In November 2024, Keemia Zhang was well into the hustle and bustle of her first semester as a junior at UC Berkeley. But she needed to find a job.
“As a transfer student, I knew my time at Cal was already limited, and I wanted to pursue as many opportunities as possible,” she explains. Finding a job on campus, however, was not just an opportunity, but a requirement — without one, she wouldn’t be able to access the work-study funds in her financial aid package.
“Without a job, I can’t pay my rent,” Zhang says. But job-hunting between classes, clubs, and unpaid internships was a struggle. “I applied and was rejected over and over again for about five months.”
Keemia’s luck turned around when she attended a work-study career fair on campus — where she met Judith Katz, CLEE’s director of advancement. She subsequently applied for the center’s communications assistant position, made possible by the Ziegler Fund, which UC Berkeley Law alum Erin Ziegler ’08 endowed.
“CLEE’s work is shaping the next generation of climate and energy leaders,” Ziegler says.“Supporting students through this fund is an investment in practical solutions — and in the future we all share.”
With a background in journalism and marketing, Zhang was thrilled with the fit. “CLEE was also a place where I could apply my skills to work that truly mattered and impacted the world,” she says. “That definitely excited me.”
“There were over 100 applications for the communications assistant position, but Keemia really stood out with her experience writing for various newspapers,” says Katz.
After submitting her resume and a writing sample, Zhang interviewed with Katz and Louise Bedsworth, CLEE’s executive director — and was hired soon after. “I was super excited to start and learn the lay of the land,” Zhang says. “CLEE’s breadth of expertise and relevance to the most pressing issue of my generation puts me in front of really interesting research, people, and events.”
She’s not the only student benefiting from work-study opportunities at CLEE. Thanks to another alumni couple’s recent gift, the center is now able to support additional undergraduate work-study students — three, in fact — who contribute across various areas of its work. From technical support to program coordination, these students bring fresh energy and perspectives to CLEE’s team, while gaining valuable professional experience in the field of climate and energy law and policy.
Soon after Zhang joined CLEE, the 2024 general election results made the center’s work more urgent.
“It was a difficult, upsetting time, but being at CLEE gives me a sense of catharsis,” she says. “When I come to work, I know I have a sense of purpose, and I know that whatever troubling headlines I see, I am doing a small part to help get the word out about environmental and energy solutions.”
For Zhang, being at CLEE meant being surrounded by a “flurry of intellectual activity,” adding that, “I’ve gotten to have conversations with people like Professor Dan Farber, one of the nation’s most cited climate law scholars. I’ve interviewed award-winning alumni like the incredible Liz Esposito. I’ve gotten to attend a talk by Dr. Trevor Jackson, a renowned economic historian, on the intersection of markets and climate change. I get to learn so much through my work, and getting to know the amazing brains behind the people protecting our climate makes me feel that much more hopeful and optimistic.”
Zhang’s work also led her to develop her skills in communications, copywriting, social media management, media outreach, and visual design — and widen her horizons.
“It’s truly been an invaluable experience I would not have gotten without the Erin Ziegler Fund,” she says. “Getting to write about the work CLEE does is completely awe-inspiring. It gives me hope as a young person, and gives me drive and purpose in my work to get as many eyes on CLEE as possible.”