Azad Azani

Azad Marcel Azani ('19) is majoring in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. As a student in the California Community College Transfer Pathways Program, Azad is inspired by the program’s influence in creating new opportunities in his own life and has committed himself to developing ways to facilitate greater social mobility to aid others like himself. His role model is his uncle, Gonzalo Artigas, who is a first-generation immigrant from Uruguay who taught him the importance of dedication and hard work during his years as an apprentice carpenter with his uncle’s residential construction business. His favorite constitutional amendment is the Fifth Amendment which fosters the foundational Due Process Clause.  As such, this past summer as a Matsui Center Cal-in-Sacramento Fellow, Azad interned with the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Task Force to aid those who have been negatively affected disproportionately by environmental impact and government planning. Currently, Azad is fascinated with and believes that the concept of open discourse and civility is an essential component to the maintenance and progression of a democratic society.  This concept was inspired by two sources: first, his parents gave him the name Azad Marcel, which means “Free Warrior,” as a reminder of the price of liberty and its necessary preservation and second, George Orwell’s 1984 rocked the foundations of what he understood could be possible within human society. He is currently concerned with the role of data within our society and is taking up the task of creating a stronger constitutional claim for data privacy and data use to impede government and corporate infringement. Azad plans to further these goals by pursuing a Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Constitutional or Privacy Law.  He is working as a Research Apprentice under Berkeley Law and Goldman School Professor of Public Policy, Sean Farhang, who has mentored him and heavily contributed to his understanding of the American legal system.

Azad takes pride in his intention to support the principles of the Center of Civility & Democratic Engagement and is deeply moved by the Center’s support of his own journey.