With the busy Haas schedule, I make it a priority to sleep in on Saturdays. I need a day to wake up at 10:00, go out to breakfast with my girlfriend, and relax. We decide to go to the Savor in Noe Valley, my favorite breakfast spot, for warm coffee, eggs, goat cheese, and lox. We meet up with my best friend and her boyfriend, who live up the street. There is a 45-minute wait, so we stand outside, drink our complimentary coffee, and catch up.

Before Haas, I lived in San Francisco and worked for a nonprofit public health organization. Business school has been a huge change of pace. When choosing schools, one of my main concerns was whether I would be able to relate to my classmates, whom I knew would come from very different backgrounds and lifestyles, and whose goals would differ from my own of helping women gain access to quality health care. However, at Haas, I have been very surprised by how students share the common goal and concern of giving back to the community and the impact they have on the world. This is what I love about Haas and a primary reason why I ultimately chose to stay in the Bay Area. In addition, Berkeley has an excellent health care program, and I am a dual degree MBA/MPH student.

My girlfriend and I decide to go to the DeYoung Museum, which recently re-opened with a new building and expanded collection. I spend the afternoon wandering through the museum, enjoying the break from my action-packed Haas schedule. Afterwards, we head to Dolores Park, stopping on the way to pick up some beers. Nothing beats the California weather. It’s November, and I can still enjoy a warm and sunny day.

After an hour in the park, my phone rings. Some Haas friends are meeting at El Rio, where they have a great outdoor patio. We drink and tell jokes that only first-year business student would think are funny.

Next, we go in search of food; nothing beats the taquerias in the Mission district, with great cheap Mexican food. Returning to student life has resulted in an increased appreciation for the value of a $5 dinner. In addition, I relish using my student ID for discounts at the movie theater, Pier 1, etc.

I decide to head back to Berkeley after dinner. I have a lot of work to get done tomorrow, and I want to get a good night’s sleep. I take BART, which is very convenient because my studio is only three blocks from the stop. At 9:00 p.m., I arrive home and catch up on some emails. My study group wants to move up our meeting tomorrow for our finance project since its deadline is rapidly approaching.

I send out some emails, including a note to the president of Q@Haas letting him know that I am throwing my hat into the ring to take over the presidency for next year. Q@Haas, the lesbian, gay & bisexual student group, has made me feel welcome from the beginning, when they hosted a reception at Days@Haas. In the Bay Area, there are tons of social outlets for lesbians like myself, but it is great to make those connections within the Haas community.

Finally, I close my computer and pull out my finance book to brush up before our group meeting tomorrow. As a student with a non-business background, I have to put in some extra time to get up to speed, and I want to feel that I am pulling my weight in the group. At the same time, in the cooperative spirit of Haas, my classmates are always there when I need extra help.

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“Tofu, don’t forget we need to buy tofu… the firm kind.”

My fiancé Josh’s voice breaks into my stupor as I stand on the sidewalk outside Bette’s Oceanview Diner. After a full breakfast, I am steadily slipping into a dangerous food coma, but thankfully, his interjection has reminded me of our mission for the morning. My brother Andy chimes in that we also need clams, so I responsibly add both to our shopping list. Josh is visiting from our home in L.A. for the weekend, so we walk off some of our breakfast by browsing along the shops on Fourth Street.

After our stroll, we drive over to Ranch 99 for some grocery shopping. The cool weather is the perfect background for hot pot, so our lengthy grocery list is replete with the seafood, fresh vegetables, and, of course, tofu, we will need that evening for dinner. My brother and I are both first-years at Haas, so our dinners during the week are usually regimented affairs with little time for dilly-dallying. Therefore, the weekends are the best time to enjoy the leisurely style of hot pot.

After returning to the apartment and unloading our purchases, Josh and I make our way up the winding roads to Tilden Park Golf Course for some practice time at the driving range. With a busy first semester, I haven’t been to the driving range as often as I’d like, but my frustration with my five iron is tempered by the gorgeous views of pine trees, blue sky, and the occasional deer. Growing up in Southern California, I didn’t see much of the seasons, and later on, my jobs as a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a manager at Countrywide limited my accessibility to daylight. Coming to Haas, therefore, represented an opportunity for me to undergo an industry shift and focus on a personal interest: the education sector for youth. My volunteer experiences had always stressed this sector, so I saw Haas’ tremendous nonprofit and public management program as the ideal vehicle to take me from my past experience to a career in education management or consulting.

When my fiancé Josh and I decided on Haas, we knew the distance would be a challenge, so I always make the effort to complete my school work outside of our time together, which usually means during the week around classes and meetings. Once back at the apartment, I do a quick email check to see if there are any emails from my study group members that I need to address before Sunday. Recognizing our different schedules, our study group rarely meets on the weekends and tries to communicate primarily through email to complete our group projects. Fortunately, I just need to make a few quick replies before helping Josh and Andy prepare dinner.

One of my classmates is celebrating his birthday in the City at a bar called Blondies and No Grill, so after clearing the table, we get ready for a night out. We call up our friend Mike to see if he wants a ride, and the four of us head over the bridge for a fun evening with buddies to put the finishing touches on our Saturday.

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