WELCOME TO BERKELEY!
Congratulations on being admitted to UC Berkeley! I am excited to share with you the unique journey of being a graduate student at Cal. Like many of you, I came to the U.S. as an international student and had the privilege to pursue college and graduate degrees here. I know you may have questions on your mind, ranging from course selections, advisors, research directions, to life in the Bay Area. Fortunately, IGSM is the place where you can find a warm and embracing community where you can meet people from all nations to discuss those topics.
As you navigate through our website, I encourage you to join us for various exciting events this semester. As graduate students, we can venture through the ups and downs of life together. When I first moved to Berkeley from UCLA for my Ph.D. program, I didn't have many friends in the Bay Area, but with the help of friends and mentors from IGSM, I was able to adapt to the new challenges here. In 2017, I moved in with friends I met from IGSM, where we had a lot of fond memories together for three years.
Please take this time to explore the abundant resources available to you in IGSM. Being a part of IGSM is the best decision I have made. I hope that this can be your story, too, as you consider the next steps in your graduate studies! Feel free to reach out to us, and congratulations again on joining the Cal family!
Sincerely,
Jerry Tai
Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
BS (UCLA), PhD in EECS (UC Berkeley)