“I congratulate you.”
“Well done. You’ve found the fifth Golden Ticket. May I introduce myself.”
You may recognize this line from Mr. Slugworth, the business rival to Willy Wonka.
At Berkeley, SCET invites you to a game. Care to play?
Every fall, SCET hosts the SCET Innovation Fellows Challenge where students are given challenges designed to push them beyond their usual routines. While not a chocolate factory, students are asked to enter unfamiliar territory, whether it’s new events, new people, new risks.
How well do you know yourself? In Willy Wonka, the factory reveals each child’s habits and limits. Through SCET’s challenge, stepping out of your comfort zone reveals your own patterns too.
However, rather than falling into a chocolate river or turning into a giant blueberry when a wrong move is made, you get a chance to work on your qualities. The challenges invite students to practice entering new spaces of unfamiliar people, introduce themselves in different ways, ask thoughtful follow-up questions, and take initiative to turn conversations into something more.
This spring, the winners of the program celebrated by making chocolate truffles while reflecting on their journey through the challenges. Completion of different challenges are awarded a different number of points, and those with the most points at the end of the semester are declared as winners.
For Jackie, a senior studying Society and Environment, the challenge program was a good incentive to put himself out there more.
“It’s important for me to explore different fields because you get to meet a lot of people. I got to talk to other people who had very different experiences than I did.”
Jackie recalls speaking with a woman who started at a small company, and is now leading marketing at LinkedIn.
“To see how she used the skills she cultivated through past experiences towards higher ranking, leadership positions really inspired me. No matter how you may think your experiences are small or insignificant, they’re still a vital part of your life and journey to achieve a higher goal or position.”
Another winner, Dylan, a third year student studying Applied Math and Data Science, also said one of the most valuable parts of the challenge was attending workshops and meeting new people.
One of his favorite events featured Gorick Ng, author of The Unspoken Rules, who spoke about navigating the workplace and building a network.
“No one teaches you this, but how you present yourself or talk to other people really matters.”
Dylan describes a habit he has picked up to improve his communication in professional settings: being more proactive about giving updates.
“Even though I’m super technical, it’s still important to always give my manager transparency. So every couple days, I should update them like, ‘Hey, I’m working on this, I got this done. Do you have anything for me?” That way, it’s always on top of mind and they know exactly where you’re at. It makes it seem like you’re making more progress.”
Another event challenge Dylan enjoyed was “Connect & Dash,” peer to peer networking matches.
“It showed me the power of having really short, 15 minute chats.”
“I met a lot of people through that, and a couple opportunities like access to paid events or internships.”
It also made him think about the math behind luck.
“Career advancement or life in general is a numbers game. If you can meet more people, go to more events, you’ll have more pathways for serendipitous opportunities. The more things you attend, the more exposure you get, and the higher the chances of getting lucky and having that one connection that leads you to your next breakthrough, whether it’s an internship opportunity, a job, or a valuable mentor.”
Dylan describes his own breakthrough.
“Before I did the program, I was actually super introverted and antisocial. But I feel like over time I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with chatting with people, and I actually have a couple projects with startups that I got through that.”
It has also opened a new pathway.
“I knew Berkeley was well known for its entrepreneurship, but I wasn’t super involved before. But this program has definitely opened up a lot of different paths I wouldn’t have explored otherwise. Now, I’m applying to start-ups too.”
The chocolates were delicious. The challenge program is like receiving a Golden Ticket into a new world. You step into the unknown and test yourself, to come out with something sweeter: new conversations, more connection, greater confidence, and new routes and possibilities.
Will you accept your Golden Ticket? See you next fall.
“I congratulate you.”
“Well done. You’ve found the fifth Golden Ticket. May I introduce myself.”
You may recognize this line from Mr. Slugworth, the business rival to Willy Wonka.
At Berkeley, SCET invites you to a game. Care to play?
Every fall, SCET hosts the SCET Innovation Fellows Challenge where students are given challenges designed to push them beyond their usual routines. While not a chocolate factory, students are asked to enter unfamiliar territory, whether it’s new events, new people, new risks.
How well do you know yourself? In Willy Wonka, the factory reveals each child’s habits and limits. Through SCET’s challenge, stepping out of your comfort zone reveals your own patterns too.
However, rather than falling into a chocolate river or turning into a giant blueberry when a wrong move is made, you get a chance to work on your qualities. The challenges invite students to practice entering new spaces of unfamiliar people, introduce themselves in different ways, ask thoughtful follow-up questions, and take initiative to turn conversations into something more.
This spring, the winners of the program celebrated by making chocolate truffles while reflecting on their journey through the challenges. Completion of different challenges are awarded a different number of points, and those with the most points at the end of the semester are declared as winners.
For Jackie, a senior studying Society and Environment, the challenge program was a good incentive to put himself out there more.
“It’s important for me to explore different fields because you get to meet a lot of people. I got to talk to other people who had very different experiences than I did.”
Jackie recalls speaking with a woman who started at a small company, and is now leading marketing at LinkedIn.
“To see how she used the skills she cultivated through past experiences towards higher ranking, leadership positions really inspired me. No matter how you may think your experiences are small or insignificant, they’re still a vital part of your life and journey to achieve a higher goal or position.”
Another winner, Dylan, a third year student studying Applied Math and Data Science, also said one of the most valuable parts of the challenge was attending workshops and meeting new people.
One of his favorite events featured Gorick Ng, author of The Unspoken Rules, who spoke about navigating the workplace and building a network.
“No one teaches you this, but how you present yourself or talk to other people really matters.”
Dylan describes a habit he has picked up to improve his communication in professional settings: being more proactive about giving updates.
“Even though I’m super technical, it’s still important to always give my manager transparency. So every couple days, I should update them like, ‘Hey, I’m working on this, I got this done. Do you have anything for me?” That way, it’s always on top of mind and they know exactly where you’re at. It makes it seem like you’re making more progress.”
Another event challenge Dylan enjoyed was “Connect & Dash,” peer to peer networking matches.
“It showed me the power of having really short, 15 minute chats.”
“I met a lot of people through that, and a couple opportunities like access to paid events or internships.”
It also made him think about the math behind luck.
“Career advancement or life in general is a numbers game. If you can meet more people, go to more events, you’ll have more pathways for serendipitous opportunities. The more things you attend, the more exposure you get, and the higher the chances of getting lucky and having that one connection that leads you to your next breakthrough, whether it’s an internship opportunity, a job, or a valuable mentor.”
Dylan describes his own breakthrough.
“Before I did the program, I was actually super introverted and antisocial. But I feel like over time I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with chatting with people, and I actually have a couple projects with startups that I got through that.”
It has also opened a new pathway.
“I knew Berkeley was well known for its entrepreneurship, but I wasn’t super involved before. But this program has definitely opened up a lot of different paths I wouldn’t have explored otherwise. Now, I’m applying to start-ups too.”
The chocolates were delicious. The challenge program is like receiving a Golden Ticket into a new world. You step into the unknown and test yourself, to come out with something sweeter: new conversations, more connection, greater confidence, and new routes and possibilities.
Will you accept your Golden Ticket? See you next fall.