Humans of Haas: Frances James
Written by Annie Wang.
What is your story?
I’m Frances James and I am going to change the world.
I’ve been trying to figure out what my story is. UCLA was my dream school and I never thought that I would be here at Cal. When I got here, I started off as a poli-sci major, but I sat in International Politics for three weeks and hated it. Then, I got dragged to a HUBBA event. I loved the people on board, its mission and purpose, and now I am the President. I ended up getting into my business pre-reqs and realized that I kind of liked this business thing, and now here I am at Berkeley Haas.
I’ve always wanted to be an attorney. I come from a family of attorneys. Government is a business, and law is a business. I want to use my understanding of business to help change the law and make a difference. I want to start with grassroots campaigns and impact policy with an ethical lens, eventually making my way to the US Senate. I’ve been told this dream is crazy, but I am going to make an impact someday, somehow, some way. Everything that I’m doing is not for a selfish reason, and if all else fails, be kind. If you come with kindness it won’t be rooted in selfishness. If I can change just one person’s life it will all be worth it. The things I’m doing have shaped who I am, but they aren’t who I am.
I’m Frances James first, everything else is extra.
What fictional character do you identify with?
Olivia Pope from Scandal. She’s got it going on.