BERKELEY INTERVIEW

Question 1: What area of business are you most interested in and why?

I'm most interested in finance, specifically how capital allocation can be used to drive social impact.

Before my internship, my interest was general. I knew I liked business, but I didn't have a clear direction. That changed at Ernst & Young.

I shadowed a meeting where the People Consulting team was advising a multinational firm. They weren't just reviewing the company's fiscal performance but they were helping the company shift its culture toward environmental and social responsibility (CSR), evaluating where they invested, what they divested from, how they structured incentives to drive real change.

That's when I realized financial decisions ripple outward. When a company invests in sustainable supply chains, it creates jobs and shifts entire industry standards. When a nonprofit allocates donations toward education instead of just immediate aid, it shapes long-term impact.

That's what fascinates me. Finance is leverage. And I want to learn how to use it for something bigger than myself.

Question 2: Please reflect on experiences you have had with individuals with different backgrounds than your own. What have you learned about yourself from these experiences?

I've been surrounded by different cultures my whole life. In California, my friend group was Mexican, Brazilian, Chinese, Japanese, Nigerian, and Australian, all in one circle. But exposure isn't the same as true understanding.

I think my greatest experience with someone whose background is different than my own was with my best friend, Seha is Turkish. Growing up Greek, I inherited assumptions about Turks without realizing it. However, after gaining insights on his historical and cultural perspectives, it forced me to question things I had accepted my whole life.

I realized how much of what I believed wasn't mine. It was just passed down.

After that, I became someone who questions inherited narratives instead of accepting them. More curious.

It made me a better listener, and I feel like Learning about other cultures didn't just educate me. It made me more open, more humble, and aware that growth only happens when you let your assumptions be challenged.

Question 3: Of all your activities both in and out of the classroom, what are you most proud of and why?

I'm most proud of judo.

I started at five in Greece, carried it with me to California, and this May I'll be taking my black belt examination. In Greece, athletics carries real weight. We created the Olympic Games. That history creates a sense of legacy. But that's not why I love judo. I love it for what it's taught me.

There's a principle called Jita Kyoei, meaning mutual welfare and benefit. You and your opponent grow together. That philosophy shaped how I see everything. It's why I lean into friendships with people from different backgrounds. It's why I believe you can be confident without putting others down.

Judo taught me humility. When you've been thrown thousands of times, your ego learns to take a seat. It taught me respect for opponents, for the process, for years of practice going into a single technique. And it taught me what it feels like to watch all that work finally pay off.

I'm proud of judo because it didn't just make me a better athlete. It made me a better person.

Question 4: What is your favorite book that you have read outside of school? How has it shaped you, the way you think, or interact with others?

This might be an unexpected answer, but my favorite book is the Bible. I can't talk about books that have influenced me without paying homage to writers like Malcolm Gladwell on business or Sigmund Freud on psychology. But the book that's shaped me most is one I grew up with. In Greece, Orthodox Christianity is just part of life. Churches everywhere, holidays follow the religious calendar, icons in every home. Whether you're devout or not, it shapes you. Especially the core values. Compassion. Humility. Forgiveness. That your character isn't defined by how you treat people who can help you, but by how you treat people who can't. That's not just religious teaching. That's a way of living. I'm not saying this to preach. Faith is obviously personal and everyone has the freedom to practice the faith of their choice. But I think values like putting others first, acting with integrity, selflessness, caring about something bigger than yourself, are universal. The Bible has helped me because it's given me a framework for asking: what kind of person do I want to be? And I try to answer that every day through how I treat people and the relationships I choose to build