Graduate Profiles
Kash Kravitz - Postwar American Culture
Following graduation, Kash decided to disregard the five years spent pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree and head back to community college—this time for culinary school. They currently work as a line cook at a fine dining establishment in Oakland and aspire to open a Jew-ish diner restaurant cooperative/queer social space named after their late grandmother Estelle. At their future restaurant, they want to offer free meals to transgender people of color and provide a space for community organizing. Once they get too old to withstand the physical labor of being a chef, Kash plans to teach cooking as a tool for self-empowerment to youth. Or, who knows, maybe they’ll get bored of it all in a few years and further their interest in American food culture by pursing a graduate degree in American Studies.
American Studies 101 - The Birth of Consumerism
American Studies 101 - New Gilded Age
American Studies 102 - American Themescapes
American Studies C 171 - History of the American Landscape

Thesis The Wolf in Farmer’s Clothing: The Reproduction of White Hierarchal Structures at the Davis Farmers’ Market, 1976-1986
Kevin Ponn - Technology and the American Public
Since graduating , Kevin has had the honor of working for the university as the new Cal Esports Program Manager, the first full-time staff position dedicated to esports. Kevin directly oversees the Cal Esports program and the Cal Esports Community Center, which serves all students at Cal as the home for gaming on campus. In work and life, Kevin is an advocate for the positive role of gaming and esports in our society.
Art 178 - Game Design Methods
Information C167 - Virtual Communities/Social Media
American Studies 101 - Birth of Consumerism
American Studies H110 - From SFMOMA to the Ghost Ship: Exploring Bay Area Arts Ecosystems
Info 103 - History of Information

Thesis Esports: Evolution
Roya Chagnon - Art, Architecture, Design, and Landscape in America
After graduating with a double major in American Studies and Urban Studies, Roya spent a year working at the Oakland Department of Transportation, redesigning streets and conducting community outreach to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety in Oakland’s most underserved neighborhoods. She is currently pursuing her Master’s of Architecture at UCLA, where she is also part of the Urban Humanities certificate program.
Architecture 110AC - The Social and Cultural Basis of Design
Architecture 179 - Special Topics in the History of Architecture
History of Art 110C-31 - Spanish Contemporary Art- University of Barcelona
Theater 173A - Scenography: Scenic Design for the Theatre
Urban Studies 106C-31: Community and City - University of Barcelona
Landscape Architecture C171 - The American Designed Landscape Since 1850

Thesis Cartography of Fear: Environmental Design and Women’s Emotional Geographies

Shelby Mack - Race and Education in the U.S.
Following graduation, Shelby Mack was the Post-Baccalaureate Shinnyo-en Fellow for Berkeley’s Public Service Center. As a Shinnyo fellow, she worked as a 6th grade Poetry Teacher and Research Fellow for the African American Female Excellence Program (AAFE) – the first school in the United States to create a Black female enrichment program at West Oakland Middle School. Her service project, “Empowering and Healing Girls of Color through Performing Arts,” incorporated peace building, mindfulness, and sisterhood in teaching girls not only how to identify systemic oppressions, gender violence, and family trauma they face but also how to create healing, gender empowerment, and social change through narrative art. Shelby also participated in the post-baccalaureate research education program at Yale. Beginning Fall 2020, Shelby will pursue a Ph.D. in Performance Studies at Northwestern University.
Education 182AC - The Politics of Educational Inequality
Education 140AC - Art of Making Meaning
African American Studies 139 - Selected Topics of African American Social Organization and Institutions
African American Studies 136 - Criminal Justice and the Community
African American Studies 241 - Special Topics in Development Studies of the Diaspora
