Golden Nuggets: MLK Day of Service, A New Home for Grad Students, and some Converse
A busy week in Berkeley!
Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Golden Nuggets, our weekly recap post where we try to capture all the fun and flurry that is the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears! Read on for things you might have missed, already saw but want to relive, or something to lack back fondly on!
MLK Day of Service
We start this week with some photos courtesy of The Cameron Institute for Student-Athlete Development. Read more about them here. This past Monday, numerous Cal athletes through the Cameron Institute participated in the MLK Day of Service, turning “a day off” into “a day on.” The Cameron Institute partnered with Friends of the Richmond Greenway to do a variety of service activities along the Greenway, picking up weeds, picking up trash, beautifying the space, leading rowing workouts, and so much more! Click below to see some great photos from the event! (spoiler alert your author was on the Greenway elsewhere volunteering and ran into numerous Men’s and Women’s rowing student-athletes that helped weed about 8 or 9 cubic yards of plant material. We appreciated the help! And we hoped you like the Señorita bread!)
Elsewhere, Jaivian JET Thomas spent the day out at Get Bent Oakland, a training gym located in Fremont (Just kidding its Oakland) working with kids of a variety of ages teaching them how to train properly, eat right, and plan right. Our very own Rob Hwang was on hand for the event.
Catch a Ride!
Got any plans this Thursday? Of course you don’t! You’re heading down to Palo Alto to watch your California Women’s Basketball team crush Stanford on their home court! But man, what about the traffic? Well do I have a deal for you.
From the post, “We’re making it easy for you to come support our Bears when they take on Stanford at Maples Pavilion this Thursday! Get a seat on our luxury bus that is headed to the game for $25. We’ll take you there and back. Pickup will be at the back of Haas Pavilion departing at 5pm for the game. Space is limited! RSVP for a spot on the bus here! Go Bears! and Go Public Transportation!
Nohl Williams Update: He Good
Long time (last 3-months) readers of Golden Nuggets know that we’ve had a regular feature for a while on Nohl Williams. In his latest update, the rest of the country finally caught on and ESPN named Nohl Williams to the 1st Team All-America Team. Congrats Nohl! Read the rest of the selections here.
Nohl was also ranked among the top 100 college football players of the 2024-2025 season. You can read the article here, but if you don’t want to see Paul Finebaum, here’s a screenshot of the good bits.
Return of the Mack
Alex Mack will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 Class.
Alex Mack of course played for Cal between 2004 and 2008 before going pro and getting drafted 21st by the Cleveland Browns. Mack went on to a storied NFL Career (and I hope this isn’t his only Hall of Fame enshrinement.) Congrats again Alex!
xučyun ruwway
Last Wednesday, UC Berkeley and representatives from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the Ohlone Indian Tribe, and the City of Albany celebrated the final construction of xučyun ruwway, a brand new Graduate Student housing complex in Albany and Berkeley. “[Vince Medina of the Ohlone Indian Tribe] explained to the festive crowd that xučyun, in Chochenyo, the language of the Ohlone people, is the name of the region within the East Bay Ohlone’s ancestral and unceded homeland, and that includes the cities of Albany and Berkeley. The word ruwway in Chochenyo means “home, house,” he added.” Read the rest of the article here.
Andre Stojakovic
Last week, Andre Stojakovic gifted his GAs and fellow players new exclusive converse. Watch the surprise below!
Jared Goff and the Lions: The NFL’s Most Unlikely Love Story
Prior to the matchup against the Commanders, Hallie Grossman of ESPN wrote an article exploring the relationship and love story between Jared Goff and Detroit. The article explores the events following Jared's blockbuster trade from the Rams in a move many thought might be the end of his career (we all knew it wasn’t over though) and how he’s blossomed in the humming Lion’s offense. Read more here.
Senior Day
Women’s Swimming and Diving celebrated Senior Day this past week. Congrats to graduating Seniors Stephanie Akakabota, Reed Broaders, Morgan Brophy, Daniela Cogswell, Lizzy Cook, Jessica Davis, Fanni Fabian, Alicia Henry, Mélanie Julia, Mia Kragh, Ella Mazurek, Annika McEnroe, Leah Polonsky, and McKenna Stone!
Cal Baseball: Get to Know a Positional Group
With the start of baseball right around the corner, the fine folks over at Cal Baseball are interview every position group on the team. Catch interviews of the Catchers here and Infielders here. You can also join the baseball team February 7th for a virtual event, “For the Love of the Game” which will include insights and stories from Cal Baseball alums, a message from current MLB Slugger Andrew Vaughn, and exclusive auction items. Register for the event here.
Golden Bear Honors
Congrats to Isabelle Stadden for being named ACC Swimmer of the Week!
Isabell also tier her personal record and broke her own Spieker Aquatics Complex record in the 100 backstroke this weekend…
Joshua Thai was named ACC Diver of the Week!
Women’s Gym dropped a bit but is still in the Top 10 (#7)!
Women’s Basketball dropped a bit but is still in the Top 25 (#22)!
Softball starts the season at #21
Women’s Gymnastics opens this weekend at home for the first time (and has a pretty sick promo running)
A number of high school recruits and technically one transfer (lol) played in the Polynesian Bowl last week! Congrats all!
Rosalie Hassett (Water Polo) was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week after scoring 5 goals and 3 assists.
Cal Athletics Round Up
Men’s Basketball lost to North Carolina but rebounded and beat NC State
Mark Madsen welcomed students back by giving out donuts. Our sources are investigating but it likely was King Pin.
Women’s Basketball lost to #14 Duke and beat Wake Forest
Indoor Track and Field won 3 events at the Spokane Sports Showcase
Women’s Swimming and Diving beat USC and UCLA on Senior Day
Men’s Swimming and Diving dominated USC which chose to spend their time in the pool working on their tan
Women’s Water Polo beat #18 San Jose State, #9 Fresno State, and #12 UC San Diego, and #5 Hawaii
Men’s Tennis beat Saint Mary’s a whole bunch over the weekend
Rugby beat Cal Poly
Women’s Gymnastics won the UC Davis Quad meet beating Alaska Anchorage, Cornell and UC Davis
Cal Pros Round Up
Jaylon Tyson continues to ball out.
Nikko Remigio is the only remaining former Cal Player in the NFL Playoffs if you’re looking for a reason to root for the Chiefs, and he had a heck of a start to the game.
Jaylen Brown and the Celtics blew the pants off the Warriors
Max Homa preps for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines this weekend
As always, it is a big and busy world! Thanks for reading, and if I forgot something, please let me know in the comments!
Did any of you see the Trump comments on Cal football? It had to be AI generated but it was interesting. He praises Cal football and took credit for getting us that Ohio State transfer on his first day. Can’t find it again