Alana Tran

Where did you grow up? What was your path to Cal?

I grew up in San Jose a.k.a. Silicon Valley. It's a diverse community that's great for kids to become compassionate citizens! I had intended to do food engineering at Davis, but found out I was allergic to the campus on a visit. Nutrition Science was the closest major offered, so I chose Berkeley so I could have that option open to me if I wanted.

How much programming have you done (and what languages)?

I hated spending more computer-time than necessary for homework as a kid; I'd still prefer to be outdoors all day so my first exposure to CS was at Cal. I guess you could say I know python, java, and rudimentary HTML.

What are your hobbies? What are some of your talents and skills?

ALL THE ARTS: drawing, singing, playing instruments, "dancing". And swimming. I live to drown. Out of those, probably drawing is my only strong suit. I also love Pokemon.

Have you done anything remarkable? Has anything memorable happened to you?

I suppose swimming Alcatraz is awesome, but I was an even cooler little kid: When I was 10, new school security measures blocked entrance from my backyard fence. Angry that I had to walk an extra 15 minutes to and from campus, I decided to try and destroy the caged-wire fence. Being an astute child, I figured out how to dissemble the metal menace- twice. The second time I was caught by a police holding huge strands of wires. Using my innocent looks, I convinced him I was doing an honorable service for my neighborhood by "throwing away litter that I found".

What commitments will you be busy with this summer?

Some casual jazz singing! And a legal-writing class I believe.

How would you describe your teaching style?

I'm the kind of person who prefers listening to speaking. I also really like visual aides so you will see me actively moving around or drawing when y'all are still trying to wake up in my morning section (so beware).