University medal finalists learn lessons about leadership at Berkeley

University Medalist Josh Biddle: Top graduating senior’s life trajectory is amazing.

This year, four students — Pamela Krayenbuhl, Erik Petigura, Pedro Spivakovsky-Gonzalez, and Reid Zimmerman — were finalists for the University Medal, given to Berkeley’s top graduating senior. While they were busy finishing up their final semesters, they took time to answer questions about their college experiences and what makes them tick.

Pamela Krayenbuhl

After raising $1,600 to help present the physical education department’s Spring Dance Showcase, she calls Berkeley “a place where anything is possible if you come armed with a strong vision.”

Hometown: Sacramento
Age: 22
Major: Rhetoric and interdisciplinary studies (double major)

About Pamela: Kaja Silverman, Class of 1940 Professor of Rhetoric, Film Studies, and Art History, wrote in her recommendation that Krayenbuhl “already has the habits and skills of a mature scholar, and asks the kinds of questions that are normally asked only by graduate students in the final stages of a dissertation.”

Most important lesson learned?
That I am limited only by my own comfort zone and that the final judge of everything I do must be myself.

Guiding philosophy?
This may sound silly, but I have a philosophy that stipulates I must always be willing to let my philosophy change. Of late, I have deemed it important to seek balance in my life, to give back at least as much as I receive, and to never take anything too seriously.

Words to live by?
My Grandpa Jim used to say that “the laws of physics are only guidelines.” Unlike him, I’m not a brilliant engineer, but his words remind me that anything is possible if you think outside the box.

Who has inspired you?
Daniel Coffeen, my Rhetoric 10 (and Rhetoric 140) professor, has shown me that life needn’t be about fitting into predetermined categories and that always playing by the rules in life (and academia) tends to be not only oppressive but also largely uninteresting.

Proudest achievement?
The fact that I have managed to collect very few regrets these past four years. I wanted to make the most out of my undergraduate education, and I’d venture to say that I’ve succeeded.

Post-graduation plans?
This summer I’ll slow down and take a photography class at Stanford. In the fall, I’ll be working and applying to interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs in the arts, literature, and media.

Erik Petigura

Looking to worlds “profoundly different from our own,” he says he wants to “help understand Earth’s place in the universe.”

Hometown: Palo Alto
Age: 21
Major: Physics and astrophysics (double major)

About Erik: Professor of Astronomy Geoffrey Marcy calls Erik “that once-a-decade student for whom physics, both mathematical and experimental, seems as easy as breathing for the rest of us. He is a truly gifted young scientist, off scale.”

Turning point?
At a dinner for prospective physics and astronomy majors my first week at Cal, Geoff Marcy asked me how I liked Cal so far. When I told him that I liked it all right but was worried I’d get lost in the crowd, he told me, “Berkeley’s as small as you make it. You say you like astronomy? I’ll set you up with keys to the observatory!”

Favorite quote?
“Exactly the same technology can be used for good and for evil. It is as if there was a god who said to us, ‘I set before you two ways: You can use your technology to destroy yourselves or to carry you to the planets and the stars. It’s up to you.’ ” — Carl Sagan

Who has inspired you?
Through their love and nurturing, my parents have encouraged me to pursue my interests and did everything they could to help me do so. Also my girlfriend, Alana, showed me that beauty exists outside of science and taught me how to at least pretend to be normal.

Proudest achievement?
Surviving a long-distance relationship for four years.

Post-graduation plans?
This summer, I hope to relax and do some traveling. In the fall, I’ll jump right into to my doctoral studies in astronomy.

Pedro Spivakovsky-Gonzalez

As a volunteer on a water and sanitation project in Ecuador, he says he learned that leadership is “the ability to strike a balance between certitude and compromise.”

Hometown: I was born in Boston and grew up in Spain, Canada, and the U.S. Of all the places I have lived in, I feel especially connected to Concord, Mass.
Age: 21
Major: Economics and political economy (double major)

About Pedro: Alicia Hayes, a Scholarship Connection adviser, wrote, “Pedro is profoundly determined to use his talents to make a difference in the world and implement positive change.”

Lesson learned?
Problem-solving is about self-awareness. An understanding of how our background and experiences have formed our identity allows us to gain insights into the source of our opinions, and it enables us to question our prejudices. This is the key to effective dialogue, and effective dialogue is the key to problem-solving.

Turning point?
My relationship with my girlfriend, Christina, because it is the first time I have had to think at a much deeper level about why I am the way I am. Her constant support these past two years has been extremely important to me.

Guiding philosophy?
Our limited set of experiences should not prevent us from trying to understand the views of others. Nobody has a monopoly on moral authority.

Favorite quote?
“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America.” – Barack Obama

Who has inspired you?
Barack Obama. He does not minimize the opinions of others, and he understands the role his background plays in the kind of person he is.

Also, Elvis Presley, because of his incredible generosity and humility, as well as his sense of humor and stage presence.

Proudest achievement?
It happens several times a day, when I make a stupid joke and the person standing next to me just can’t help but laugh with me.

Post-graduation plans?
I am very fortunate to be one of this year’s John Gardner Fellows, so next year I will most likely go to Washington, D.C. I am hoping to work somewhere in the White House, the State Department, or the World Bank.

Reid Zimmerman

At Berkeley he realized that he “not only had the capacity to lead but an inherent responsibility to teach.”

Hometown: Nordland, Wash.
Age: 21
Major: Civil and environmental engineering

About Reid: Marios Panagiotou, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, wrote in his recommendation, “the single word that could characterize Reid is ‘brilliant.'”

Most important lesson learned?
Berkeley, more than any other place, constantly reminds me to remain humble. With a campus community as diverse, accomplished, and passionate as Berkeley’s, each day you meet so many amazing people.

Guiding philosophy?
Put bluntly, “if you are going to do something, you might as well do it right.” Every student can relate to finishing homework assignments or working on projects that seemed more like a test of determination than an exercise in advanced thought. Not doing your best will only leave you feeling unfulfilled.

Words to live by?
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” — Buddha

From the moment I heard this quote it has resonated throughout much of my life. Most recently, these last four years I have learned that often an individual’s greatest strength is the capacity to question — questioning in a way that is not motivated by a need for personal success but by a deeper struggle to understand.

Who has inspired you?
My grandfather Nicodemo Borsato possessed a work ethic unparalleled by anyone I have met coupled with grounded wisdom. His wisdom stemmed from a realization that in the process of frantically going about life to get ahead, you end up missing those things along the way which make it all worth it.

Post-graduation plans?
I am currently interning for Rutherford & Chekene, a structural-and-geotechnical-engineering firm in San Francisco. In the fall, I will be returning to Berkeley as an MS/Ph.D. student in the structural engineering, mechanics, and materials program.

Proudest achievement?
During the fall of 2009, I was a lead designer for the UC Berkeley Steel Bridge Competition Team, a student organization that designs, fabricates, and constructs a 20-foot-long steel bridge. The team recently placed first at the regional competition in aesthetics, stiffness, efficiency, and overall and will be traveling to nationals in late May.