A cognitive-science major, Lin studies artificial intelligence — looking for ways to simulate brain processes in order to solve problems and create efficiencies. He’s also nurtured a passion for graphic design throughout his college career — working at the Daily Californian, joining the Science of Wellness magazine club and teaching a DeCal class connected to that student publication.
Not surprisingly, he’s an art-practice minor. Lin currently supplements his bank account — and his $1,500 poster-contest prize — with part-time graphics work at Cal Dining. He spent the summer doing marketing and user-interface design for a startup company, and is starting to look for a post-graduation job that taps that same combination of skills.
As part of the poster contest, his submission was published on Facebook, sparking online give-and-take on the merits of focusing on Savio, the FSM’s great orator, as opposed to the masses of students who made up the movement. Lin calls that conversation a fruitful learning experience. “People read it different ways. It makes me think more about design.”
Berkeley students “do a good job of thinking about issues,” he believes. “That all has an origin; it’s a heritage of the Free Speech Movement. The spirit is still there.”