Justin Cheung

“I like to explore new recipes and I like to cook. A recent one that I tried is the Beef Wellington, although I failed miserably. It was so hard! I followed Gordon Ramsay and he was like “Just fold it, just roast the beef,” and I was like “Bruh, what?” That was so hard.”

Can you tell me your year, pronouns, major, and hometown?

My name is Justin, I go by the he/him series, and I'm a third-year studying Data Science and Economics. My hometown is Hong Kong.

Did you go back during the pandemic?

So what happened was I went back two semesters ago, so I was in Hong Kong for sophomore fall. But I came back for school sophomore spring last semester because I couldn't handle the time difference anymore. It's like 15 hours—I had to wake up at 3am for my classes, so that was pretty tough.

You said you're studying data science and economics, right? Could you tell me how you chose your major?

I actually came in as a chemical engineering major at Cal, so I was in the College of Chemistry. And back then, I felt like I wanted something that could actually be more applicable to my life, not just watching chemicals burn. Not that it's not interesting, but it's more so that I wanted to actually do something that I could see the results of. So then I took Data 8, which was really interesting because I could actually program, I could calculate stuff and actually make stuff work. That made me really happy, so that's why I decided to do data science. Along the way, I decided to pick up economics as well because I feel like economics is kind of related to data science. It's a really applicable feed of datasets, and I just decided to do that as well. I'm really interested in technology and business, so it's a really good mixture of majors.

Do you have any hobbies or interests other than what you've mentioned so far?

I pretty much will play any type of sport. I used to swim back in high school, like pretty competitive swimming. I've represented Hong Kong at some regional tournaments, but that was so long ago, and I don't think I can swim now. I'm into badminton, and then after I came here, I was also really into football. I didn't really know how to play football at first, but I went to a few games, and my roommate's really into football, so we just talk about it. It's a really cool sport and it's fun to watch. I've also recently picked up frisbee, so I'm trying to join the intramural team next semester. I'm also signed up for a PE class and water polo, but I'll see how that goes. Apart from that, I guess another hobby is that I like to explore new recipes. I like to cook. A recent one that I tried is the Beef Wellington, although I failed miserably. It was so hard! I followed Gordon Ramsay and he was like, “Just fold it, just roast the beef,” and I was like, “Bruh, what?” That was so hard.

Is there any dish that you really enjoy making, and successfully?

Personally, I'm pretty good at making salmon. Just any type of salmon dish, for example, like pan searing salmon and baking salmon. Just pretty much any type of salmon dish, I think I'm relatively better at it. And it's edible, like it's not trash.

Do you have any recipe that you would recommend specifically for salmon? Any kind of spice?

Salmon is really easy to make, so what I usually do is I just melt the butter and then I sear some garlic and mix that in the butter. So with garlic butter, I put it on top of the salmon. Sometimes I'll add some rosemary, and then just bake it. It's a pretty quick dish, and you can make it in batches, so it's pretty easy to meal prep, and it saves a lot of time. That's what I'm trying to do right now because honestly, I'm pretty busy. I don't really have time to cook at times, and I don't want to eat out. So yeah, meal prepping is something I'm also looking into.

So I know you already talked about your professional interests, but how do you use statistics in your particular fields?

Personally, I haven't taken that many stats courses yet. I've only taken Stat 134, and then I'm currently taking Stat 135. So I couldn't say too much about this field, but I'm also taking econometrics as well, so it's basically statistics in an economics context. I feel like mostly it's about probability; it's about expected returns and stuff. That's definitely really cool. I think in the future, I'm going to take more courses on time series, and take some on stochastic processes, just to make sure I have more stats knowledge and experience before I actually enter the workforce.

Were there any particular classes at Berkeley that you thought really helped you?

I'd have to say it's CS61A. It was a really hard class, because I took CS61A without any prior coding experience, not even in high school, and not even Data 8. So, I struggled pretty hard. But I really enjoyed how DeNero taught it. He was a really good professor and really responsive, and the GSI was good, so that really made me realize how useful [the class was] and how much I learned from that class. A fun fact is after I finished CS61A, I went back and did the first project—it's called Hog—and I realized that it was so easy. But when I first did the project, it was really hard and I struggled. So that just shows how much I've learned and developed in terms of coding knowledge, as well as technical expertise throughout the class.

