The Navigating to California (or NAV2CAL or N2C) Fellowship is the sister program of NAVCAL at the University of California, Berkeley. Through NAV2CAL, UC Berkeley Student Mxntor Interns are hired and trained to guide underrepresented high school students (i.e. from counties like West Contra Costa) in the NAVCAL functionalities and in UC application.
Through the mxntoring partnership, NAV2CAL Interns assist historically marginalized high school students in navigating the applications to the University of California, Berkeley through a near-peer approach that involves active engagement and coaching by current university graduate and undergraduate students.
Through the introduction to the NAVCAL functionalities and to the university, NAV2CAL Interns build relationships with NAV2CAL Student Fellows, establishing a sense of belonging and improving the overall campus climate. Our program addresses yield hindrances and solutions for underrepresented minority high school students, demystify research at R1 Institutions, and build communities with intention. Through the relationship between the NAV2CAL Interns and NAV2CAL Student Fellows, a social connection to campus will, in turn, multiply the number of applicants to Berkeley, demystify the university, improve admission chances, and increase yield upon acceptance of NAV2CAL students.
As a result, this Fellowship empowers future incoming freshmen students to address challenges and ultimately ensures that more students are educated on how to access and maximize the UC Berkeley resources, be prepared to enter higher education and succeed at the university level.