Shinnyo Fellowship Program

In late 2025, the Shinnyo Fellowship Program was reshaped to appoint a single “Shinnyo Pathways Fellow” in partnership with Berkeley City College (BCC) in Berkeley, California, marking an exciting new chapter in supporting emerging leaders.

As in the past, Shinnyo-en Foundation has continually reshaped and refined its Shinnyo Fellowship Program to respond to the evolving needs of students, partner institutions, and available resources. After nearly 10 years of supporting full-time post-undergraduate Shinnyo Fellows with five university partners and one community organization, we began exploring opportunities with community colleges, aiming to reach more diverse and under-resourced students.

Following careful exploration and consultation, we decided to partner with Berkeley City College (BCC), given its strong familiarity with and deep understanding of our Foundation’s values and principles for Shinnyo Fellows. BCC has also served for many years as a placement site for Shinnyo Fellows from the Public Service Center at UC Berkeley, making it a trusted and experienced partner in this next chapter of our program.

For the 2025–2026 academic year, Sofia Jacob has been appointed as the inaugural Shinnyo Pathways Fellow, under the supervision and guidance of Skyler Barton, a counselor and instructor at BCC who has also mentored and supervised previous Shinnyo Fellows from UC Berkeley.

We are thrilled to introduce our inaugural Shinnyo Pathways Fellow, Sofia Jacob! Please see below for her photo and a short bio.

Sofia Jacob

Sofia was born and raised in Berkeley, CA, where her desire to pursue a career in higher education was deeply shaped by her own educational journey — particularly her time as a transfer student and her involvement with the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC), where she engaged in transfer advocacy under UC Berkeley’s inaugural Transfer Senator.

She earned her Associate’s Degree for Transfer in Psychology from Berkeley City College in 2019 before graduating from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Sociology in 2021. Currently, she is pursuing my M.A. in Counseling and Guidance at San José State University, where she supports students through roles in academic coaching, counseling, and program development. Through these experiences, she has developed a strong passion for community building and contributing to spaces where students feel supported, empowered, and connected, both inside and outside the classroom. During her free time, she enjoys playing and coaching tennis, trying new restaurants, and cheering on her favorite Bay Area sports teams – go Warriors, Valkyries, 49ers, and Giants!

Shinnyo Fellowship Program Articles

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