Summer Preparatory Seminar: diversity and leadership
Community Building and Skill Building for Success
The seminar program is intended to prepare students for the transition to graduate level studies and to life at Berkeley. This week-long program focuses on academic preparation, such as statistics and writing skills for graduate level work and key campus resources, also develops important skills such as leadership, conducting effective presentations, and managing stress.
The program is intended to help create and establish a healthy cohort for underrepresented students as a sustaining and supportive mechanism for them while in graduate studies at UC Berkeley.
The summer preparatory program is open to all entering two-year M.P.H. students. The majority of students who sign up for the program are historically underrepresented in graduate school, educationally and financially disadvantaged, or first-generation college students.
What seminar participants say about the program:
Angela Jenkins, Health Policy & Management M.P.H. '12
 "Participating in Summer Seminar was one of the most valuable decisions I made during my transition into graduate studies at Cal. The one-week graduate school crash course, which included a much-needed biostatistics prep, a campus tour, and workshops on leadership, diversity and professional etiquette, helped diminish any fears I had about graduate school and helped prepare me for a great first year. The most valuable takeaways from Summer Seminar were the friendships and the support system I developed. During the week, we were all encouraged to share personal stories and connect on a deeper level than a regular graduate school orientation would allow. Not only was I able to build relationships with students within my own concentration (we call ourselves the "seven dwarfs," and I don't know where I would be without them), but I was also able to develop friendships with students in other concentrations. Some of my fondest memories of my first year of graduate school (especially our flash mob which interrupted Orientation by singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing") were created within that first week. I am so thankful to Abby for bringing us all together and for her dedication to our Summer Seminar cohort!"
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Maria Fernandez, Health and Social Behavior M.P.H. '12
 Summer Seminar has defined my experience at Berkeley. Moving from Stanford to Berkeley was an overwhelming and scary transition, and Summer Seminar was the reason that I was able to make it smoothly and happily! Not only did I meet passionate M.P.H. students across disciplines, who are still my closest friends and who have become my go-to group project colleagues, but it gave me concrete tools and skills that facilitated my success in my first year at graduate school. I was able to explore and get to know the Berkeley campus even before school started, making getting to that first biostatistics lecture on the first day a piece of cake! And I knew exactly who to sit next to at that lecture! It allowed me to meet and be inspired by UC Berkeley faculty, to gain access to UC Berkeley resources (Student ID card, library resources, biostatistics classes, etc.), and to make invaluable friendships! Being surrounded by such incredible public health leaders empowered me to be an agent of change right from the beginning. I am so grateful for Summer Seminar. Abby you are the kindest and most incredible resource and mentor we could have! Thank you!
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Patrick Ramirez, Health Policy & Management M.P.H. '12
 "Summer seminar has been one of the highlights of my time at UC
Berkeley. I met an amazing group of individuals who still today remain
some of my closest friends and biggest supporters. It amazes me how
in one short week, such long-lasting bonds and relationships can
form. Summer seminar does a great job of transitioning students into
grad school, and for students like me who have been out of school for a
number of years, it was definitely worthwhile!! There is nothing like
coming to the first day of class at a new school already being oriented
to campus and having good friends in class, not to mention the biostats
review turned out to be incredibly helpful. An added and invaluable
bonus is that you get to spend an entire week with one of UC Berkeley's
brightest shining stars -- Abby Rincon, who truly is amazing and a
wonderful person to get to know."
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Justin Rausa, Health & Social Behavior M.P.H.
'12
 "I participated in the School of Public Health's Summer Prep Seminar
because of my positive experiences with summer seminars as an undergrad,
both as a participant and as a staff member. My peers and I benefited
from this program in two invaluable ways. First, we received a "warm
up" to biostatistics, a mandatory class for the M.P.H. program. After
having been out of school for three years, this was a blessing and helped
with my grad school jitters. Second, we became friends and developed a
peer support network that motivated each other throughout our first
year— joking around and encouraging each other to do our best. Looking
back, this is the only way I would have wanted to start my grad school
experience here at Cal, and I'm thankful I did."
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Sheila Adams-Sapper, Infectious Diseases '11
 "The Summer Seminar set the tone for my start in graduate studies at Cal. The practical things like finding out about campus resources and getting a head start in biostats were extremely valuable, but it is the personal aspect that has made the most difference. On one level, it is amazing to have people I've been developing friendships with from day one to sit with in classes, form study groups and share experiences with. That alone has been helpful in feeling like my hopes and concerns are shared by a larger group. And on a deeper level, the seminar gave us the opportunity to share our stories, our passions, and worldviews. It set the stage to build connections and community across all divisions in the School of Public Health which I hope will evolve into future cross-disciplinary collaborations.
"Summer Seminar allowed me to transform my experience from being part of a program in the School of Public Health at Cal into being part of a community."
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Kadra Ahmed, Infectious Diseases '11
 "The summer leadership seminar was very helpful. My fear of grad school at Berkeley disappeared when I attended the Summer Seminar. I gained immense information about grad school and how to survive at Berkeley. I was also able to make friends before school started. I really recommend that all M.P.H. students take advantage of this opportunity. In terms of academics, the statistics sessions helped me a lot; I felt I was ahead of the students when classes started!"
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Alexis Cooke, Health and Social Behavior '11
 "Summer Seminar made the transition to Berkeley a great experience. Coming from across the country I was worried about the course work, meeting new people, and getting used to the Berkeley environment. The seminar covered all of these things (and more!). The biostatistics prep is amazing, and you will have the opportunity to meet new people, which will not just facilitate work collaboration, but lifelong friendships as well."
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Maribel Diaz, Health and Social Behavior '11
 "Participating in Summer Seminar was a valuable and worthwhile experience! The seminar not only prepares you academically to have a successful grad school experience through the material we study during the week, but perhaps more importantly, it mentally equips you to be ready by diminishing any fears of grad school as well as providing a wonderful, supportive community of peers. It was also a lot of fun! I definitely believe the Summer Seminar gave me a head start at Berkeley, and I am so thankful that I participated this past summer."
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Katherine Lao, Health Policy and Management '11
 "Although I was an undergraduate at Cal, the Summer Seminar experience was extremely invaluable in helping me transition to the unique experience of graduate school. It was humbling to realize that I was among brilliant, talented, passionate people who were committed to the same ideals values of social justice in health and who were eager to translate that passion into action. The seminar builds on the importance of social support while offering practical tools that will help students succeed and thrive in graduate school. In offering this seminar, the School of Public Health acknowledges the need to develop a cadre of diverse health care professionals and stands by its commitment to diversity, multiculturalism and leadership in the field."
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