Motorcycles, murals, and mentorship: Nicole Ta drives toward a community-centered future

This is the final of four profiles of the inaugural undergraduate Spieker Scholars, who receive significant financial support and enrichment opportunities through the program.

In this first person narrative, Nicole Yang Ta, a first-year student in the Spieker Undergraduate Business Program, discusses a passion for fusing art and community, her plans for a future career in transportation, and her love of motorcycles.

“I grew up in San Francisco. I’ve always been surrounded by diversity and culture and different people’s stories, and that’s what made me interested in how people connect and collaborate with each other.

I went to Abraham Lincoln High School, where ‘The Amazing World of Gumball’ was shot. That’s a fun fact! 

What drew me to Berkeley was initially that scene. But learning more about business and connecting my passions with business really drove me to apply to Haas. I found out about the Spieker Program through my older sister, who is an econ student here at Berkeley. She’s always been a big role model for me, and she inspired me to apply for this program. 

My dad, a baker and a big storyteller, inspired me to pursue business. When he came home from work at night or when we baked together, he would tell me stories about his childhood and his job. Something that really stuck with me was when he told me, ‘Life is like cookie dough: Overwork it, and it becomes weak and crumbles. But with rest, it becomes flexible with a bouncy chew. When you are older, apply this to your career so that your work makes you and others happy.’ 

This is a rough translation of what he said, but it got me thinking about how much I love seeing people’s faces light up when we sell our goods at bake sales. Later on when I joined the business academy at my high school, our main focus was utilizing entrepreneurship for positive social and environmental impact. I saw business as a way to help improve people’s quality of life and the communities that supported me all my life.

One thing that drew me to the Spieker Scholars program was Haas’ four Defining Leadership Principles. I aligned with ‘Beyond Yourself’ because combining business and a community-oriented focus was important to me. Business is not just about profits and building an empire; it’s about the people you surround yourself with, helping others, and really seeing how you can make positive changes in the world.

Being a Spieker Scholar has made me feel like I’m a part of something bigger than myself. I’m a part of a community where people genuinely root for each other. Because of this encouragement, I’ve learned to be bolder when I lead and be more intentional when I communicate with others. It’s such a supportive network. I feel like I truly belong.

Through the program, I have a mentor, Jessica Jimenez, BS 20, and Mariana Somma, a professional faculty member in innovation and design who works with me. I’ve been talking to them over the past few months, and they’ve been really helpful. Jessica is an accountant for a musical artist named Kaz Moon, and his music has been so inspiring to me. 

I’m taking a class called ‘Leading People’ right now, and it’s really interesting because we’re learning to think about leadership theories and qualities of what makes a good leader. There are different perspectives to think about whenever I’m interacting with others and trying to create an effective and efficient team.

As an artist, I do traditional drawing and painting. In recent years, I’ve grown a fondness for crafting. I like to use my hands to cast resin or make acid-etched glass. I like creating something that is more tangible and can be used in daily life. 

I’ve also explored Asian American representation within the media. I worked with a group called Artivate, and we went to Chinatown in San Francisco to interview Asian artists such as Arthur Dong who is a filmmaker representing the LGBTQ+ community and activist Norman Fong. We created murals and community workshops, where we taught people how to make screen prints and about our history.  

For a career, I am interested in the nonprofit and automotive space. I could see myself working at Rivian, or one of the electric car companies, because I think it’s such a unique space right now. There’s so much innovation and so much potential for electric vehicles.

I’m also into motorcycles and found a good community here through Motorsport Mechanics of Berkeley and through the MotoStudent club. I’m planning to get my license this summer and I’d like to get a Yamaha MT-O7. 

I like the sense of freedom on a motorcycle when my friends take me out on rides. The views from Grizzly Peak are amazing, and the motorcycle gives me such a different perspective of the world. Sometimes we are so absorbed in our everyday lives that we don’t really take time to look around us and notice our surroundings.”