# @ucberkeleyofficial on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DbHU4EeDxbW
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68122526-ucberkeleyofficial-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/defb4daf48.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-07-22T23:59:26.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** UC Berkeley (@ucberkeleyofficial) — https://gondola.cc/ucberkeleyofficial

## Caption

This summer, seven undergraduates from HBCUs are researching everything from urban ecology to jumping spiders with mentors in Berkeley’s Environmental Science, Policy and Management department.

Jointly developed by Berkeley, Spelman College’s Food Studies Program (spelman_college), and Tuskegee University’s College of Agriculture (tuskegeeuniversity), the HBCU-Environmental Scholars for Change fellowship program aims to teach undergraduates about pathways to graduate school, says Kimberly Jackson, Spelman’s program director and biochemistry professor. 

Former fellow Joy Rutledge is set to begin her PhD in Berkeley’s Environmental Science, Policy and Management department this fall, continuing her research on climate and environmental justice impacts of land use decisions.

“The program definitely is life-changing,” says Rutledge, who graduated from Spelman in 2025 as a computer science major and food studies minor. Without it, she says she would have stuck to a career in software engineering that didn’t include research on food systems, a topic she is passionate about.  

The fellowship has grown quickly, from four students in 2022 to seven in 2026, for a total of 25 so far. Ryan Riley, a current fellow from Morehouse (morehouse1867), is studying the fate of colonies of nonnative Argentine ants in California for his fellowship this summer. 

“This is my first research experience in an official capacity,” Riley says. “I’ve gained valuable connections, and I gained a valuable skill in just going out and learning what the research process is like.”

Full story at the link in our bio: https://bit.ly/4pxwHoO

#UCBerkeley #Fellowship

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## Tags

ucberkeley, fellowship

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