The University of California Board of Regents today (July 21) appointed UC Berkeley law student Marlenee Blas Pedral to be the 2022-23 student regent.

Blas Pedral is the 48th student regent, a position established in 1975. She will serve as the student regent-designate for the coming year, able to participate in all deliberations, and will have voting privileges when her one-year term as a regent begins in July 2022.

Blas Pedral was a career counselor at UC Riverside and later served as associate director of UC Riverside’s Center for Social Innovation. There, she co-founded the Butterfly Project, which provides internships and professional development for undocumented students, and the UC Riverside Career Closet, which provides students with professional attire for interviews and career fairs. During her first year at Berkeley Law, she was elected as a graduate representative and served on the Political and Election Empowerment Project. She is now a rising second-year law student.

“As a student and former professional staff member in the UC system, I hope to be able to bring my perspective and be an effective advocate for the UC community,” Blas Pedral said. “The pandemic has presented many challenges for students, and I hope to be an effective listener, a strong advocate and a trusted regent as we transition to in-person instruction.”

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