Cal Clinics2College 

Cal Clinics to College is a Cal Athletics team-based community engagement initiative that aims to build early college awareness, confidence, and belonging among traditionally underrepresented elementary and middle school-aged young people in the East Bay through reciprocal on-campus and school-based exchanges between young people and Cal Athletics teams. Goals: 

• Create positive connections between local elementary and middle schoolers and relatable college-going role models. 

• Build early college awareness and proximity to Cal and college overall. 

• Expose students to sports and the universal values, experiences, and lessons that have shaped Cal student-athlete's journeys to college and in athletics.  

Women's Soccer In Action

Partner: KIPP Bridge Middle School

Goal: Build early college awareness and confidence among middle school girls 

Our students had a fantastic time and several of them cannot stop talking about it! Your head coach asked me what types of support would help our campus the most and he and I discussed the power of access and for students to meet student athletes and actually interact with them while experiencing a sport firsthand. We definitely did this on Monday! For a few of our kids it was a gamechanger type event and those smiles, laughs, and potential thoughts of “hmm, maybe college and even college athletics can be for me” cannot be quantified. - Principal Haughton, KIPP Bridge Middle School

I have loved participating in this program and the opportunity to engage with young people at KIPP Bridge. In a pilot event, my team worked with a large group of girls, showing them the sport of soccer and about our own lives that got us to where we are today. I found so many similarities in my life experiences with a handful of students, despite our different backgrounds. I’ve been back to KIPP many times since, and so have a ton of my teammates — just because they love the students so much. I think that Cal Student-Athletes are great role models in and of themselves, but working with KIPP has been a reciprocal relationship where the students teach and inspire us, maybe even more than the other way around. The best thing about KIPP is that the students are bright, curious, and definitely not shy. It’s made my time at KIPP so fun and engaging, and I know that many other student-athletes feel the same way. — Kaylee Nguyen

The Model

Clinics2College is offered to teams with a desire to develop a deeper partnership and intentional connection with a school or youth-based program. 

Key elements of Clinics2College include: 

• Strong elementary or middle school-based partnership with a Cal Athletics team, supported by the Cameron Institute

• College awareness programming co-constructed and delivered by student-athletes at a school or community site

• Early college experience at UC Berkeley hosted by student-athletes and supported by the Cameron Institute

• Opportunities to continue to engage beyond team-based service

Collaborative Elements: Each collaboration is co-constructed with a school or youth-serving organization to meet mutually beneficial goals through a minimum 2-part exchange: 

• Cal in the Community: an experience where teams provide programming in the community or school; co-constructed to meet mutual goals.

• Community at Cal: an experience where teams host young people at Cal for a positive early college experience, through a game-day and/or college tour.

Reflections on Impact

Over the past year, Clinics2College hosted over 600 young people across 10 campus visits, engaging 16 Cal Athletics teams across  3 school districts and 700+ hours and counting of college-awareness volunteer hours on behalf of Cal Student-Athletes in partnership with local elementary and middle schools.  Reflections indicate young people engaged in Clinics2College experience feelings of increased confidence, community, and college-going identity. 

“It was truly inspiring to see the student-athletes interact with our students. I watched students build their confidence…students SEEING a diverse group of near peer-aged students and young adult women giving back to their community through sport and teamwork was a huge strength.” - School Leader

“I did not realize how much kids around this area looked up to us and the impact that we can have on their lives. I am grateful for my platform.” - Junior, W.Soccer

“I gained more respect for the community and the people who work for the community.” - Sophomore, W.WaterPolo