Cañada College Alum Wants to Help Other Students Transfer to the Haas School of Business at University of California Berkeley

Wed, 10 October, 2018 at 4:01 pm




Rebecca Tang was born and raised in San Francisco. During her senior year of high school, she took the online course BUS 100: Introduction to Business, which at the time was called Contemporary American Business, with Professor Candice Nance. It was in that class she found the field of interest she wanted to pursue. Prior to this class, she was set on becoming a doctor but luckily the summer going into senior year she figured out that the science route wasn’t for her after taking Chemistry 1A at UC Berkeley that summer as a pre-collegiate. 

Enjoying the benefits of free tuition while in high school through Cañada College’s concurrent enrollment program, she chose to explore the field of business as she didn’t know much about it other than associating it with money and numbers. Taking that first business class online at Cañada College opened her eyes to the many facets and fields within the business world. She distinctly remembers her final project in BUS 100: Introduction to Business where she incorporated her favorite hobby of baking and made it into a whole business plan. Upon completing the course, she started work in a finance department at a local San Francisco non-profit as an assistant. Coupled with curiosity and high interest she learned the skills and knowledge to work her way up to become a staff accountant. 

Not getting into her dream school of UC Berkeley as a pre-business major right out of high school was a tad disappointing, but she knew that through the community college system she could transfer. Going to school and working as an accountant, she didn’t feel like she was a student, but just another person in the workforce who had the chance to practice and implement what I learned in my accounting classes on a daily basis. Though it took her four years to transfer out of community college, it was well worth “staying back” compared to all her friends. Even though it was hard at times, she always had to keep in mind that she was on her own life path and not to compare it to her peers. During her four years at community college, she was able to work full-time at a nonprofit and startup and travel internationally around Asian and studying abroad in Florence, Italy. 

Currently as a junior, studying at UC Berkeley at the Haas School of Business, she highly recommends students interested in applying to join the “Envision Haas Transfer Outreach Program”. This is a great opportunity to connect with the Berkeley Haas community! In collaboration with the Berkeley Haas Undergraduate Program Office, the Haas Business Student Association Student Affairs Committee hosts the Envision Haas Transfer Outreach Program exclusively for prospective community college transfer students. Occurring in the Fall and Spring semesters, Envision Haas is scheduled one Friday a month in the late afternoon. The program includes a tour led by current Haas transfer students, a Q&A session with Berkeley Haas Admissions Staff, followed by a diverse student panel consisting of junior and senior transfer students. Aside from joining the program, get plugged into something you are passionate about and stick with it. Being well-rounded in academics, work/school clubs, and keeping your personal health as a priority not only will help you in community college but with college admissions essays and beyond when you start applying for internships your junior year of university! If you are interested in applying the Berkeley Haas and have more questions regarding the admissions process and school, you can reach Rebecca Tang through Linkedin.


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Posted in: Student Success, Featured, Business, Student Success Story, Transfer