Golden State Today

Growing up in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood, Christopher Ying had initially planned to become a lawyer. His journey started at Lowell High School where he joined the speech, debate and mock trial teams. However, it was the University of California, Berkeley that helped him discover his true passion within the legal field: giving a voice to marginalized members of society.

Ying credits his experiences at UC Berkeley, particularly his involvement with the Daily Californian and tutoring incarcerated individuals at the former San Quentin State Prison, for helping him find his path. These experiences, along with a 3.981 grade point average and strong recommendations from faculty members, have earned Ying the 2024 University Medal - the highest honor for a graduating senior. As part of this honor, Ying will address his fellow graduates on Saturday, May 11, during the campuswide spring commencement.

At 23 years old, Ying double-majored in history and mathematics. He completed his coursework last December and used his final semester to study intensively for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). To Ying's surprise and delight, both majors blended well with his plans to attend law school.

"Math and law are sort of kindred subjects in that they both try to create order out of nothing," said Ying. "In law, you look at previous rulings to extrapolate principles that you apply to current legal problems. Math is the same way."

Despite considering becoming a doctor early on in high school, Ying found himself gravitating towards humanities and extracurricular activities related to law. His volunteer work at San Quentin State Prison further solidified this interest.

“Law had been an interest for me; after San Quentin, it became a goal — this is really what I want to do," said Ying who is now applying to law schools.

His dream is to leave a lasting mark in criminal law as either a criminal defense attorney or by creating a foundation that advocates for criminal justice reform. "That foundation would provide affordable legal services, because a lot of the people that I met in prison, they're there because they couldn't afford a good attorney," he explained.

Ying's desire to help marginalized individuals was also influenced by his home life. This led him to focus on domestic violence issues when interning as a UC Berkeley sophomore for former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

Ying’s concern for the underdog became even more apparent after he joined the Daily Cal and reported on Indigenous protests by East Bay Ohlone tribes to reclaim their ancestral shellmounds in Berkeley. Over three years, he worked his way up from reporter to city editor to managing editor, then devoted his last year to focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the paper as the DEI hiring manager.

His involvement with the San Quentin News Editing Project, a class run by Professor William Drummond at the UC Berkeley journalism school, allowed him to work with incarcerated individuals to edit, publish and share their news with prisons statewide.

Based on conversations with people who are and were detained at San Quentin, Ying wrote his senior thesis about how incarcerated people push for change and resist oppression from within prison. His thesis earned an A and accolades from his adviser, David Henkin, the Margaret Byrne Professor of History.

Mock trial experience instilled in Ying another life skill — working collaboratively. "Mock trial taught me that chasing a goal for individual achievement at the cost of others is just not healthy," he said.

Despite having a busy schedule while at UC Berkeley, playing the piano — mostly classical music — was Ying's constant refuge. He also took up aquascaping — decorating freshwater aquariums — as a hobby.

As Ying prepares for Saturday's commencement ceremony at California Memorial Stadium, he reflects on his journey so far. "Berkeley is the best school for the particular combination of majors that I chose," he said. "If it weren't for Berkeley, I wouldn't have had the opportunities that I did through San Quentin News, to teach math, or to compete in mock trial at the level that I did."