Good Vibes, Great Experience
Roa set the bar even higher, serving as a member of the municipal council in Clarin, in the Misamis Occidental province of the Philippines. That experience — and the policy questions raised about AI and technology during her tenure — sparked her interest in Berkeley Law’s program.
“With how we’re engaging online and its influence on the political process, it’s very important that we match our internet use with tools for critical analysis — and that we also know how to regulate and stay in step with the development of these technologies to ensure that people who oversee their operations still do it in a way that allows for informed and truthful engagement,” Roa says. “That would equip people to meaningfully participate in political processes.”
Good Vibes, Great Experience
Roa set the bar even higher, serving as a member of the municipal council in Clarin, in the Misamis Occidental province of the Philippines. That experience — and the policy questions raised about AI and technology during her tenure — sparked her interest in Berkeley Law’s program.
“With how we’re engaging online and its influence on the political process, it’s very important that we match our internet use with tools for critical analysis — and that we also know how to regulate and stay in step with the development of these technologies to ensure that people who oversee their operations still do it in a way that allows for informed and truthful engagement,” Roa says. “That would equip people to meaningfully participate in political processes.”
“The college culture, the area — I was just into the vibe,” says Roa, who goes by the nickname Nikki.
Her cohort has validated that choice, hitting the books hard but also making plenty of room for fun, traveling to Yosemite, Death Valley, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas on weekends.
“They bring so much to the table in terms of expertise and insight,” she says of her classmates. “But they’re here for the whole experience.”
Berkeley Law’s vaunted entertainment law offerings have allowed Roa to indulge another passion: performing arts. At home, she enjoys singing, whether in formal events or at karaoke with friends. She was also a regional champion of Balitaw — a Philippine folk performance involving a love debate song and dance between a man and a woman — as well as an Indigenous festival queen and a two-time Model Girl Scout of Cebu City, in the island nation’s Central Visayas region.
“If I had not become a lawyer, I would have become a performer in the Philippines,” Roa says. “And entertainment is media, so it’s wired in as well to how we’re presenting information and shaping culture in the process.”
Roa has also been impressed with her classroom experience, particularly Professor Tejas N. Narechania’s Regulated Digital Industries: Telecommunications Law & Policy for a Modern Era course.
“Obviously, the professors are formidable leaders in their field,” she says. “I knew before I got here that I only saw the tip of the iceberg, and I’m getting that in-depth understanding now.”
Her next step, she adds, will be to further hone her knowledge.
“Whatever region, whatever country in the world that I’m in, I’m setting a path for really immersing myself in these industries that I’m studying here,” Roa says. “I’m not closing the door to running for public office again, but I’d like to do so when I have significantly more to contribute in terms of creating policies that address some of the issues I’m concerned about.”