Cal Alumni Association - UC Berkeley

🏈 Cal football. Great conversation. Excellent company.

Presented by the Cal Alumni Association at Study Hall Rooftop Lounge at the Residence Inn.

🕓 4:30–5:30 PM, every Wednesday through October

🎙️ Join fellow Bears on the rooftop for a live recording of Tell the Whole Damn World. Grab a drink, take in the view, and hear unfiltered stories about Cal football from the people who know it best.

📺 Or check it out live on Tell the Whole Damn World's YouTube channe: https://bit.ly/3UURabR

We’re pleased to offer Cal alumni access to a group discount program from Farmers GroupSelect.

The program offers access to a special auto and home insurance program with group discounts.

If it’s been a while since you looked at the cost of your policies, you can compare your coverage to this offer to see how it measures up.

Learn more by calling 844-712-0742 or by visiting https://bit.ly/4dNxvkI.

This post has been sponsored by our partner, Farmers Insurance .

Oski turns 85 this year. 🎉

In the fall of 1966, a freshman named Mo Budak climbed onto the crossbar of Memorial Stadium's goalpost, waved to a stadium full of Cal fans, and fell ten feet trying to get back down. He sprained his ankle badly enough that a doctor had to be called onto the field. He was carried off on a stretcher while the crowd cheered as if a player had gone down. And through all of it, he refused to reveal his identity. 🐻

That's because Budak wasn't just any student that day. He was Oski, and revealing his identity, even injured, even in pain, would have broken a rule that has governed Cal's favorite bear since the 1940s: whoever wears the suit disappears.

For 85 years, the students who become Oski have followed that same code. Some have taken it to their graves. Others have only spoken about it decades later, if at all. But in 2025, one graduating senior did something no Oski before him ever had, on his own graduation day, for everyone to see.

We spoke with five Cal alums, spanning six decades, about the experience of silent performance, and why, after 85 years, some are finally choosing to reveal themselves.

Their stories are in our new oral history.
🔗 https://bit.ly/4xJW2hZ

What does a real pathway into tech look like for the people traditional education has left behind? As AI rewrites every job, Beyond Code Collective is answering that question with cohorts built for everyone, from teenagers to career pivoters to athletes stepping off the court.

🎙️ The conversation
Join us at Alumni House for a panel moderated by Dr. Napoleon Paxton. Cristina Mancini, founder and CEO of Beyond Code Collective and CEO of Black Girls Code, shares what more than a decade of inclusive tech education taught her and why this moment called for a new organization. She is joined by strategist and entrepreneur Mica Le John, and Ramon Clemente, a former pro basketball player who earned his CompTIA certification in Beyond Code's inaugural cohort and now leads its athlete track.

💡 What's on the table
The panel explores how the cohort model works in practice, how credentials from CompTIA, Salesforce, and AWS make retraining stick, and what it would mean to bring Beyond Code's Forge "third space" to a campus like Berkeley.

🛠️ From inspired to enrolled
After the panel, the Beyond Code team leads a hands-on training session for anyone ready to take the next step.

🤝 Where you come in
Alums, students, faculty, and employers can plug in as learners, mentors, hiring partners, or funders.

🗓️ Tuesday, October 20, 5:30 to 9:30 PM
📍 Toll Room, Alumni House, UC Berkeley
🎟️ Reserve your spot → https://bit.ly/4AAp6ey

🌎 This National Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate Ron Rivera, Cal football's first-ever general manager and a member of the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame's inaugural class.

The son of a Puerto Rican Army officer and a Mexican-Filipina mother, Rivera grew up on military bases around the world before finding his way to Berkeley. At Cal, he became a star linebacker under Joe Kapp, the legendary quarterback known as "The Toughest Chicano." The two clashed constantly, and from that friction grew a lifelong bond. After Rivera's final college game, they shared a shot of tequila in Kapp's office and said their thanks.

🏈 Rivera went on to win a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears, earn two NFL Coach of the Year awards, and lead the Carolina Panthers to a Super Bowl. Now he's home, carrying Kapp's message to a new generation of Golden Bears: get your education.

📖 Read Chris Ballard's profile of Rivera from California Magazine at the link in bio: https://bit.ly/4jia1b1

Light up Memorial Stadium at the Cal Gold Out game against Clemson on September 25th. 💛💛

Bring your crew, grab a Pepsi, and get ready to Bear Down!

📅 Next up: Clemson
🏈 Cal Football
🥤 Sponsored by Pepsi

Don't miss the action!



This post has been sponsored by our partner, PepsiCo.

🐻⚽ Cal Night with the San Jose Earthquakes

Calling all Cal students, alums, and staff! Join your fellow Golden Bears for a night of soccer as the San Jose Earthquakes take on Portland. Catch an exciting match, connect with fellow Cal fans, and show your Berkeley pride under the lights at PayPal Park.

📍 PayPal Park
📅 September 26
⏰ Kickoff at 7:30 PM

We can't wait to see you at the stadium!

🎟️ Interested in a group of 10+ or a suite? Contact Alexis Lada at (408) 556-7736 or [email protected]

⏳ Final hours: the Oski Birthday match ends today at 1 p.m. PT

This is the last call for The Cal Alumni Mentors Program. Gifts made before the deadline are matched dollar-for-dollar, helping connect more students with the alum mentors who guide them toward what's next.

👉 Donate now: https://bit.ly/4yD2BDE

Thank you for celebrating Oski's 85th birthday with us. 🐻

On August 20, Cal welcomed its newest class of Alumni Scholars to campus, greeting them with open arms and Golden Bears spirit. 🐻

This year's cohort brought together 77 incoming Alumni Scholars and their families for an afternoon of connection ahead of their first semester. Between introductions and shared stories, scholars began forming the bonds and friendships that will carry them through their undergraduate years.

This year's theme, "Planting Yourself at Cal," encourages scholars to put down roots, embrace new opportunities, and cultivate a sense of belonging within the Berkeley community. Just as seeds flourish with care and patience, our scholars will grow academically, personally, and professionally during their time here.

As they take their first steps toward becoming future alums, we look forward to watching them learn, lead, and leave their mark at Berkeley and beyond. 💙💛

🐻🎂 It's Oski's 85th birthday, and we're celebrating with a donation match

The Oski Birthday Bear-a-thon is live. This year's spotlight is on the Cal Alumni Mentors Program, which connects current students with alum mentors for guidance on navigating Cal, launching careers, and everything in between.

For the next 48 hours, every gift to the program will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

⏰ The match ends Friday, 9/18 at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET. Give today and double your impact.

👉 Donate now: https://bit.ly/4yD2BDE