoming Admissions Dates
Staff Spotlight - Cameron Sadafi
After serving as the interim Senior Assistant Director of Admissions and the senior international specialist for the past two cycles, Cameron Sadafi has taken on the role in a permanent capacity. Cameron has been with UC Berkeley since 2018. His efforts in outreach to underserved regions contributed to a growth in countries represented on campus from 74 countries to over 100 countries. Prior to UC Berkeley Cameron worked in international admissions for the University of Colorado, Boulder where he was primarily responsible for the regions of Canada, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean. Cameron is a first generation Iranian-American and first generation college student who is passionate about diversity, access, inclusion and belonging and loves advising students and families on the college going process as well as identifying their best fit college or university. Outside of work, Cameron loves spending time in nature with his wife and dog, spending time with his family and traveling abroad to immerse himself in different cultures, cuisines and customs.
Admitted Student Website & Programming
The students we admit this week belong at Berkeley, and while we know many of them have other options, we want them to learn as much as they can about our campus. We believe in the power of community and are dedicated to engaging with our newly admitted students to showcase the opportunities available and the communities that will support them along the way should they choose Berkeley. Our newly admitted student website provides information about how students can engage with us in person and virtually, including Cal Day on Saturday, April 23, 2022. While this website currently has limited content, it will be updated after decisions are released.
Black Recruitment and Retention Center
The Black Recruitment and Retention Center invites your students to participate in our first ever Black Student Tour which will be catered toward Black Community College students in the Bay Area. We invite your students to come and learn about the Black Experience at Cal while receiving a tour of our Beautiful Campus! BRRC was founded in 1983 and is a student-run organization at the University of California, Berkeley designed to help increase the number of Black students enrolling in and graduating from Cal. To participate, please have your students fill out this form. If you have any questions, you can reach our transfer coordinator, Holli Burnett, at brrctransfercoord@gmail.com.
bridges Multicultural Resource Center’s Transfer Empowerment Day
The bridges Multicultural Resource Center at UC Berkeley is inviting community college students to participate in our annual Transfer Empowerment Day (TED). TED is a one-day, online conference that aims to demystify, liberate, and empower current community college students in their journey to higher education. The goal of TED is to reach out to all community colleges and support students in making the transition to a four-year college more comprehensive and attainable. At our program we will have a:
We hope to support low-income, first-generation, underrepresented students of color by providing ourselves as a resource. Through multicultural collaboration as a coalition-wide conference, TED seeks to empower underrepresented students of color to pursue opportunities for post-secondary education, increase exposure to college resources, and support with their upcoming UC Application. Please RSVP ASAP at: tinyurl.com/TED22rsvp
Update on Staffing
The admissions office is currently hiring for several positions. Interviews are taking place for the following positions:
These positions are crucial to the success of our office’s enrollment strategies and the campus’s diversity efforts. We are looking forward to introducing you to these new staff members in these critical positions.
Earlier Filing Period
An important change to the application process has been announced in a recent University of California bulletin. Effective beginning with the fall 2023 admissions cycle (applicants filing in 2022), the University of California has changed the application filing period. The new filing period will be October 1 – November 30. Note: the deadline will not change. UC recognizes the month of November can be stressful for students, who are possibly navigating the submission of multiple college applications, preparing for end-of-term finals, and the onset of the holiday season. Allowing students to submit their application as early as October 1 could ease some of the pressure students normally feel at the end of the year, as well as those worsened by the pandemic.
Admission Release Dates
In the coming weeks, a select number of students will be notified that they have been admitted to UC Berkeley, most of whom will be candidates for the Regents’ and Chancellor’s scholarship or admits to other special programs. Most students will receive their decision during our normal release period - March 24th for freshman applicants and April 22nd for transfer applicants. If your student doesn’t hear from us in the next few weeks, please inform them that no decision has yet been made and they are still in the review process. If you know of students who have been admitted via Early Decision at another university and are happily committed, please encourage them to withdraw their application to UC Berkeley prior to March 1 so we can confirm the withdrawal before our March decision release. The withdrawal form is live in their MAP@Berkeley portal.
Office Hours through February
During the next several weeks while our staff is continuing with the application review process and while in-person staff support is limited as we monitor the recent COVID surge, our availability will be limited and may change frequently. The best way for students to reach us is to fill out a Contact Us form or go to our website for updated phone and office hours. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience during this busy time.
