Looking back, charging ahead: As Callista Yu '25 reflects on her struggles and successes, she encourages Gaels to keep going: "It’s worth it to keep trying, day after day, to give yourself a chance of getting where you want to be." / Photo by Francis Tatem
In Their Own Words: Callista Yu ’25 on ‘Resilience’ and Rewriting Her Story
As someone who struggled in high school, Callista Yu says, “I didn’t think I’d even be able to get into college.” Now, after transferring to Saint Mary’s in 2023, she’s graduating with the Byron Bryant Award, the highest honor for a Communication major.
In Their Own Words is a series in which we introduce you to the Gaels you need to meet—students, alums, faculty, and staff—and let them tell their stories, in their own words.
Meet Callista Yu ’25: a lifelong Bay Area resident, she is a Communication major with a Strategist concentration who transferred to the College in Fall 2023. She currently serves as the Social Media Manager for The Collegian, Saint Mary’s long-running student newspaper. After graduation, she will be the Marketing and Communications Intern for the national nonprofit Transforming Age. Yu is also the recipient of this year’s Byron Bryant Award, presented annually to one graduating Communication major with an outstanding scholastic record.
Overcoming hurdles
My parents are both Chinese immigrants, but I was born in the US and raised in San Ramon, California. Growing up, college was kind of a non-negotiable for me. My parents came to the US to give our family a better life, and attending college was part of that. Plus, my dad had graduated from San Francisco State University in the 1990s, so I definitely wanted to follow in his footsteps and get my degree, too.
But high school was really rough for me. The pandemic hit when I was a sophomore, and I struggled with remote learning. I actually switched schools twice to try to find the right fit. All that transferring and online classwork took a toll on my mental health. To be completely transparent, my grades were looking pretty bad, too. By junior year, my GPA was terrible, and I was extremely behind on credits. I wasn't sure if attending college was even on the table anymore.
Ultimately, I took the California high school proficiency exit exam and graduated a year early. Then I started taking classes at Las Positas College, a community college in Livermore.
Transferring to Saint Mary’s
After my first year at Las Positas, one of my friends told me she was heading to a university in Arizona to attend nursing school. I decided to join her there and went for one year. But, you know, I just really didn't like it over there. I wanted to come home, back to the Bay Area.
As I was looking at my options, Saint Mary’s was definitely at the top of the list. It was a school that my parents always liked. During spring break, I flew back and attended one of SMC’s transfer information sessions. I remember it was a drizzly, moody evening, and the campus was so beautiful. It was lit up with these warm lights, and the flowers and trees were all in bloom. Very different from Arizona!
And when we met with Craig Means, the Associate Dean of Transfer Admissions, I started getting a sense of the campus culture and was really drawn to it. I knew I wanted to come here to continue my studies.
Going Gael
When I started at Saint Mary's in fall 2023, I figured I knew how the first day would go. At all the schools I had been to, people usually look down at their feet or at their phones. But here, everybody was so friendly! People I didn’t even know would smile at me. During the first week, I had trouble locating my classes. Strangers were kind enough to stop, help, and even walk me to the classroom.
The culture of kindness at SMC made me feel so much more welcome than any other school I’ve attended. And with faculty, because class sizes are small, professors can be more devoted to students. You really get to have a relationship with them, which contributes to the tight-knit community here.
Throughout my education, I had continuously transferred schools. But Saint Mary's is where I ultimately decided to stay, because it felt like home.
Crafting a career
I chose to major in Communication because I’ve always been good at talking with people and connecting. But as I took more communication classes, I found myself growing genuinely interested in research and theory. It’s a major that is so applicable to so many fields, because interpersonal relationships and effective communication will always be valuable.
Currently, I hope to pursue a career in public relations, possibly in social media management or content creation. I feel really fortunate that I do have an internship lined up after graduation. This summer, I will be the marketing and communications intern for Transforming Age. They’re a national nonprofit organization that works to provide housing and improve the quality of life for older adults.
I’m excited to get some real hands-on experience in my field and see how PR aligns with my goals. After that, I may pursue my Master’s in Communication right here at Saint Mary’s.
"The culture of kindness at SMC made me feel so much more welcome than any other school I’ve attended. And with faculty, because class sizes are small, professors can be more devoted to students... Saint Mary's is where I ultimately decided to stay, because it felt like home."
Winning the Byron Bryant Award
Honestly, everybody says this, but I was really shocked and humbled. Throughout my academic journey, I faced a lot of hardships. For a long time, I didn’t think I would be able to get into college, let alone graduate with honors and win an award.
Being in college, I've always had a level of impostor syndrome: I'm not good enough, I don't belong here, and I don't have the same traditional schooling as everybody else. But just having the support and encouragement from Saint Mary’s professors, and then receiving this award, has reassured me—I do belong.
What Asian American Pacific Islander Month signifies to her
Coming from a Chinese background, I've always had some struggles with my identity. Most of the schools I’ve attended were predominantly white, and I was sometimes the only Asian person in my classes. Even at Saint Mary’s, there isn’t a huge Asian population. But I also feel like my cultural identity and values are a crucial part of who I am and why I’m able to do what I do.
A really integral value for Chinese people is resilience. That is definitely something I have learned and practiced over the years. Through everything I’ve gone through, academically and personally, I’ve been able to pick myself back up and learn to exist as a college student. My family has been important throughout that entire process. They’ve always encouraged me to be resilient, to keep going no matter what. I’m grateful for that.
Her encouragement to current and future Gaels
Throughout my schooling, I often wondered, “What’s the point of all this?” I felt like I wasn't good enough in so many areas. Some high school teachers even told me my grades were so bad that I wouldn’t ever graduate or achieve my goals.
For many, especially college students, mental health struggles can get in the way of the things we want. But my advice is, just keep going! Stay resilient, stay focused. Even if things are hard right now, one of these days they will get better. It’s worth it to keep trying, day after day, to give yourself a chance of getting where you want to be.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Hayden Royster is Staff Writer at the Office of Marketing and Communications for Saint Mary's College. Write him.
