
Alumni Stories
An interview with Fung Fellow alumni: James Tayali, Jenny Shearer, Daniel Nam, and Javier Chen.
James was a Public Health major. The first UC Berkeley undergraduate from Malawi, he is the founder of two starts ups, Deal Malawi and Keki Mawe, and a non-profit. He hopes to return to his country and lead the tech revolution.
Jenny was a Molecular and Cell Biology major with a focus in genetics. Part educator and part innovator, she hopes to grow her startup, Maia Health. She will be applying to medical school next year.
Daniel was a Computer Science major with a specialty in software engineering. A coast guard veteran, he was one of the nine veterans in the Fellowship. As a junior transfer, Daniel took the path less travelled, bringing a unique perspective to the Fellowship.
Javier was a Society and Environment major with an emphasis in U.S. environmental policy management and sustainable energy development. The vice president of the Cal Veterans group, Javier is constantly on the move and extending his network.
What drew you into the Fellowship?
James: I was so lost in public health. I had a passion for business, health, and technology. I couldn’t put it all together until I came to the Fellowship. The past year has been one of the best years of my life. It’s pretty much been the highlight of my Berkeley education. It allowed me to explore my passions and my interests. It gave me the training I needed to work with ideas, communities, and teammates. The communities we are dealing with are complex. You can’t just come in, because you go to Berkeley, and hand them a solution. When I go back to Africa, I should be able to reproduce these experiences and the advice. I should be able to be an effective leader.
“The Fellowship was a blessing. I would recommend it for everyone.”
Jenny: I was teaching a DeCal called Health Innovation. It was a course I created for my interest in health tech. I was doing the structure and didn’t get to actually design. I was helping teams design. This was an opportunity to follow through on all the stuff I was talking to and was a great way to become more aware of issues and work with issues in the field. I walked away with a greater passion in Health Tech and I’m grateful for the diversity it brought. Working in these diverse and compassionate teams had the greatest impact.
Daniel: I came in as a transfer, a third year/junior, and I didn’t really know what to expect. Berkeley has a really strong culture. It’s very open ended and everyone has a strong personality.
Javier: I was drawn into the Fellowship because it offered a program where we could combine technology in the public health sector that focused on adolescent, senior citizens, and military veterans. I enjoyed the interdisciplinary aspect where I was able to work with students from different backgrounds and experiences to help solve our public health issues.

What are you up to these days?
“Having the sense of purpose is really important.”
James: I’m working with Blue Goji, a start-up created by Coleman Fung, founder of the Fung Fellowship. I was a product designer but now I’m into testing. Next, Coleman is going to put me into research as he’s trying to scale up his products to make sure he can get data and do the trials.
Jenny: For the past year, my project has been formally known as Maia. I was researching transitional care and wanting to work in the space for a year before that. I want to become a physician myself. I think it’s an area of health care that I will stay forever. I think this founding group will always be tied to Maia.
Daniel: I haven’t had much of a career yet. I definitely keep the Fellowship in mind. I’m looking for jobs with a health and wellness bent. I was in the coast guard and heavily involved in search and rescue missions. At the time, I didn’t think about it, but I got a sense of purpose. You know you are saving lives and that’s what propels you. I want to do that again, but with technology. It makes me feel fulfilled. Having the sense of purpose is really important.
Javier: I was studying abroad this summer in Geneva, Switzerland. Following my study abroad, I participated in the Warriors Scholars Project (non-profit program) that assists transitioning military service members that are intending to enroll in higher education, both at the undergraduate and graduate school level. I am currently interviewing for several tech companies.
What are some struggles you faced and how did you overcome them?

James: [on why the Fellowship is so important] I was supporting myself and my brother by selling nuts, until I was adopted by my uncle. I was cutting through barriers to have the same opportunity others had. I didn’t know anything about applying to American universities because no one in my family has done it before. I remember knocking on the doors of embassies. I started with the British embassy asking, “Do you have scholarships?”, and they said, “No”. The Korean, Chinese, all these embassies… Until, I came to the US embassy. They gave me information about study abroad programs and what you can do as an international student. I needed to take the SAT and apply as an international student. You can apply for financial aid and scholarships. When I got here, there were no other Malawians on campus, other than a professor. I was the only student from Malawi. I didn’t know anyone on campus. The Fellowship was a family to me.
Jenny: [On learning to run a start-up] There are people I will go back to ask for advice and opinions. I asked my Fellows all the time and I had a Fellow sit down with me and explain all the business opportunities I could have with Maia.
Daniel: Academic struggles. I felt like most of the students were studying something they knew since they were little. I had never studied before studying to get into Berkeley. It was unfamiliar; keeping up studying was hard. Especially since everyone was ten years younger than me.
Javier: I did not face many struggles inside the Fellowship, besides balancing my academics, student organizations, Fellowship and social time. I enjoyed my time working with both my project groups from both semesters. I learned a lot and would never trade that experience for anything. They were motivated and passionate about helping others.
How did the Fellowship help you get to where you are?