Staff Spotlight
Timetra Marie Hampton is our new Senior Associate Director in Undergraduate Admissions overseeing the freshman and transfer application review processes as well as our finalization procedures. She is originally from Little Rock Arkansas but moved to the Inland Empire in Southern California where she would finish both middle and high school. She attended San Diego State University where she became a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc and California State University, San Bernardino where she attained a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Child/Human Development. Her passion and goal in working within post secondary education is to ensure institutions prioritize the education of underrepresented populations and that undergraduate admissions continues to admit cohorts of diverse students.
Staff Spotlight - Pete Smith
Pete Smith is a professional within the international education field whose career has been dedicated to serving and interacting with diverse communities, both at home and abroad. He joins UC Berkeley as an Assistant Director of Admissions and International Specialist. Pete earned a Master’s Degree in Education with a focus in Multiculturalism. He has held teaching positions in American and South Korean public schools, worked within higher education at four institutions across three countries. In his free time, Pete enjoys exploring new places, playing music, and being active outdoors.
Staff Spotlight - Michael Cervantes
Michael Cervantes is a UC Berkeley student affairs professional with over six years of experience supporting both prospective and current students with financial aid, billing, and registration. Michael is originally from Compton, CA, and is a proud UC Berkeley graduate, a first-generation college graduate, and a former financial aid recipient. As the Assistant Director and Visitor Experience Manager, Michael will spearhead our front-desk operations, in-person events, and student worker program. Michael likes to watch movies, eat good food, spend time with friends, and explore the SF Bay Area. Go Bears!
Staff Spotlight - Marissa Chavez
Marissa Chávez (they/she) is a proud product of the Central Valley - Merced, CA. They earned their BA in Political Science - Public Service from the University of California, Davis after transferring from Merced Community College. After working in behavioral health and recovery services programs for five years, Marissa went on to obtain a Master of Science degree in Higher Education Counseling and Student Affairs from Cal Poly SLO. Recently Marissa served as the program coordinator for Sonoma State University's First and Second Year Programs. In this role, they managed a team of 60 peer mentors and collaborated with both student affairs and academic affairs to improve the student experience and increase retention and success rates. As the Assistant Director of Pathways & Persistence, Marissa will connect with Puente seniors to consider UC/UC Berkeley in their post-secondary plans, provide guidance on the application process, and support students in their transition from high school through their first year at Berkeley. When not working, Marissa can be found doing research, listening to podcasts, attending concerts, or taking their cat on a walk.
Office Availability
Over the next few months we will be limiting our in-person services so that our staff can focus their efforts on reading the applications of your remarkable students. Please take note of the following office hours and closures.
For information on additional ways to contact us please visit our website.
Over the next few months we will be increasing our virtual availability and limiting our in-person services so that our staff can focus their efforts on reading the applications of your remarkable students. This week, our office will be closed, but our phones and a Virtual Front Desk will have limited availability. And starting November 29 our office will be open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00a.m.-12:00p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00p.m.-4:00p.m. Please take note of the following office closures:
Visit our website for additional ways to contact us.
The OUA Systems team is thrilled to welcome Amy Goodman back as their new analyst in charge of security and documentation. Amy previously worked with the team before testing the waters outside of UC Berkeley. In her new role, Amy will focus on process improvement where she’ll support the office as they read, select and finalize applicants. Adding the missing piece to the Marketing and Communications team puzzle, Terri Washington will serve as our Senior Assistant Director of Communications. Terri has been a part of the UC Berkeley community for nearly six years, having previously been with Cal Performances as their Social Media & Digital Content Specialist. In her new role in the admissions office, Terri will be a project manager for all digital and print communications.
High School Counselor Survey ReminderAs we continue preparations for the fall 2022 application cycle, we are looking to gather contextual information from you about your school. To be considered in this application cycle, please fill out this brief counselor survey by October 31. This information will be used as context during our application review process which is crucial for us as we incorporate holistic review in our application reading process. We recognize that you may provide us with a high school profile, and this survey is not meant to replace your profile; however, the specific information requested in our survey allows us to gather consistent information across high schools. We would appreciate you completing this survey even if you do send us a high school profile. Thank you for helping us better understand your students within their various environments. NOTE: If you submitted this form last year, please do so again so we can ensure we have the most up-to-date information. If you have already submitted the form this year you do not need to resubmit.
