My three years as a transfer student at Berkeley were some of the most meaningful and transformative of my life. As a 2015–16 Haas Scholar, I had the extraordinary opportunity to conduct research abroad in Greece and Italy on the winged demons represented on tomb walls, vases, carved sarcophagi, and other Etruscan cultural objects. This Italic tribe predated the Romans and is often overlooked and undervalued within the larger field of classics. Lighting the literal path into Etruscan tombs, Berkeley and the Haas Scholars Program helped shine a light on these painted figures. They were the focus of my senior thesis, and I was honored to have my research published on the University of California’s eScholarship website.
But many of the lessons I learned that summer came through the relationships I forged with my academic advisors, including Drs. Lisa Pieraccini and Kim Shelton, and a family of fellow classics students. I owe Berkeley an immense debt of gratitude for allowing me to shine academically. Working today within University Development and Alumni Relations, I have found a way to share the light that Berkeley so generously shared with me.
Image courtesy of Marvin Morris ’16
