Public Service and Activism: 5 Ways to Get Started

December 31, 2021

Group of 13 "Alternative breaks" program leaders making silly faces at camera, standing in front of garden of potted plantsWant to make a difference? Whether you're on a path toward a career in public service or activism and want to start building your resume or if you want to do something meaningful with your free time, here are 5 opportunities to explore:

1. Public Service Center

The Public Service Center brings together students, faculty, and communities in support of social justice, civic engagement, and transformative social change. Some of their many ways to get involved include:

  • Spending your Spring Break on a service trip focused on issues such as farmworker or immigration rights, environmental and food justice, urban health, and more 
  • Mentoring/teaching youth in math or literacy
  • Working with a team on social justice issues in the Bay Area
  • and much more

You may even be able to earn units for participating!

2. Student Orgs

With the huge array of student orgs on campus, it's not surprising that over 100 focus on service. These orgs provide great opportunities to find your own way to make a difference. 

3. Student Government

Make a difference for your fellow Bears right on campus! The mission of student government is to engage with and advocate on behalf of all students. Through collaboration, those in student government work to build transformative and experiential learning opportunities.

4. Berkeley Changemaker

The Berkeley Changemaker program provides a future-oriented narrative that our whole campus can rally behind, humanists and scientists alike. Its curriculum activates undergraduates’ passions and helps them develop a sharper sense of who they want to be and how to make that happen.

In addition to their first year program, Changemaker courses focus on real-world ways you can make a difference, whether through entrepreneurship or technology, public speaking, education, or learning about (and maybe even joining) a movement. 

5. American Cultures Engaged Scholarship (ACES)

The American Cultures Engaged Scholarship (ACES) Program offers students and faculty the opportunity to work with community organizations to develop cutting edge research projects associated with some of the nation's most pressing social issues.

Back to Discover Opportunities and Connect on Campus

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