Staff Spotlight: Jessica Arevalo Hillen
Jessica Arevalo Hillen (she/they), Deputy Director of Development, Student Experience & Diversity
How long have you been working in your department (and in Student Affairs in general)?
Five years
Describe your role. What do you do? How does your role impact Berkeley, its staff and/or its students?
I focus on wealth redistribution, i.e., fundraising, which involves connecting our passionate alumni, parents, and friends of campus to areas where they can make a positive impact on the student experience. My roles impacts Berkeley staff and students by funding critical areas of support and providing financial relief.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is the community I get to bring together.
What do you want other staff to know about the services you and your team provide to campus?
SED’s vision is to ensure equity in education and experience for all students.
Tell us a little bit about your community outside of work (i.e., family, chosen family, friends, loved ones, community, etc.). Where do you find support? Who do you like to spend your time with?
I live with my amazing family in Oakland that includes my wife, Sarah, daughter, Simone (age 8), and dog, Xena.
What do you like to do outside of work? On a perfect day off, what would we find you doing
Spending time with friends, trying new restaurants and pop-ups, volunteering at my kids school (Peralta Elementary), and caring for plants
What is one thing outside of work you feel passionate about?
Public education
Staff Spotlight: Tran Nguyen
Tran Nguyen (she/her), External Executive Director of bridges Multicultural Resource Center
How long have you been working in your department (and in Student Affairs in general)?
I have been involved within the bridges Coalition my entire four years as an undergraduate. My time began as an intern, then evolved into being the K-12 Recruitment Co-coordinator, the External Executive Director for REACH! (Asian and Asian American Recruitment and Retention Center), and entering my senior year as the External Executive Director for bridges Multicultural Resource Center.
Describe your role. What do you do? How does your role impact Berkeley, its staff and/or its students?
bridges Multicultural Resource Center is a coalition of seven identity-based Recruitment and Retention Centers (RRC). We are UC Berkeley’s only student-initiated, student-run, student-funded organization dedicated to outreach and recruitment of first generation, low-income, underrepresented, Black, Indigenous and students of color into higher education, as well as providing access and resources to retain our peers. As the incoming External Executive Director, I serve as a community liaison between the coalition, on-and-off-campus organizations, administration, and student-initiated programs at other University of California campuses. This includes convening and facilitating at-large conversation, decision-making, and ensuring students’ needs are elevated and supported. I want to note that every RRC has the agency and collective ownership over their multiculturalism projects and programming, and partnership with additional cultural student organizations.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Every year, the needs of students at Berkeley varies, and this is exciting as we are constantly evolving and responding to community needs. Whether it is advocating for students’ well-being, physical space, or strategizing more ways to increase a diverse student population, I am honored to be in this position, leading the conversation on behalf of the coalition, to ensure we are heard, seen, and valued.
I am grateful to stand on the shoulders of my predecessors and ground this work in extensive collective history, while also striving for the sustainability of our coalition as we move forward into the future. Being a part of the bridges community has empowered me to find myself, my voice, and demonstrate my leadership to campus.
What do you want other staff to know about the services you and your team provide to campus?
One of my wishes for the campus to understand and recognize about bridges is that we truly strive to cultivate an intentional space of belonging at UC Berkeley. Whether it is through serving free hot meals at our events, all-expenses paid graduate student tours to the East Coast, or providing free academic resources and health products to community members, we do it all. Since joining bridges, I have had the opportunity to push the boundaries of collaboration and creativity because our coalition is ever-evolving.
Additionally, I wish campus partners and administrators remember that as student leaders with intersectional backgrounds, we are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive campus, but we are also students with responsibilities inside and outside the classroom. Student leadership can be seen as non-traditional, but this approach centers the student needs at the forefront of campus priorities.
Tell us a little bit about your community outside of work (i.e., family, chosen family, friends, loved ones, community, etc.). Where do you find support? Who do you like to spend your time with?
When I first got into Berkeley at the peak of COVID-19, I did not know what community meant until I came to a welcome event hosted by REACH!, the Asian and Asian American Recruitment and Retention Center. Being a part of a community with shared stories and values, I felt safe and validated. I remembered only being able to discuss political topics, such as affirmative action, gentrification, and anti-Asian hate, through the community at REACH! because I cannot have discussions with my conservative family. In addition to bridges, my family in Southern California, roommates, and close friends are my pillars of support and strength.
What do you like to do outside of work? On a perfect day off, what would we find you doing?
On a perfect day off, I enjoy exploring Oakland Chinatown and San Francisco through public transportation, thrifting, and simply resting. This work to me is personal and intensive as a student. Self-care is not a bubble bath or fancy sheet mask for me, but rather getting to know myself when I am alone. Lately, I find joy in going on solo adventures, reading, and cooking different recipes I find on Tik Tok.
What is one thing about you that people might be surprised to know?
I enjoy watching international beauty pageants in my free time to learn about feminist movements, culture, and social impact initiatives. I started off only keeping up with Vietnamese beauty queens and their extravagant fashion, but behind the opulence, I realized that some beauty pageants can be a force of good in seeding changes in women across the world.
What is one thing outside of work you feel passionate about?
To say that this work exists outside of who I am, at my core, would be a lie. My identity is not something I can leave at the door when I step into a room with campus administrators. I feel passionate about coalition and relationship building, in which bridges continues to lay the foundation and roots within a garden for our community to enter and find shade, water and peace.
Beyond college, I see myself being a lifelong learner and advocate for educational equity. I am devoted to expanding the table for other student leaders to sit at and will always make the choice to radically imagine better possibilities for historically marginalized and underrepresented communities. Like we always say at bridges, we do this work to not have to exist one day. Regardless of what the Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action or Prop 209 says, we have and will continue to forge a future of student-led recruitment and retention.