Hi, I’m Sarah Orozco. I’m a 1st-gen, low-income, Oaxaquena Senior transfer student from UC Berkeley. My family is from the Sierra Norte region in Oaxaca, Mexico, a small pueblito called San Mateo Cajonos. I’m majoring in sociology and plan to attend graduate school to get a PHD in Education. I'm apart of many communities on campus, such as EOP, transfers, basic needs center, DSP, and also most importantly uplifting the Oaxacan community at CAL and the bay area. I am currently involved in 3 position in the Center for Educational Equity and Excellence: at the Transfer student...
Janet Mendoza Partida (she/her/ella) is a second-year student intending to double major in Chicano and Legal Studies. She was raised by immigrant agricultural workers in Watsonville, California. Through her experience in the educational system, as a Chicana English-language learner, she has understood the importance of both representation in the classroom and bilingual education for students of color. Her high school years were spent volunteering at multiple elementary and middle schools around her community, teaching the arts in underfunded schools. Here she realized the...
Ngan Pham was born and raised in Vietnam and immigrated to the States in 2019. Growing up in a working-class family, Ngan deeply acknowledges the transformativeness of public education. It drives her to develop a strong commitment to bringing more educational access to marginalized students and increasing student retention and completion for higher education. Her post-graduation goals are to obtain a Master’s degree in counseling or a PhD in educational leadership.
While at UC Berkeley, Ngan is striving to get exposed and involved in different settings and areas...
Jocelin Robles is a first-generation Latina from East Oakland majoring in Ethnic Studies and minoring in Education. As someone from a low-income immigrant family in the Bay, Jocelin has first-hand witnessed how local and federal governments inflict economic, social, and political injustices within her community. Her upbringing as someone who struggled due to intersectional identities has driven her to pursue opportunities that allow an in-depth understanding of education, immigration, and basic needs policies. More so, Jocelin believes in...
Alex Rodriguez is a Latinx, first-generation student majoring in Legal Studies and double-minoring in Education and Global Poverty and Practice. He grew up in a lower working class community in South Central Los Angeles in his immigrant household. Considering his background, Alex is interested in becoming a civil rights attorney to make strides within the legal system to help undocumented, poor, and non-English communities through legal advoacy and activism. Alex has interned with the ACLU of Northern California, ACLU California Action, UC Berkeley...
Salvador Uribe is a non-traditional student obtaining his undergraduate degree as an older student at UC Berkeley. Salvador Immigrated to the United States at a very young age, along with his two parents and older brother. For someone like Salvador and his background, a first-generation, low-income, transfer, re-entry, disabled student navigating higher education, the terrain is uneven, which places him at a disadvantage among many of his peers that grew up with the privileges of generational knowledge. Salvador is passionate about the law and will pursue a J.D. after...
Marlyn is a first-generation college student who will be graduating in May 2023 from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Science and Comparative Ethnic Studies. She was born in San Diego but grew up living in both San Diego and Tijuana. As part of a mixed-status family, she learned first-hand how complicated and overwhelming immigration legal processes are in our country. Living in a border site, the movement of people, particularly of refugees and asylum seekers, was highly visible throughout her life. These lived experiences have motivated her work throughout undergrad and...