New Dean’s Fellows see opportunity, find community

Clockwise from top left: Andres Jimenez Larios, Daniela X. Sandoval, Amy Osborne, Paul Ghusar, Sara Martin and Marquis Ryan-Mahone Chambers. Photo: Marlena Telvick

UC Berkeley Journalism has selected its fourth group of extraordinary first-generation college students to be Dean’s Fellows, part of an initiative launched by Dean Geeta Anand in 2021 to increase equity in journalism education, remove barriers to the field, and ultimately boost diversity in newsrooms. The Dean’s Fellows Program aims to give Berkeley Journalism graduates the freedom to pursue their careers in journalism by dramatically reducing the debt burden they carry into their professional lives.

The fellowship provides guaranteed funding for tuition and fees to multiple students annually as well as mentorship, coaching, networking and other types of career development. This year, generous student scholarship support from Steve Silberstein, UC Berkeley 2023 alum of the year Bill Whitaker (‘16), the Helzel Family Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation, and a donor who prefers to remain anonymous, was further increased thanks to an historic gift from Angela Filo (’00) and her husband, David Filo.

These funds enabled Berkeley Journalism to double the amount of financial aid it could offer incoming students and to increase the number of Dean’s Fellows to six.

“I am eternally grateful to the journalism school for removing barriers to the student debt that comes with being the first in your family,” said Dean’s Fellow Sara Martin (‘26), whose single mother worked multiple jobs to support her family. “I never dreamed that Berkeley was in reach, but it turns out Berkeley Journalism was dreaming of someone like me.”

This year’s Dean’s Fellows, all part of the Class of 2026, include Sara Martin, Marquis Ryan-Mahone Chambers, Amy Osborne, Andres Jimenez Larios, Paul Ghusar, and Daniela X. Sandoval.

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Marquis Ryan-Mahone Chambers

Fellow Marquis Chambers grew up in east Oakland, relatively close to Berkeley, but says it’s been a long journey to get where he is today. He earned his AA degree at San Francisco City College and a BA from Georgia State University, where he majored in journalism and minored in sociology, before coming to (what he noted) is the number one public school in the world.

Chambers is in the Multimedia program, gaining skills and experience to work at a publication such as The Athletic or the San Francisco Chronicle, covering Bay Area sports teams as well as race and equity.

“A kid from a city where the light of the tunnel can be so dim, made it out and is pursuing his dream,” Chambers said. “[This] is what I’m highly blessed and grateful for.”

Amy Osborne

Fellow Amy Osborne, a mother of two small children, says the Dean’s Fellowship gives her a sense of security and peace of mind to pursue journalism without imposing financial strain on her family or adding debt to the household. She’s pursuing the Multimedia track and hopes to take Professor David Barstow’s “Blockbuster” class to complete a story she’s already begun investigating.

“By alleviating the financial pressures, I can fully immerse myself and have a more productive and enriching experience,” she said.

Paul Ghusar.

Fellow Paul Ghusar was driving with friends to a concert on a weekend in February and happened to open his email on his mobile phone — something he normally wouldn’t do. “Is this saying what I think it’s saying?” he asked his friends. “And I was like OMG, they are giving me a scholarship to go!”

During the pandemic, while an undergraduate journalism student at San Francisco State, Ghusar’s Professor Sachi Cunningham (‘05) assigned him to make a film about life sheltering in place. His parents and older sister were stuck in India and his little sister (who was in Brooklyn) and girlfriend (from Austria) came to live with him in his childhood home in the Bay Area. Ghusar made a popular Wes Anderson-style short doc that won him second-place in the Hearst Journalism Awards for the best multimedia Narrative Video Storytelling in 2021.

Ghusar says he’s grateful to have the chance to focus on his journalism studies.

Daniela X. Sandoval

“Most everything creative that I have learned, I have learned on the side while working,” he said. “This is the first time in my life where I get to be completely focused on working on my creative craft. It’s a dream come true.”

Fellow Daniela X. Sandoval, a 2020 graduate of UCLA, was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and raised in California’s San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire.

“For as long as I can remember, storytelling has been integral to my existence,” she said. “In today’s digital age, there is a pressing need for accurate narratives in journalism. Pursuing my Master’s in Journalism is equipping me to challenge misinformation and promote equitable news coverage.”

Sara Martin

Fellow Sara Martin, who says she grew up reading the Rocky Mountain News at her grandparents’ table, is also drawn to tell important stories.

“No matter where I end up, I have always been captivated by the power of storytelling and its ability to shape public discourse,” she said. “Journalism feels like a calling because I need to do something where I’m contributing to the world, sharing overlooked stories and helping communities through my writing.”

Fellow Andres Jimenez Larios is the child of Mexican immigrants, who grew up in Southern California’s Inland Empire and earned his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. He wants to become a journalist so that he can help break down complex topics, to make sense of the world for those with less access to information and education.

“I am privileged that I speak three languages, attended a well-regarded university, and can hold my own in academic spaces, but not everyone has had the opportunities I have had,” Larios said. “I want to be that bridge that can take complex data, statistics, jargon, and information and be able to reproduce it for people like my parents, whose main concern is to make a living.”

Andres Jimenez Larios

The fellows expressed gratitude about the sense of community they have cultivated together, as part of the Dean’s Fellows program run by Director Mallory Newman (‘19).

“With this year’s expanded Dean’s Fellows Program, made possible by our generous donors, we’ve been able to focus much more on creating community within the cohort and providing meaningful holistic support for each of our Dean’s Fellows,” Newman said. “This group of incredibly talented journalists are forging their own paths — ones that are guided by their desire to tell new stories in new and exciting ways. I am so eager to see all that they will contribute to the field!”

Chambers said the Dean’s Fellowship feels like a “tight-knit family” and “is very hands-on and informative about what we need to be successful during our journey here at the J-School…. in our two years here, and after.”