Year, Pronouns, Major, Hometown:

Brandon, Data Science and Econ, wants to switch over to Comp Sci and Stats. After taking Econ 1, I didn’t really enjoy Econ; it just isn’t really fit for what I want to do in the future. Computer Science and Stats give me a diverse selection of what I want to pursue in my career in the future. I come from Greenwich, Connecticut.

Do you miss home?

No, not at all. I love it here. Greenwich is very suburban, Berkeley is kinda suburban but also kinda city. On the East Coast, everything is rushed, in California everything is more laid back and chill. I bordered New York, and Berkeley is near the city, so it’s easy to go to the city. Overall, it's a more relaxed and chill vibe, and I feel more fit with that.

What committees have you been in?

Being just a first year, I came in the fall being in data foundations, and now I'm DF director.

What plans do you have as DF director for your committee?

I really want to make DF a really fun place to be a part of to reflect how fun SAAS is as a whole. In addition to that, I still want to give them the professional development and academic learning that they’re meant to have being a part of DF, so I’m working very closely with ED to create a curriculum that will accomplish that.

What are you most excited for in DF this upcoming semester?

Because I’m going to be very active with the socials and fun events, I look forward to being a part of everything. Very soon we’re going to have a social event at Great America. Overall, we’re going to make the family system so that more punishments can be done to us directors.

The big question: will you be getting your hair altered in any way?

Great question. To be honest, I’m really on the fence about it. For right now, I’ll just be growing my hair out, so if my DF cohort does well in their family systems and activities, I’ll give them what they deserve.

What are your hobbies and interests?

It feels really nerdy to talk about, but I’m super into piano. Not just playing piano, but I’m also really invested in classical music. The history and literature–I really like to analyze all that stuff and read up about it and draw connections. I feel like it’s really interesting to look at that; it’s a blend of history and literature. I’m able to draw from all that and apply it to music and studying music. I’m also really passionate about food. My parents own restaurants back home, and because of that, I’ve always worked alongside them with that and with food. They’ve taught me a lot about how that works. Not to sound pretentious, but I feel very strongly about food when it comes to food.

What was your biggest takeaway from working with your parents?

People don’t understand how the restaurant works. Being able to be there firsthand and do their jobs other people were doing gave me a sense of what it’s like and how everything works. Because of that, I’ve learned a lot of the hard things, and to put it bluntly, it’s just that there are a lot of things people don’t really know about the restaurant. Me being exposed to all of it allows me to see it from a different perspective than other people. One big thing people don’t really notice is service. This was really eye-opening to me when moving to Berkeley. A lot of stores just use kiosks with Snackpass. A big thing I like to notice, when ordering in a group of people, you’re supposed to have all the food come out at once. If you have dishes coming out in 2-minute intervals, one person is going to have their food, and everyone else is just looking at their food. And it’s respectful to not eat your food before other people have it, so your food just goes cold. So the kitchen has to take that into account.

Do you have any other campus involvements?

Last semester I was a part of a piano tutoring club, but lowkey they weren’t managed well as a club. Apart from that, not really. In the fall, I’ll look towards joining some other clubs, but right now, I want to put a lot of time into making my committee as enjoyable as possible.

How’d you hear about SAAS? Why did you join SAAS?

My intro to SAAS was a bit candid. I was just walking back from class, and I was on Sproul, and Skyler shoved the flier in my face and told me to apply to SAAS, and I just stored it in the stash of flyers I was getting as a freshman. And I sorted through all the flyers, and it seemed like SAAS and DF were the perfect fit for me. I was taking Data 8 at the time, but it was a bit slow, so I wanted to go a bit faster. I didn’t know the vibe of SAAS though, but that’s when I went to one of the info sessions, and Arnav sat down next to me and started chatting with me, and I saw that it was a very kind and inclusive community.

What was your favorite memory from Data Foundations?

There were so many things that happened in DF that made DF feel so special, but if I had to point one day out, it would be the day we were cutting Skyler’s hair. To give context, we had a house social, and then after that DF had a trivia night. But before that, we were going to cut Skyler’s hair. But at the same time, Assassins were going on in our club, so Skyler and Tiffany's targets were Jesseca and me, and I was cutting his hair, and as soon as I started cutting his hair, Skyler texted Tiffany to come over and kill me.

Why did you decide to become a DF director this semester?

I feel like I’ve always had this philosophy where I always like to give back and help other people out, give them that joy that I felt while being a part of DF. I just wanted to dedicate myself to making that happen, and a big part of that was seeing how fun you and Sarah were as directors.

What is your favorite SAAS memory?

A close second to the trivia night was the yacht party. It was just a lot of fun to be out in the ocean and just vibing. Apart from that, nothing too exciting apart from the socials. I heard that there are a lot of fire socials coming up, especially the trampoline park. I’m really excited for the trampoline park.

What accomplishment are you proudest of?

During my last semester, I faced a significant challenge when many restaurants were shutting down due to COVID. I stepped in to help my parents by reaching out to Grubhub and UberEats. My parents credited me with saving the business. While I don't necessarily feel it was all me, if they see it that way, then I would consider it my greatest accomplishment.

Describe a time you had to resolve conflict in a group setting.

Last semester, I participated in the datathon with a few DF members. It was our first time doing a project from scratch, and we found a dataset we liked but didn't know how to proceed with it. We ended up aimlessly looking at the data and manipulating it. Realizing that we weren't making progress, we decided to call it a night after the first day. However, the next day, while walking to the datathon, we engaged in discussions that sparked numerous ideas. Taking a step back proved beneficial, and we generated many more viable ideas.

What would you ask a fortune teller and why? What was your favorite interview response?

My favorite response was someone asking the fortune teller to predict when stocks would go up or down so they could become rich.

What would you say?

I would probably ask something more sentimental yet lighthearted. I'd inquire about the best time to go watch cherry blossoms bloom. There's a specific two-week period where cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and afterward, they wither away. Similarly, knowing when fruits are at their peak ripeness would be helpful.

How would you describe the color purple to a blind person?

I would describe it as the feeling you get when you hear lofi music. It's like touching jellyfish in an aquarium and feeling the jellyfish-like texture around you. It's akin to the scent of lavender.

What was your favorite response for the previous question?

Many people mentioned royalty and incorporated all the senses in their description. While we didn't focus too much on the responses, we were interested in seeing genuine and unique answers, providing insight into how people think.

There are two types of people in this world, what are they, and what are you?

My favorite response was distinguishing between morning showerers and night showerers. Personally, I'm a morning showerer because it helps me wake up. Morning showerers tend to start their day actively and energetically, while night showerers prefer to unwind and relax before bed.

What has been your favorite class and favorite professor?

My most favorite class was Data 8, as it introduced me to data science and SAAS. It offered a great introduction to what data science entails. As for my favorite professor, it's my AstroC10 professor, Alex Filippenko. He's an excellent lecturer and truly understands students. In his last lecture, he delved into a profound discussion about the meaning of life and why we're here. On the other hand, my least favorite class is 61a, as we're learning DF, and it's terrible.

What advice would you give to new members in SAAS to make the most out of their experience?

From my experience, I've found that it's essential not to be afraid of talking to new people and getting to know them. Despite there being many new faces, everyone is incredibly nice and willing to help. Some of my closest friends came from seemingly random encounters like donutbots and coffee chats. By being open and friendly, I've built a group of friends with whom I can connect at any SAAS social event.