Natassija Jordan-Oliver was inducted into the Youth category in 2011.
When she was inducted in 2011, Natassija Jordan-Oliver was a natural leader whose work in the community left many adults asking, "Where does she find the time?" An outstanding student at California College Preparatory High School in Berkeley, Natassija found numerous ways to help other students. She founded "Chemitastica," to tutor peers in chemistry, and launched a program to teach earthquake preparedness and public speaking. She organized fundraisers for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake, volunteered more than 100 hours in a local Kindergarten classroom and audited classes at UC Berkeley. She went on to attend UC Berkeley after applying to many of the nation’s top universities.
Natassija Jordan-Oliver came to the Women’s Hall of Fame as a precocious, big-hearted high school student determined to make a difference. She was also confronting one of life’s big decisions: deciding where to go to college. She was an outstanding student in high school, whose many accomplishments on campus and in the community left her with no shortage of higher-education options. She enrolled at UC Berkeley, and decided to pursue a double major of American Studies and African American Studies, with a minor in education. She took a slight detour on the way: taking 2016 off so she could work as an intern for President Obama at the White House and for Representative Barbara Lee at her district office in Oakland. “I have been loving the life of politics – absorbing and enjoying everything I can,” she says. When we last checked in, Natassija was considering going to law school. Whatever route she takes, Natassija hopes to find her way back into politics – and to one day run for elective office. Though the future is bright, she says she often reflects on the chapter of her life that included the Women’s Hall of Fame. “There are often days where I miss that girl [I was before]," she says, referring to herself. “I loved her optimism. That’s not to say I’m not optimistic now, but Cal has shown me that there’s a lot of work and effort that goes into attaining one’s dreams.”
