This feature originally appeared in the Winter 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.


Balance.
 
It's a tricky thing. But maintaining balance has made the difference in the life of one particular Cal gymnast.
 
However, the reference is not the one required to masterfully land a dismount. Instead, it's the steadiness required to merge experiences into a meaningful purpose and find one's individuality among influential external forces.
 
Capri Sano, a senior for the Bears, found the balance he needs by way of changing course – in this case his major – and ultimately piecing his academic experience together. Initially a biology major, Sano realized his junior year that it was not the correct path for him.
 
"It was pretty far into my curriculum and I was not doing so well," Sano recalled, "so then I really had to evaluate my life and think about what I wanted to do after I graduated.
 
"I realized that I do have a Japanese background, and I do want to work in the business field and connect Japan's companies with American companies. I changed to interdisciplinary studies, which embodies different types of classes and gives you freedom to choose whatever you want to study."
 
The Japanese-American immersed himself into learning the language native to his parents and most of his family.
 
"I speak Japanese with my family, but my reading and writing skills weren't on par with Japanese students abroad," said Sano, who added Japanese as an academic minor. "I just decided to focus on something where I could be more involved in this whole globalization process."
 
Sano had the unique experience of studying in two systems of education growing up. He went to Van Nuys High School outside his hometown of Northridge, then would spend summers in Japan, where most of his family lives, and take summer school courses.
 
"It was definitely an interesting experience because the American school system is 180 degrees different than the Japanese experience," Sano said. "From how the teachers would teach the students, to the material that's being taught there … it was more focused on manners in school than the content."
 
The conservative schooling system felt more familiar to Sano, who was raised in the Japanese Bushido culture.
 
"Bushido means respect and it embodies a samurai spirit, which is about being generous to others, being obedient, being respectful," he said.
 
It was those principles that pushed him to Cal, but it was also a struggle early for Sano to open to new experiences.
 
"I was stuck on one way to live, one way to act and think," Sano said. "It was hard for me to open up and that was probably the reasons I struggled."
 
Sano, who had planned to be a doctor his whole life, found new perspective in an international education development course.
 
"That class has taught me that there are many ways to view education," Sano said. "It definitely made it easier for me to find motivation. I found my passion after I told myself that I don't have to stick to one core principle and that I'm allowed to make my own choices. My mind has been more flexible."
 
Realizing his academic passion, also helped him find equilibrium as a student-athlete.
 
"When I came in, I just thought that being a student, being an athlete was two different things, " Sano said. "I had to learn the hard way by struggling on both sides. If I do well in school, I'll do well in gymnastics - it's all connected together."