# @ucberkeleyofficial on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DTjTyzOgWwS
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64635267-ucberkeleyofficial-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/dff3389649.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-01-16T00:37:34.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** UC Berkeley (@ucberkeleyofficial) — https://gondola.cc/ucberkeleyofficial

## Caption

In the late ’90s, a group project in a UC Berkeley rhetoric class sparked a decades-long friendship and creative partnership for Sanjay Shah and Rachelle Mendez, leading to parallel paths in the television industry, multiple hit shows and prestigious awards like the Emmys. 

Or as Shah puts it, the “rhetoric major, Russell Merritt, and a four-DVD Netflix plan was my film school.”

Shah is a writer, showrunner, and executive producer on everybodystillhateschris, and has worked on a string of comedies, including Fresh Off the Boat, southpark and kingofthehill. And Mendez is a television producer, writer, and showrunner for unscripted television, producing shows like Queer Eye and Undercover Boss.

Today, they are reshaping Hollywood through intentional storytelling—a mission rooted in their shared history at Cal.

One of the most transformative chapters of their Berkeley years began when Professor Stephen John Hartnett invited them to serve as teaching assistants at San Quentin State Prison. “It was one of the most core-shaking experiences of my time at Cal,” said Mendez, “It was something Cal does so well: opening doors if you’re curious or brave enough to step through.”

That experience redefined their understanding of the power of narrative. After graduating, Mendez taught playwriting in a juvenile detention center, while Shah went on to write and sell a television show inspired by their time teaching at San Quentin.

Decades later, the duo still speaks weekly, navigating the “rough-and-tumble” of Hollywood through what Shah calls the “same lens we had when we were at Cal.” A lens rooted in curiosity and a love for storytelling. 

The duo hopes to build a stronger Cal alumni network in Los Angeles to keep that spirit going, and encourage more Berkeley students to approach Hollywood as a career. 

This year, the partnership comes full circle as they return to campus; Shah will teach a screenwriting course through the Art of Writing program, bringing Mendez into the classroom to inspire a new generation of students to step through those same open doors.

Have someone from #UCBerkeley you want to nominate for a #CalAlumStory feature? Comment below!

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## Tags

ucberkeley, calalumstory

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