This feature originally appeared in the 2022 Summer edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.



Fernando Andrade doesn't let negative energy keep him from making an impact on the world.

A midfielder on the California men's soccer team, the rising sophomore was chosen as one of Cal's Walter A. Haas Jr. Community Service Award winners for the 2021-22 school year. The award was created to honor the late Walter A. Haas Jr. for his commitment and service to the University and larger community, and it is given annually to a student-athlete for his or her outstanding contribution to community service.

"It was an honor to be recognized," Andrade said. "I'm extremely grateful for the award."

Some major obstacles led to two of Andrade's biggest service projects, and he credits a book for inspiring him.

"'The Obstacle is the Way' by Ryan Holiday has changed my life," he said. "It's all aligned with Marcus Aurelius' quote, 'The impediment to action advances the action. Whatever stands in the way, becomes the way.'"

The quote from the philosophical Roman Emperor basically means that an obstacle to whatever you're trying to accomplish can motivate you to overcome adversity and thus provide you with a way to achieve your goal.

Andrade continued, "That sums up my time at Cal right now. I'm in love with soccer, and I want to become the best soccer player that I can be. Wherever that takes me, so be it. At the same time, these obstacles have allowed me to holistically grow as a person and allowed me to do things."

One way the Chula Vista product assists his community is through Ecumenic, the non-profit that he co-founded. With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the men's soccer season in 2020, Andrade used his time to help people. Specifically, he sought to assist those he saw try but fail to immigrate from Mexico and other Latin American nations into the United States. He co-created Ecumenic to help, using video and social media to inspire donations to purchase blankets and socks for immigrants, lower-resources families and an orphanage in Mexico.

"Being a border-city kid my whole life, I got to see people that never made it to the U.S." said Andrade, who is of Mexican descent. "I said, 'You know what? Let's make a difference.' From many meetings I was involved in at Cal, someone brought up a blanket drive that they once did years ago. I thought, Wow, I could do that. I can't do that with my hands right now because of COVID, but what if I start posting videos to get people to donate to this cause and then I buy the blankets, I would drop them off, and we're set."

Ecumenic has sought donors by posting videos about their efforts on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. Andrade said distributing 100 blankets would have meant success in 2020 - the first year - but Ecumenic raised enough money to give away 5,000 blankets. Its success grew in 2021, when Ecumenic raised over $10,000.

"That $10,000 translates into about 200,000 pesos in Mexico, so a lot was bought with that," Andrade said. "It's the power of social media, and it's crazy to see that just by posting videos people can come together to donate. I don't have a huge following. I'm not famous or anything. But it was interesting to see a guy just start posting videos and make people come together."

On the field, Andrade made his collegiate debut when the pandemic pushed the Bears' next regular season to the spring of 2021. He played in the first three games of the season. But Andrade suffered an injury that later required surgery.

Having to step away from soccer temporarily freed up Andrade to focus on his projects, one of which was creating a podcast. Since he strives to leave a dent on the universe, he named the podcast "Denting with Fer Andrade," which is available on Spotify and YouTube. In "Denting" – which he began after the end of the 2021 spring season – Andrade celebrates mostly other Cal student-athletes with inspiring stories of their own community service.

Andrade's guests have included Cal track & field star Camryn Rodgers, swimmers (such as Reece Whitley and Alicia Wilson), soccer players (Christian Gomez) and gymnasts (Maya Bordas, Nevaeh DeSouza) as well as alumni, including Cameron Kondo (softball), Catherine Roxas (lacrosse), and Francisco Perez and Lucas Churchill (soccer). Tommy Williamson, Andrade's former Cal roommate who's now a professional player, was the podcast's first guest in June 2021.

On "Denting," Roxas discussed helping spearhead the GoBears GoVote initiative in 2020 to get as many Cal student-athletes to register to vote. She lauds the work that Andrade does to share the Bears' stories with the world.

"To see fellow student-athletes with what little time they have pursue passion projects in the community or in a podcast is cool and inspiring," she said. "He created that lens and perspective not only for student-athletes to learn about what other Bears are doing but for outsiders to learn what Cal student-athletes are passionate about."

In 2021, Andrade spoke over Zoom during the inaugural Cal Athletics Leadership Showcase, hosted by the Cameron Institute, in which Cal student-athletes and a Cal alum discussed their leadership journeys in a TED Talk-style event. Additionally that year, Andrade produced a video for Bears United in which members of the campus organization stated their solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community.

Andrade is also a vice president of Cal's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and serves on the executive board for the Racial Justice Council. Over the past two seasons, Andrade – a political science major – was chosen to the Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll and found time to write a men's soccer blog for CalBears.com.

"Fernando has taken full advantage of everything Cal has to offer," Cal assistant coach Jacob Wilson said. "More than anyone I have known."

"He's amazing," Cameron Institute Director Dr. Marissa Nichols said. "Fernando is truly one of a kind. What sets him apart is his relentless dedication to his personal growth and his impact on others. I'm constantly amazed at his vision and his breadth of impact while competing at a high level."

Along with playing a major role in the 2021 Leadership Showcase, Andrade has served in a variety of capacities and used a variety of services available with the Cameron Institute. He's participated in the Cameron Institute's Captains & Formal Leaders Program, became a peer leader for UGBA 199 - the freshman transition seminar for incoming student-athletes - and taken advantage of one-on-one advising.

While he is a rising redshirt sophomore as a student-athlete, Andrade is approaching his senior year academically and could graduate in the spring of 2023. He's considering applying to the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and – if he gets in – would love to continue playing for the Bears as a grad student. He could also see himself going to law school and working in politics or in business, perhaps in the fields of content creation or soccer.

Wherever he ends up, Andrade appreciates the climb he made to achieve his goals thus far.

"COVID (stinks), but it allowed me to do the non-profit, which is still running now," he said. "My injury (stunk), but thanks to that I started a podcast. If it weren't for all these struggles, I wouldn't be where I am today."