Meet the Spieker Scholars: Claudia Lizeth Carrillo

When Claudia Lizeth Carrillo, BS 28, visited Berkeley for the first time, she found a community that felt special. 

“Berkeley is big, but it’s also centered around community and I love that,” said Carrillo, who grew up in Huntington Park, a tight-knit Hispanic community in South Central Los Angeles. ”What really spoke to me about the Berkeley campus and the whole school was that there was a centered community and the people here felt very much alive.”

Carrillo said she was drawn to study business at Haas with a goal of starting a company in sustainable and affordable fashion.

Her journey toward a fashion career began during her first year in high school, when she started exploring a personal style. Rather than focusing on particular brands, Carillo began thrifting and curating secondhand clothes from family members. That led her to believe that fashion and creativity in developing a personal style should be for everyone, no matter their economic status.

“Not a lot of people get to explore that aspect of self-expression and fashion just because of the cost,” she said. “That, in a way, leads people to buy more fast fashion, items that don’t last as long.” 

A student leader and athlete in high school, Carrillo came across the Spieker Scholars Program while scrolling through email and found herself immediately connecting with the program’s description. 

“The Spieker Program is focused on character and leadership,” she said. “In high school, I had a lot of leadership experience as the Associated Student Body (ASB) president and serving on the governing board, and my leadership experience taught me discipline and collaboration.” 

Considering her experiences, she found the Spieker Program to be a true representation of what it means to be an all-around student. 

Going beyond herself

“Beyond Yourself” is Carrillo’s favorite Haas Defining Leadership Principle, which she said connects back to her commitment to building community and to prioritizing sustainability and ethics in business. She said she is learning more about sustainability in her Haas economics and introductory business classes. 

Aaron McDaniel, a professional faculty member, entrepreneur, and managing partner of Global Class, an international consulting firm, is Carrillo’s mentor, assigned through the Spieker Scholars Program. Carrillo credits him with helping her to get a better understanding of what it will take to launch a company. 

“The multitude of experiences that he has in the field has been really eye opening and are helping me understand what it will take to scale my business one day,” she said. Carrillo is already exploring campus entrepreneurship resources, attending the recent grand opening of the Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Hub on the Haas campus with McDaniel.

McDaniel called Carillo both “thoughtful and driven.” 

“What makes Claudia stand out is her quiet curiosity,” McDaniel said. “She’s always thinking deeply, asking insightful questions, and showing a genuine eagerness to learn. That combination of humility and hunger is characteristic of many successful entrepreneurs.”

In addition to her startup work, Carillo said she is deepening her understanding of her Christian faith while at Haas through the Thrive organization on campus.

“My favorite experience here so far was waking up at like 5 in the morning for morning prayers with my church family,” she said. “We got to see all of Berkeley and the Bay from a high viewpoint in the dark at a point when nobody else was awake. I’ve just enjoyed that aspect of community, and it’s something that I’m so grateful for as I continue my journey.”

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