James: I was in the game design intern program for Blue Goji , so I did that for about 7 months while I was at Berkeley. Coleman gave me a return offer when I graduated. GoWings Safari was my project and I was working with them and some of the students there. Now, we have other games that I didn’t know about during my internship so I’m working with that.
Jenny: [On starting Maia] I went to Jennifer with my application and I think her support and mentorship really motivated me to take this seriously, that there was merit to this idea. This could be something real and something tangible. I will always be grateful for that.

Daniel: It developed my maturity as far as understanding other people. After the military, I thought about everything by the book. We were in class when the election result was announced and I realized that it was going to change a lot of things for people in my class. The whole atmosphere changed. I realized how much it meant for others. I realized you can’t always live by the book.
Javier: The Fellowship helped me get to where I am today by providing me with the networks and resources I wanted to connect with entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and public health professionals. I am forever grateful for the mentorship of the program staff, faculty, and professionals that have put in the effort to make this Fellowship happen.
How does this fit into the grander picture?


James: I learned that technology was the key. You see, I’m from Malawi southeast Africa. Growing up I didn’t have access to technology. I really wanted to be a doctor. So when I came to Berkeley I was training to be a doctor, but then I realized “You know what, that’s not the only way to make people healthier, you can use technology to make people healthier.” I need to design some solutions to make people healthier. That’s why when the call from Blue Goji came I was like “This is me.” It’s exactly what I want to do. I want to use technology to help people.
Jenny: I feel so much comfortable reaching out to potential partners. We met so many people of different backgrounds willing to help people develop careers.
Daniel: I don’t have a really concrete vision. The things I learned at the Fellowship and the interactions with the people there gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about different things that I wouldn’t have learned as a student at Berkeley. I want to be a software engineer, but the thought of making a positive impact is a part of how I live.
“Your zip code shouldn’t determine your life expectancy.”
Javier: This Fellowship fits to the grander vision of life because I envision all communities to become healthy and thrive no matter where they are from. In my opinion, your zip code shouldn’t determine your life expectancy, but research and data states otherwise. If technology, education, and resources are available for communities to learn and adapt in order to make healthy choices, then they have the opportunity and means to live healthy lives. I believe it takes work from many stakeholders in order to ensure the healthy and thriving livelihood of communities, and I think the research in the Fellowship is one component on working toward that goal.
How might this affect the Fellowship?

James: I want to teach youths how to use innovation to generate opportunities for themselves. They can create more jobs. More jobs can create more income. More income can make them more comfortable. Risk factors for certain diseases might be lower. They can choose what to eat. They can afford good places to live. They can afford a good life. Poor and without education, we will see the trend we currently do. I really want to be one of the pioneers of an innovative Africa where people are able to innovate ideas in health and education.
“I really want to be one of the pioneers of an innovative Africa, where people are able to innovate ideas in health and education.”
Jenny: I got an email from a freshman. She read about my class and said she was interested. Unfortunately I was not teaching my class anymore. I gave her a list about health tech on campus. She got back to me and she was interested in the Fellowship and we’re going to meet when she comes to campus! It’s always exciting. I became involved with a mentor, an upperclassman who asked if I was interested. It’s fun to pay it forward that way.
Daniel: The Fellowship is a great program. There are programs like it, like Stanford Design School, but I didn’t think it would have that much of an influence on campus. We had guests every week. They were important people from on campus or off campus. That stuff never happens in other classes. They always said they wanted more programs like ours. The Fellowship was doing something important and different. I hope it keeps going and is a model for how Berkeley approaches education in the future. It’s the new model for education on campus.
“It’s the new model for education on campus.”
Javier: My vision for the world is to ensure there are enough natural and renewable resources to sustain human life, no matter where you are from. Many conflicts and wars arises due to the unsustainable management of resources. People flee to other parts of the world because there are no means for them to stay and raise their families. I hope governments, organizations and institutions across the spectrum can work towards a way to ensure the safe wellbeing for all people. This will affect the Fellowship down the road when we not only look at how technology can help address and solve local public health issues, but social and health issues at a larger scale. If the Fellowship were to pivot to a more place-based approach, and utilize what we learned from previous research and application, than we may be able to take what we’ve learned and apply that technology and strategy to different places throughout the nation and the world. The Fellowship may move from a local perspective to a more global-international perspective. After all, we do live in a globalized world.

How do you feel about the future?
“I’m optimistic.”
James: The future looks exciting. I’m eager to learn more things.
Jenny: I hope I have a bright future. I’m in this weird purgatory between school and life. I’m optimistic.
Daniel: I feel like life works out for me, not always in the best way. I’ve never hit the worst case scenario. I’m a little worried right now, but I’ll find a job and start my career. I don’t think too far into the future, you can only really predict a year or so. I try to stay positive and hope for the best.
Javier: I feel optimistic about the future in the hands of my generation and the generations after me. I think if world governments are able to set aside political views and national interests, and work together diplomatically and across all disciplines to address issues the real long term issues on hand, such as climate change, than we will be able to succeed and thrive as a human race living on the same planet.

