Among the Sharmas’ many gifts to campus, the couple has established a scholarship and given regularly to the annual fund at Berkeley Engineering, where Amit and Sumeet both studied.

For the Sharmas, the decision to give back to Berkeley in a consistent way has been an easy one. “You have to think of it as an investment in the future of California and America,” Anju says, a project manager for HP. “It’s a jewel that needs to be protected among American institutions, and coupled with the times we’re living in, I can’t think of a better place to support.”

Amit has enjoyed the benefits of Cal’s world-class public education from a variety of perspectives: as an undergraduate, a graduate student, a donor, and a Cal parent. Today, working in Silicon Valley, he often recalls the guidance he received at Cal and remains grateful for the positive influence that UC Berkeley has had on his approach to his work.

“I still think of the faculty as my role models,” Amit says, who also works at HP as a director of research and development. “When I’m in a tough situation at work, I think back to how my professors would handle a situation. They focused on the highest values.”