For more than 30 years, Alumni Hall of Fame inductee William Aalbersberg has worked to educate and improve the lives of others around the world.

Great things were always expected of Aalbersberg who graduated from San Clemente High School in 1966 at the age of 15. Following high school, Aalbersberg attended Cornell University where he became Ivy League bridge champion his freshman year. An exceptional math and chemistry student, Aalbersberg was accepted into the graduate program at University of California at Berkeley. However, he first decided to join the Peace Corps.

In the Peace Corps, Aalbersberg was sent to Fiji where he enthusiastically immersed himself into the Singatoka society. While helping to educate and improve living conditions in the third world country, Aalbersberg learned the customs and language of the people from the local chief, a man with whom he has stayed close with for 30 years. Following his return to the United States, Aalbersberg completed graduate school and was hired as a professor at U.C. Berkeley.

After many years at U.C. Berkeley, Aalbersberg decided to give up his tenure and accept a job teaching chemistry at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. Since his return to the island country, Aalbersberg has helped foster the careers of many of the nation's top scientists while conducting his own ethnobotanical research. Thanks to his fluency in the Fijian language and close relationships with locals in the villages, Aalbersberg has been able to gather and analyze the medicinal plants that Fijians use to stay healthy. This invaluable research has led to many collaborations with pharmaceutical companies in the United States which are interested in learning more about Aalbersberg's studies.

"It was quite an honor to receive word about the establishment of a CUSD Alumni Hall of Fame and my inclusion as an inaugural member. I can think of many others who are also quite worthy and deserve inclusion," said Aalbersberg. "I think it is an excellent idea to reestablish links with those of us who received our start in life educationally at CUSD."