Major: Economics
Profession: College and Career Coordinator, Ocean Discovery Institute, San Diego
Hometown: Pleasanton, CA
What are you doing now?
I provide mentorship and counseling through students’ critical life transitions, from high school to college and later from college to career.
How did you get there?
I did Teach for America after graduation; taught high school math in Rio Grande Valley, TX for three years. I returned to school to get an Ed.M. at Harvard Graduate School of Education in order to better understand education and the role a student’s context plays (my program was called Learning and Teaching). Upon graduating, I moved to San Diego where I started my current position with Ocean Discovery.
How did Pomona prepare you?
It was at Pomona that I first gained access to concepts of social justice and awareness. It was during this time that I developed a social consciousness and began to instill the value of social justice within. Pomona’s liberal arts philosophy exposed me to my blind spots by taking courses outside my economics major while still having enough space in my schedule to graduate on time. In addition, my study abroad experience, on campus employment, and internships (and the ease of procuring all of these opportunities) are also main highlights of my first-generation college student experience.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I see myself as a mentoring specialist, manager, or director of an educational program where I can provide strategy and expertise on a larger scale in order to support increased number of students.
Any advice for prospective or current students?
Take advantage of the liberal arts offerings Pomona and the other Claremont Colleges have to offer. Find a professor you think you can talk to and create a relationship with that person, find out ways you can contribute to their research. Participate in internships every year and summer. Learn how you can serve or give back to the/your community.