International House Berkeley

T he 30th Annual Celebration & Awards Gala on Monday, April 9th, was an inspiring and memorable evening under the dome with Chancellor Carol Christ and honoring Irving Tragen (IH 1943-47), with the Global Ambassador of Peace and Inspiration Award, and the WattTime team, with the Young Alumni Initiative Award. Eighteen resident hosts greeted nearly 200 guests, who enjoyed the fantastic I-House cuisine, prepared by Chef Todd Koenigsberg, resident entertainment, and panel discussions with the Chancellor, Irving Tragen, and the WattTime team members. It was a wonderfully rewarding evening experienced by all who came! I-House board member, journalist, and Haas faculty member, Diane Dwyer moderated an engaging Q & A with Chancellor Christ and Irving Tragen. She began by introducing Christ as the new Chair of the I-House Board of Directors and congratulating Tragen on receiving his award for exemplifying I-House principals throughout his personal and professional life. Tragen served over 55 years in Inter- American Affairs and was with the U.S. Foreign Service, with diplomatic and development assignments in eight Latin American countries. He felt his I-House experience truly shaped his professional career due to the "exposure to different cultures, and the perceptions that I acquired living at International House that changed me from a provincial boy from San Francisco to someone who understands that the world is much broader. I think I-House and UC Berkeley was the place that essentially led me to believe that the way to build understanding is by building bridges—not walls." Both Christ and Tragen agreed that I-House is a major influence on UC Berkeley and on the world. Christ said, "Person-to-person understanding of how things look from a different location or through a different set of glasses is what I believe fosters intertwined understanding, and this is what we all should be committed to. is is a world where it is so hard for people to find common ground and for me, I-House is the impetus for finding common ground, through difference." After the rousing Q & A, the Young Alumni Initiative Award was presented to the original I-House members of the WattTime team, Gavin McCormick (IH 2011-14), Margot Fried (IH 2013), and Vishwanath Bulusu (IH 2014-16). WattTime was started with an idea that originated at I-House, and grew from a small student project into a new way of measuring energy emissions across a wide variety of corporations, tech organizations, and eventually, governments. Jason Patent, director of the Robertson Center for Intercultural Leadership (CIL), moderated a discussion on inclusive global leadership and high-performing teams and revealed why WattTime could only have been founded at I-House. McCormick commented, "Had I not eaten in the I-House Dining Commons, I would not have been talking to residents from other majors who were new to this country and were looking to join something interesting. I remember that Margot said that I was not good at explaining things, so she volunteered to build a mock-up. Vish, who was an engineer, asked, 'Why stop there? I can build a prototype of the device.' Every day someone new would join. Econ majors passed the baton to engineering students, they passed the baton to business majors, and so on. is could only have started at I-House where all of the members had different skill sets, were from different countries, and were all thinking about how we can make the world a better place." View the full interview on our website: ihouse.berkeley.edu/gala n 8 International House Times Moderator Diane Dwyer, Chancellor Christ, and Irving Tragen during their Q & A From left: Jason Patent, Gavin McCormick, Margot Fried, and Vish Bulusu Photos by Lori Cheung Photo right by Ryan Gourley

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