Mia Verdin

Mia Alexa Verdin (she/they)

Mia Verdin is a third year undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, studying Urban Studies and Ethnic Studies. She was born and raised in the city of Santa Ana, California to immigrant parents from Mexico. As the first in her family to attend university, she is a proud first-generation student. She is passionate about exploring equity in housing, public transportation and education. In addition, she has led initiatives that promote civic engagement and education within her community; especially among other young people.

She discovered this passion through her work serving as the Chairperson for the Santa Ana Youth Commission. In this capacity, she acted as the bridge between young people who needed to voice their concerns and local elected officials, ensuring that her peers’ voices were heard and accounted for in the bureaucratic government process. Last year, she was a College Corps fellow, working with youth in West Oakland, providing meaningful mentorship, guidance and peer-to-peer support to students, encouraging them to reach their full potential. Furthermore, she is the co-director of Santa Ana Youth Vote, where she led and facilitated paid fellowships for high school students in Santa Ana, leading to the registration and pre-registration of 3000 new young voters, the majority of which being Latinos. Currently, she serves as the co-student director for Democracy Camp in D.C., where she will act as a support system for students of diverse backgrounds during the camp, guiding them in their visit to Washington D.C. and introduction to public service at the federal level.

She aspires to be a catalyst for positive and transformative change in local policy, as well as promote the connection between community members and the electoral process. She is inspired by the resilience of her fellow community members and her parents’ encouragement to “¡écharle ganas!” to keep her motivated.