Paloma Foster, 35, was a political science major, Regents’ Scholar and campus advocate close to graduation.
BERKELEY, CA — Friends, family and classmates gathered at UC Berkeley this week to remember Paloma Foster, a 35-year-old student, mother and advocate who died Sunday in a solo crash in Marin County.
Foster’s death shook several campus communities where she had become known as a transfer student parent, political science major, Regents’ Scholar and advocate for formerly incarcerated students. The vigil Tuesday at Stiles Hall drew people who described her as a steady presence for students carrying hard pasts into higher education.
Flowers, candles and handwritten notes lined the gathering space as loved ones spoke about Foster’s place on campus and the life she was building. One attendee said during the vigil that students “didn’t have a lot of time with her,” but that Foster “really made a difference.” Marlo De La Mora, Foster’s best friend, said the two met during transfer weekend at the financial aid department and quickly became close. “I feel numb. I still can’t believe that she’s gone,” De La Mora said. “She was a huge part of my life here at Berkeley.”
De La Mora said she was Foster’s emergency contact and began receiving crash-detection alerts with Foster’s location at about 1:45 a.m. Sunday. The California Highway Patrol responded to a solo crash on eastbound Interstate 580 near the San Quentin off-ramp. De La Mora said Foster had been traveling with her 7-year-old son, Cairo, and her boyfriend, Shiloh, who was driving, after returning from the GrooveWell Vacation festival in Mendocino County, where Foster had worked security over the weekend. Authorities had not publicly released a full account of what led to the crash.
Friends said Foster’s life before Berkeley shaped her work after she arrived. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies profile described her as a first-generation Mexican American student, a former foster youth, a formerly incarcerated person and a transfer student parent from Los Angeles. She was majoring in political science and pursuing public policy studies, with plans to apply after graduation to joint law and public policy graduate programs. She also hoped to work in government, advocate for marginalized communities and give back to the foster care system.
At UC Berkeley, Foster was active with Underground Scholars, a campus community that supports students affected by incarceration. She also served on the California Policy Lab’s Criminal Justice Research Advisory Board and chaired the Associated Students of the University of California’s Equity and Systems Impact Commission, a student government body focused on marginalized students. The California Policy Lab described Foster as a re-entry student parent who sought to use her experience in the foster care and juvenile justice systems to help change those systems. Friends said that mission followed her into classrooms, meetings and informal campus spaces.
Before transferring to Berkeley, Foster served as the 2022-23 student trustee at Fullerton College in Southern California. The college said she advocated for students and helped lead voter registration efforts on campus. She was later named one of Fullerton College’s 2023 Students of the Year. In a campus feature that year, Foster said her barriers included being low-income, first-generation, a student parent and a nontraditional-age student. She said her teen years were spent between foster care and juvenile incarceration before she was emancipated on her 18th birthday.
Rainbow Alvarez, a friend, said Foster understood the burden carried by students who arrive at Berkeley after incarceration, family separation, substance dependency and other struggles. “We were able to really share so many intimate details of what it takes to be a UC Berkeley student, coming from these backgrounds,” Alvarez said. “Paloma came here, a mother, with the goal of finishing for her children.” Charles Long, another friend, said Foster made people feel welcome. “Every time she was in a room that I walk into, she always made you feel welcome into the room,” Long said.
The crash investigation remained with the California Highway Patrol, and officials had not publicly announced a final cause. Foster’s mother and boyfriend attended the vigil but declined to speak on camera. De La Mora said Foster was only a few courses from graduation and that UC Berkeley planned to award her degree posthumously. A fundraiser was created to help Foster’s family with funeral and related expenses.
As of Thursday, the campus community was continuing to share remembrances of Foster’s advocacy, warmth and work with students seeking second chances. The next public milestone was expected to be the formal handling of her posthumous degree and any further findings from the crash investigation.
Author note: Last updated June 25, 2026.