Viviana Huang

Name: Viviana Huang
Majors: Molecular & Cell Biology (Immunology Emphasis) and Hispanic Languages & Bilingual Issues
Extracurricular Activities: BSP, Chicanos/Latinos in Health Education, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, BSP Physics 8A Tutor, BSP Intramural Indoor Soccer & recreational outdoor soccer

By Joel Gonzalez, current BSP member

Growing Up To Be Viviana

Joel: So tell me something about yourself. Let’s start with the basics.

Viviana: My full name is Viviana Huang Chen. People have asked me how is it Viviana as opposed to Vivian—and that’s because I was born in Mexicali, Baja California, that gives it the Spanish version. It was only after I finished 5^th grade that my family and I moved to the US. Many people are surprised when I speak to them in Spanish. Then I have to break it to them that I am actually fluent and Mexican-born. I kept taking Spanish classes in high school since that is the only foreign language offered. So now here I am doing a Spanish and MCB major with an emphasis in Immunology.

Joel: How did you find out about Cal?

Viviana: Many people talk about UCSD because Brawley (my home-town) is only about 3 hours from there and I live really close to the Mexican-American border. Cal was really out of the picture until my mom saw a list of the top public institutions in the US in a Chinese phonebook, and of course Cal was at the top. I had my heart set on UCLA but my mom really wanted me to come here since she wished only for me to attend the best university. At the time I didn’t know anything about Cal and didn’t even come to orientation because it was so far. But I had to respect my parents’ wishes and so I came here as soon as I got accepted.

Joel: How did you find out about BSP?

Viviana: I actually wasn’t invited to BSP my first semester at Cal, but my friend who was in it introduced me to the program and told me to apply. At the interview, well it was more like a chat with Roger, everything felt so ‘homie’. Then Marco, excited to learn that I was from Mexicali busted out his Spanish and just made me feel so much more at home with familiar sounds. I knew this had to be mi segunda casa. As to my first impressions of the program, every single person on staff was very nice, having conversations in the office—it wasn’t even a real office in the strict business sense—it was very personal and not dull, more like everyone wanted to be there every day.

Joel: Everyone has a different story so I am always amazed every time I hear someone tell me about how they joined BSP. How was your experience at Cal during your first semesters here? Was it a life-changing experience?

Viviana: I would say so. At first, I felt like I handled Math 1a and Chem 1a okay my first semester, so why not o-chem and more math—but when second semester hit, everything started crumbling. I thought to myself, “Where did the ease of doing everything well and right go? How did everything become so hard and complicated?” Then I realized that I was trying to beat the “Best of the Best” at Berkeley, and maybe even Berkeley itself. They (the advisors) tell you to take all these classes to graduate in four years, and they make it seem like you’re falling behind if you don’t, especially with a double major. Those first semesters definitely taught me to see Berkeley with different eyes, and go through everything with a different approach.

Joel: The academic pressures at Cal builds up like a plate of food. You try to fill your plate of food, but you could only fit so much before it falls over. For most students, the plate is full but they still try to build on top of that. How do you deal with the pressures of Cal?

Viviana: Well a plateful is something I’ve always had to deal with, so the pressures at Cal wasn’t something all too new for me … But when I really need to de-stress, I turn to soccer. I always wanted to play soccer. There was no time in high school, so I didn’t start playing until my freshman year at Maxwell field. Since then, I have been on Intramural soccer teams—indoors and outdoors—including the BSP Soccer Team. Go Matsuis!

experiences AND GOALS

Joel: What other things have you done outside of school?

Viviana: Well, let’s see. I joined CPU my freshman year. CPU stands for “Chinese People’s Union.” I remember it was one of those times when I felt like I needed to figure out who I was, and I felt that being at Cal with such diversity I could do so. After a semester, I felt that I didn’t belong in CPU—it wasn’t home. It was like an identity crisis phase. Where I grew up it was 75% Hispanic/Latino, and although I am Chinese, I just could not connect. Then, I found BSP J. In BSP, I see the mix of people coming from all sorts of different backgrounds. I realized that it was okay for me to be Chinese, born in Mexico and still live the US culture. I have three different cultures going on inside of me, and I don’t associate myself with just one group, but an array of them. In BSP and CHE, I feel like I am at home because I could speak Spanish to people and not feel judged if I code-switch. All of us understand that we are not one-dimensional kids, but three-dimensional individuals. So I am still doing CHE, and have been doing research at CHORI and tutoring for BSP.

Joel: Wow that’s awesome. It seems like a lot of activities but I understand after 4 years, it doesn’t seem like a lot, but you have to find your passion. What is your passion?

Viviana: After all this, I feel like my love lies in learning, teaching, learning again, and helping others. In other words, tutoring is my passion. It is my way of helping others and giving back; and not only does it combine all those aspects that I love but it is also very rewarding. Tutoring is what I have been doing all along since high school and I can’t see myself without it.

Joel: I noticed that you are doing Immunology in MCB, which is uncommon for an MCB major. I was just curious, why Immunology?

Viviana: When I think of immunology, I think of Infectious diseases, which are small things that have a huge impact when it hits. I feel like it’s the most interesting to me out of all the emphases, and I ultimately find it amazing that our bodies have all these mechanisms that keep us standing, and trying to stay alive. I just want to learn more about how it all works to fight intruders and win battles. We’re fighting diseases as we speak. Every second is a battle in our body.

Joel: What do you plan to do after graduating from Cal?

Viviana: I want to go home and take care of my family of course. Then I want to learn more about myself and figure out my life too. (It’s okay not to know—life is a journey not a destination, you know). There are so many cool things I want to do. Since middle school, school was 24/7, but after graduation I feel like that I need to take time off. I know for sure that I want to take care of people and medicine will allow me to do that by caring for them, helping them solve their problems and their illnesses. A lot of people say, “I don’t understand this doctor,” and so I feel that my background for the understanding of different cultures will help me not be that doctor. I also want to continue teaching and mentoring people. That is definitely something I have to do sometime in my career.

LAST WORDS

Joel: Do you have any words of advice to those not familiar with Berkeley or BSP?

Viviana: Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. I think as a student or a practicing physician, one really hasn’t learned enough, seen enough or lived enough unless one has life experiences to back that up. By life experiences I don’t mean just those summer programs that you can do, but all those little things like eating eel, or mopping the floors, or just anything that adds to the list of things you know and experienced. By doing a lot of different things, we will be exposed to many more situations, meet new people, get to know others better, etc. If you never liked asking for help, snap out of it. Don’t refuse a helping hand from someone who has more life experience than you—you can really learn from them. And similarly, if you haven’t helped in a car wash or given advice, try it out. Most importantly, do the things that you love because that is where you will do your best and be most happy. If you haven’t found that love, expose yourself and you’ll eventually learn to find it. Basically, learn life by living it.