The University of California, Berkeley (UCB) has had a longstanding and important impact on the politics and artistic culture of Berkeley. As a top public university, the breadth of resources afforded to UCB students is vast. These advantages often extend to the rest of the city, including Berkeley High School, a mere four blocks away. When utilized to its full extent, UCB provides immense creative opportunities to BHS students. Whether it be pre-college exposure, or art exhibitions, there are numerous avenues for BHS students to involve themselves in the vibrant arts scene cultivated at UCB.
The university has numerous pre-college opportunities for high school students, familiarizing students with a college experience by mimicking the day-to-day activities of a college student. Oan Everett, a BHS junior, is interested in a career in architecture, and participated in a pre-college program for the subject at UCB this summer. “You’d go to some (UCB) classes and learn in those classes with your (professor), and it kind of gives you a sense of college,” Everett said.
Of the wide range of pre-college courses offered, their most notable is the Berkeley Pre-College Scholars program, which offers 126 relativeley affordable courses to students. Generally, students who do not live near Berkeley have to pay $15,487 for the UCB Pre-College Scholars program. By being a Berkeley resident, Everett’s tuition for the pre-college program was greatly reduced.
“It was literally like a 10 minute bike ride to the campus and it was half the price,” Everett said.
Students also benefit from the geographical proximity of UCB to BHS. The David Brower Center, named after a Berkeley native and UCB alumni, is an independent museum very near to the university’s campus. The center hosts resident organizations for research opportunities, and also has UCB students work regularly within the center and is home to the California Institute for Energy and Environment.
For the last seven years, Gabriel Berent, the graphic design teacher at BHS, has been sending students’ environment-themed artwork to the David Brower center. After selecting 20 students across three classes, Berent works with the Brower center to have their artworks displayed at the gallery. All BHS families are invited to the exhibition night.
“(The David Brower Center displays) National Geographic photographers and top people, so it’s a bigger starting place for kids. I think it inspires kids to be more interested in graphic design for sure,” Berent said. These students have the opportunity to get their foot in the door of the graphic design world, all thanks to the closeness of the David Brower Center.
High schoolers also get to interact with arts programs at UCB. “My choir experience has benefited extremely because performing in (UCB) performances has been such an amazing experience,” Mirella Piccolboni, a BHS senior, said. With the Bay Area Youth Choir group Piccolboni is a part of, she’s gotten to perform in UCB Theaters twice.
“(My UCB performances) showed me in a way that no other experience did, how you can make (choir) a profession,” Piccolboni said. This experience also has a unique political facet. “Cal performances are reflective of deeper cultural movements that are going on … One was (about) climate change, and the other one was a requiem for those who have passed in the Ukraine/Russia war,” Piccolboni said.
These aren’t the only ways in which UCB has furthered the learning of BHS arts students. In past years, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Music Theory students at BHS visited the UCB Balinese Gamelan class. Gamelan is a genre of Indonesian percussion and dance, taught by music professor Lisa Gold. During their UCB field trip, they got to see a live performance and even got taught some basic steps.
Whether it be pre-college programs, performances, or exhibitions, UCB fosters a stimulating educational environment in which BHS students can learn and flourish.