University Medal finalists learn lessons about leadership at Berkeley

BERKELEY — This year, four students — Pamela Krayenbuhl, Erik Petigura, Pedro Spivakovsky-Gonzalez, and Reid Zimmerman — were finalists for the University Medal, given to Berkeley’s top graduating senior. While they were busy finishing up their final semesters, they took time to answer questions about their college experiences and what makes them tick. Pamela Krayenbuhl. After raising $1,600 to help present the physical education department’s Spring Dance Showcase, she calls Berkeley “a place where anything is possible if you come armed with a strong vision. Hometown: Sacramento - Age: 22 - Major: Rhetoric and interdisciplinary studies (double major) About Pamela: Kaja Silverman, Class of 1940 Professor of Rhetoric, Film Studies, and Art History, wrote in her recommendation that Krayenbuhl "already has the habits and skills of a mature scholar, and asks the kinds of questions that are normally asked only by graduate students in the final stages of a dissertation." Most important lesson learned? - That I am limited only by my own comfort zone and that the final judge of everything I do must be myself. Guiding philosophy? - This may sound silly, but I have a philosophy that stipulates I must always be willing to let my philosophy change. Of late, I have deemed it important to seek balance in my life, to give back at least as much as I receive, and to never take anything too seriously.