Democracy Camp in Berkeley Fellows & Alumni

My name is Lesly Silva Rosales and I am a first generation Mexican American. I grew up in a low-income household and was instilled with the value of education and hard work from a young age. My immigrant parents always encouraged me to make a positive difference in people's lives and for that...Read more about Lesly Silva Rosales

My name is Luis David Suarez Cabrera, and I am a first-year pre-law Business Administration and Public Policy student at the University of California, Berkeley. I was born and raised in Ecuador until the age of 12. Ecuador is a beautiful country that has seen many social, economic, and political...Read more about Luis David Suarez

My hometown, South Central Los Angeles, faces institutional disparities impacting Black, Indigenous, People of color (BIPOC) communities. From an early age, I repeatedly witnessed challenges of living in a historically redlined community where many encounter hardships of criminalization, housing...Read more about Emely Abad Castillo

Iris De Leon (she/her)

Iris De Leon is a first-generation student at UC Berkeley. As a first year with an intended political science major, she is determined to work for immigrant advocacy, and uplifting students’ voices. Being raised in Los Angeles, Iris has made it her...Read more about Iris De Leon

Esme Nuno Mora (she/her/ella) is a first-generation, low-income, third-year transfer student from Norco Community College, now studying Sociology at UC Berkeley.

As a youth advocate with John Burton Advocates for Youth, Esme works to create pathways to higher education for unaccompanied...Read more about Esmeralda Mora

Guadalupe Garcia Lopez (he/him) is a first-generation transfer student majoring in Political Science with a specialization in Empirical Analysis and Quantitative Methods, and minoring in Data Science. At UC Berkeley, he is a Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholar and a Yardi Scholar, dedicated to...Read more about Guadalupe Garcia Lopez

Christopher Blu is a first-generation transfer student from San Jose, CA. He is majoring in Political Science with a specialization in American Politics and minoring in Political Economy. Adopted at the age of 1 and raised primarily by his grandmother, his experiences of being a low-income and...Read more about Christopher Blu Lopez

Lara Zangana (she/her)

Lara Zangana is a first-generation undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, pursuing a double major in Society and Environment and Conservation and Resource Studies. With a strong passion for equitable business practices,...Read more about Lara Zangana

Tonya DeGruy (she/her)

Tonya DeGruy is a non-traditional transfer student at the University of California, Berkeley in her second semester. Tonya was raised in the city of Los Angeles with a single mom. Being a non-traditional student returning to...Read more about Tonya DeGruy

Angel Tlachi (they/them)

Angel Tlachi is majoring in political science and Spanish, and is on the Pre-Law track, with an interest in immigration reform. Born in Oakland, and raised in an immigrant household, Angel was aware of the extensive and difficult process...Read more about Angel Tlachi

Nirvana Hannah (She/Her)
Nirvana Hannah is a senior transfer student from Santa Ana, CA, majoring in political science and minoring in disability studies. As a disabled, low-income, queer woman raised in an underprivileged community, Nirvana is passionate about housing stability and...Read more about Nirvana Hannah

Marisol Medina, a child of Mexican immigrants, is a first-generation college student. She is a second-year majoring in Political Science with a minor in Public Policy. She grew up in Inglewood, California, neighboring the city of Los Angeles, which inspired her to advocate for more...Read more about Marisol Medina

Angie Castellon (she/her)

As an undocumented individual, growing up I faced a lot of struggles. I came to this country as a child, not knowing the obstacles that being undocumented would create for my future. After high school, there were not many options for me as I faced a...Read more about Angie Castellon

Annmarie Le (she/her)

Annmarie Le was raised in a Southern California immigrant household by hardworking and resilient parents who started from scratch. She has always been passionate about learning and hopes to research foreign policy and international...Read more about Annmarie Le

My name is Anahi Valverde, and I’m the proud daughter of undocumented immigrants who grew up in California’s Central Valley. My family’s sacrifices and resilience have shaped who I am and fueled my passion for advocating for immigrant rights and creating spaces where marginalized communities...Read more about Anahi Valverde

As a recipient of the Generation Change Scholarship, Thin Rati Oo (she/her) is an incoming first-generation senior at the University of California-Berkeley, majoring in Public Health with a minor in Public Policy and an Asian American Community Health Certificate. Next semester, Thin will be...Read more about Thin Rati Oo