How did you find out about SAAS? Why and when did you decide to join?

I joined SAAS last semester, so Spring 2021. I was in the Data Consulting Committee, and this semester, I'm the Insights & Analytics Director. I guess how I found out about SAAS is just kind of looking on CalLink, attending Calapalooza, and walking through Sproul. I found that these people were really easy to talk to—they had a diverse range of interests, no matter if it's anime, rock climbing, hiking, or math puzzles. So I just found that this group of people is not just statistical nerds or stuff like that. They're actually people who are fun to hang out with. I think that was a major part of why I wanted to join SAAS. It’s just to have a community and have people that I could take classes with and people that I could ask for advice from. I think that was the main reason why I joined SAAS. The community is definitely why I decided to stay this semester as well.

How do you think SAAS has helped you with your career or professional development?

I feel like it's more of how it helped me in terms of classes because a lot of upperclassmen and the advisors have taken the courses that I'm going to take in the future. So I can, of course, ask them for advice. Something that I found really helpful was the course selection workshop when I joined last semester because I wasn't too sure about what I wanted to do in data science. Also, I think the advice channel is pretty useful to all of the SAASies out there because you can get advice anonymously from a lot of experienced people like Brian. So I think that's been pretty useful in terms of making it clear of what courses I really want to take.

Do you have any advice for new SAAS members?

Yeah, especially since I joined as a second semester sophomore, I'm guessing most of the people who recently joined feel like they're excluded because some of the members in SAAS have been here for a couple of semesters or since their freshman year. So I think the thing is definitely to reach out to people and don't be shy. Because I feel like most, if not all, of the people in SAAS are really friendly. They're willing to talk to you and hang out with you. Don’t be shy, and just reach out to people because they're really friendly, and they're definitely willing to include you in their community. Don't be shy and just have fun because we're all just students, and we're not like a professional club or a company. We're just here to have fun and support each other.

Do you have a favorite spot on campus that you think more people should know about?

I really like this place outside of Soda Hall and Etcheverry, which is this place called V&A Cafe. So what I usually do is after every single class at like 12:00 or 12:30, I go there to just grab a coffee and chill there for 30 minutes or an hour to prepare for my next class. First, usually there's not a lot of people there. Secondly, the Wi-Fi signal is pretty strong, even outdoors. So you can just sit outside, take your mask off and just enjoy, you know. There's not a lot of places on campus where there's strong Wi-Fi, and it's outdoors. So, it's definitely a place that people should check out.

Do you have a favorite place to eat in Berkeley?

I would say it depends on what cuisine. I really like this place called Chengdu Style Restaurant or something, down Bancroft. It's a Chinese restaurant. But if you're looking for Thai food, I feel like Thai Basil is pretty good. And then there's also some snack places like Sweetheart Cafe in Asian Ghetto. I pretty much go everywhere. I would say if you want good Korean food, go to Oakland because there's Azit, and then there's Ohgane and other Korean barbecue restaurants that are really good. I think Berkeley is a pretty good place for food though, just not Crossroads.

What is your favorite boba shop in Berkeley?

Personally, it's Yifang because it's just close to campus. You can go there any time, and they have a lot of variety. They have fruit teas and bobas, so I think that's pretty cool. I think a close second is TP Tea—Taiwanese Professional Tea. It's also down Telegraph, like a block away from Yifang. Their tea is more fruity and sweet. I'm not super into sweet boba, so usually I just get 30% sugar or something. So, I think Yifang is usually better for me.

What would you say is your favorite drink from either Yifang or TP Tea?

From Yifang, there's this thing called Winter Melon latte. That's pretty good. It's kind of sweet, but the milk kind of balances it pretty well. That's usually my go-to. If I'm hungry, I would sometimes get black sugar boba because that is really full, and it's really heavy. So it really depends on my mood, you know? If I don't do well on a midterm, or if I'm just tired after class, I just get something sweet and just chill.

Is there anything else you wanted to add?

SAAS is a really good community. They're a great bunch of people, and I think I'll stay in SAAS until I graduate from Berkeley because of the people, and they're just really fun to hang out with.