Social Welfare

Berkeley Connect links undergraduate students with experienced mentors in Social Welfare. These mentors lead small groups (not more than 20) students in regular meetings; they also meet with students one-on-one to provide guidance and advice. The core of the Berkeley Connect program is a one-credit, pass-fail course that is designed to create a community of students with similar intellectual interests. There is no homework associated with Berkeley Connect: no exams, no papers, no quizzes. Instead, small group meetings focus on sharing ideas and learning new skills within the Social Welfare major as a way to foster friendships and provide a supportive intellectual community for Berkeley undergraduates.The only requirement for joining Berkeley Connect in Social Welfare is that you have an interest in the field of study. You do not have to be a major in order to participate! Undeclared freshmen and sophomores are welcome, along with entering junior transfers and juniors and seniors who have declared the major.

Every semester, Berkeley Connect sponsors a wide range of activities and events for participating studentsThey include:

• small-group meetings led by your mentor;
• one-on-one meetings with your mentor;
• special events, including informal lectures by professors and guest speakers, and panels on career options, graduate school admissions, and other topics;
• and visits to Berkeley resources.

At the heart of Berkeley Connect is the relationship between you and your mentor. The Berkeley Connect mentors are advanced graduate students or recent PhDs in Social Welfare, who are chosen both for their demonstrated commitment to undergraduates and for their scholarly achievement. They are dedicated to providing the kind of close-knit community and one-on-one attention that can be hard to find at a large university.

When you sign up for Berkeley Connect, you will join one of the small groups of participants in Social Welfare. Your small group will be led by your mentor, and will meet every other week during the semester for an hour-long discussion session. Discussions will focus on key intellectual issues within Social Welfare as well as key skills you need to succeed in the major. Above all, the small groups will focus on building connections among students, so that each group becomes a supportive community for all participants.

You will meet with your mentor one-on-one at least twice during the semester, to talk about anything you choose related to your academic life—questions you have, challenges you are facing, resources you are seeking, goals you are seeking to achieve. Your mentor will also hold open mentoring hours throughout the semester, during which you are free to show up and continue these conversations, or just check in.

Faculty

Jill Duerr Berrick serves as the Zellerbach Family Foundation Professor in the School of Social Welfare and co-director of the Center for Child and Youth Policy at U.C. Berkeley.  Berrick’s research focuses on the relationship of the state to vulnerable families, particularly those touched by the child welfare system.  She has written or co-written ten books on topics relating to family poverty, child maltreatment, and child welfare.  Her interests target the intersection between poverty, early childhood development, parenting, and the service systems designed to address these issues.  Her research approach typically relies upon the voices of service system consumers to identify the impacts of social problems and social service solutions on family life.  Her new book under development examines child welfare professionals and the morally hazardous and intellectually contested choices they regularly face in their work with children and families.

Berkeley Connect Mentors

Valentin Sierra is a PhD candidate in Social Welfare.

Where did you grow up?

Bakersfield, CA

Where did you go to college and what was your major?

UC Davis; Major: Native American Studies

How would you describe your research in a sentence or two?

I am working with a local Native American health center to develop a culture-based suicide risk assessment tool.

Semester Activities