Kate Liddle, BioE
Hometown: Lafayette, California
GPA: 3.970
Plans after graduation: Applying to medical school while working in a biomechanics lab
Best Berkeley moment: “Starting an impromptu karaoke session in a lecture hall late one evening with two friends. In the middle of busting out some Journey, the janitor walked in and gave us this look.”
Words of wisdom: “I couldn’t have survived Berkeley Engineering without the
collaborative efforts of my friends and classmates. I know for sure that I wouldn’t have had as much fun.”

Helen Chow, CEE
Hometown: Daly City, California
GPA: 3.886
Plans after graduation: Traveling
in Asia, then looking for a job 
Best Berkeley moment: “My freshman year a friend and I stayed up late struggling to finish our first engineering project in E 28. At those moments, you realize the importance of teamwork.”
Words of wisdom: “Enjoy what you do. It’s important to put your heart into your profession because we have the ability to affect others’ lives.” 

Chayut Thanapirom, EECS
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
GPA: 3.990
Plans after graduation: Graduate school at Berkeley in physics
Best Berkeley moment: “Last summer, I traveled to visit friends a lot. There are so many places near Berkeley that are worth visiting such as Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. It was a wonderful summer.”
Words of wisdom: “Time and stress management — Berkeley does a good job training you in these skills.”

James Lee, Eng.Sci.
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
GPA: 3.980
Plans after graduation: Graduate school at Stanford in applied physics
Best Berkeley moment: “Spending time in the physics reading room doing homework with classmates and working in the Quantum Nanoelectronics Laboratory.”
Words of wisdom: “No matter where you are or how little time you have, do your best to learn and experience all
you can.”

John Baumler, IEOR
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
GPA: 3.970
Plans after graduation: Graduate school at Berkeley in IEOR
Best Berkeley moment: “For my
senior project, I worked with my group to accurately predict shipping costs at Charles Chocolates in Emeryville. One day, when we were visiting the factory, they were missing some regular employees on the production line, and we were drafted to help make chocolate- and nut-covered caramels. Almost as good as my childhood dream of working in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.”
Words of wisdom: “See more of the world.”

Ivan Wong, ME
Hometown: Pleasant Hill, California
GPA: 3.980
Plans after graduation: Graduate school at Stanford with a focus on biomechanics
Best Berkeley moment: “I have two. The first time my group’s mechatronics project worked. And during a gospel choir performance when we got the audience to their feet singing and clapping. It was a benefit for cancer survivors.”
Words of wisdom: “Don’t bury yourself in your books. Cal has so much to offer besides academics.”

Kari Thorkelsson, MSE
Hometown: San Jose, California
GPA: 3.915
Plans after graduation: Graduate school at Berkeley’s MSE department with a focus on polymer-nanoparticle nanocomposites
Best Berkeley moment: “From the thrill of discovery when my research worked correctly, to the dawning of comprehension as I worked out a complex concept, to the simple joy of hanging out with friends, it’s all been pretty good.”
Words of wisdom: “Do your work, but don’t let it overwhelm you.”

Ragnar Stroberg, NE
Hometown: Ojai, California
GPA: 3.850
Plans after graduation: Graduate school at Michigan State University in nuclear physics
Best Berkeley moment: “Sophomore year I was involved in a rivalry with some track team friends in which we took turns kidnapping this ugly ceramic statue of a bag of French fries. One night, we pulled off a particularly crafty theft. At 3 a.m., I awoke to one of my rivals, buck naked, running and screaming through our house. He ripped the sheets off a friend’s bed and ran out the front door wearing them like a cape. After the dust settled, I checked our hiding place, and the statue was gone. Clearly, we’d been outclassed.”
Words of wisdom: “It’s amazing how far you can get just by showing up.”