As a first-generation student coming from a low-income background, it has always been a goal of mine to give back to the community that raised me and taught me the values that I hold dear today. Growing up as a child of Mexican and Honduran parents, my identity has shaped how I value and...Read more about Star Avila

Hi, I’m Jocelyn Alexander. I am a freshman, I will be majoring in Public Health at UC Berkeley. I’m a first-generation and low-income woman of color part of EOP, and NavCal. I am an intern for Health Career Pathways where I devised a project on helping the unemployed find jobs. I’m also an...Read more about Jocelyn Alexander

Jennifer Ramirez is a first-generation Latina studying Economics and Public Policy at UC Berkeley from the Bay Area. Growing up in a mixed-status household, she experienced first-hand the hardships Latinx immigrant families faced, such as the struggle to...Read more about Jennifer Ramirez

Christian Jared Aleman is a Bay Area native who grew up in San Francisco and the East Bay. With his various academic experiences, he is interested in the advancement of educational rights for historically marginalized students within California and beyond.

As a student...Read more about Christian Aleman

Jasmine Lozano (she/her)

Raised in the San Joaquin Central Valley, Jasmine is passionate about advocating for others, herself, and her community through academic, social, and legislative forums. She is a political science and ethnic studies double major with a...Read more about Jasmine Lozano

Hello, my name is Jasmine Esquivel. I am a first-generation low-income student here at Cal. I am a sophomore majoring in Social Welfare and intending to minor in Ethnic Studies, and I am part of the EOP and DSP program. On campus, I am currently a NavCal mentor where I help other...Read more about Jasmine Esquivel

Martha Haddis (she/her)

My name is Martha Haddis I am a first-generation, African American, 4th year transfer student from San Jose, CA. I am majoring in political science with a public policy minor. During my time at Cal, I have continued to enhance my networking and...Read more about Martha Haddis

Rosie Echeverria was born and raised in East Hollywood, Los Angeles in a Central American immigrant household and she is a first-generation...Read more about Rosie Echeverria

Katie DaQuino is a fourth year student studying Political Science, with minors in Public Policy and Interdisciplinary Human Rights Studies. She is the president of Cal Habitat for Humanity, a community service club that aims to give students opportunities to volunteer in the local...Read more about Katie DaQuino

Anna is passionate about serving underserved communities through the lens of the law and legal system. As a Berkeley Peter E. Haas Public Service Leader, she worked for Bay Area JusticeCorps, where she helps self-represented litigants navigate the legal system by providing legal information...Read more about Anna Maria Diaz

Peter Coe is a third-year undergraduate studying Political Science and Public Policy at UC Berkeley. He is currently rebuilding the UC Berkeley SunRise Movement Club to leverage membership to motivate local and national politicians to champion environmental policies. The Sunrise movement is a "...Read more about Peter Coe

Natalie Gonzalez is a first-generation undergraduate senior at UC Berkeley. Natalie is majoring in Legal Studies and minoring in Human Rights. She is currently working on her senior thesis through the Legal Studies Honors Program and working as a research assistant for a Postdoc at Brown...Read more about Natalie Gonzalez

Randy Cantz is a senior at UC Berkeley pursuing a degree in History and a minor in Public Policy. He is focused on gaining critical insights into the measures necessary to institute salient and long-lasting policies at state and national levels. An active member of his school’s...Read more about Randy Cantz

My name is Somdeng Danny Thongsy, I am a 1st-gen, low-income, transfer student from Laney College. I am also a system-impacted community leader. I’m majoring in Sociology in my senior year. I'm a part of many communities on campus, such as Underground Scholar, Nav Cal, DSP, HOPE...Read more about Somdeng Danny Thongsy

My name is Kassandra Ruiz and I am a third year majoring in Media Studies. On campus, I am the Director of Finance for The Bearettes, a majorette style dance team, where I network with donors and fundraise for our team. I am also part of the Latino Business Student Association Internal...Read more about Kassandra Ruiz

Hildeberto Venegas is a fourth year transfer student majoring in Political Economy and minoring in Public Policy. He was born in Oaxaca, Mexico but grew up in Napa, California after his family decided to immigrate to the US in 2008. The hardships his family and community...Read more about Hildeberto Venegas