Education: Columbia University, New York, NY Class of 2019
Saint Peter’s Preparatory High School, Jersey City, NJ 2015
Publications – click the links below.
- New York Times Essay Contest Winner - Essays About Work and Class That Caught a College’s Eye
- NJ.com - N.J. boy wins N.Y. Times college essay contest
- Hudson Reporter - Local kid gets essay in NY Times
- Telemundo segment - Young Millennial accepted to top 7 universities
Organizations, Activities and Volunteering while at Columbia
- Ivy League Policy Conference – First Place in Mental Health Policy
- The conference invites students from all 8 Ivy-league schools to participate in writing policy that could be implemented across all the participating institutions. My mental health policy proposal was judged by a panel of university administrators and mental health professionals, and was chosen as 1st place in the Ivy League. Winning this award means that my policy ideas will be presented to top university administrators across the Ivy League, along with their mental health staffs
- Bridge to Brilliance - Founding Member/ Fundraising Director- https://www.bridge2brilliance.com/
- Bridge to Brilliance works to connect local students from low-income areas with the prospects of higher education. Through guided tours, panels, and mentorship, we aim to not only show economically disadvantaged students that they are capable of college, but also inspire them to reach higher for elite institutions like Columbia. I am in charge of reaching out to local businesses and other avenues to raise the funds needed to run the program.
- Journal of Politics and Society – Associate Editor
- Sociological Research Project with Professor Peter Bearman
- Using social network theory, I worked under Columbia sociologist Peter Bearman to survey Latino students across all 8 Ivy League Institutions to investigate the effects of having a “Latino Lounge" on the student body
- Columbia Latinx Ivy League Coalition - Head Delegate
- Activist efforts led to $100 Million plan for diversity/inclusion from President Christina Paxson
- Young Storytellers – Mentor
- Elementary school students with reading/writing difficulties or social assimilation issues are guided to write a script and have their show performed by actors in front of their whole school. The program aims to help children believe in themselves, the worth of their stories, and their work in the arts.
- Columbia University Double Discovery Center (DDC) – Mentor
- Work at the DDC involves helping local students from disadvantaged backgrounds get to college. The work includes mentoring, revising college essays, and help with the application process in general.
- Columbia Mentoring Initiative - Latino Branch
- Columbia Nonsequitur – Tenor
Work Experience
- Program Coordinator for Columbia Urban Experience 2016-2017
- Managed all administrative aspects of a 2 week-long community service pre-orientation program for first-year students at Columbia University (60 students).
- Planned discussions of relevant social issues between first-year students and implemented a revised “discussion packet”
- Advised and guided a team of 10 student leaders in facilitating first-year students’ transition into college. Balanced budget to accommodate for social outings and food.
- Fostered relationships with local businesses, such as Sweetgreen, to secure complimentary food and merchandise.
- Built sustainable relationships with 12 diverse non-profit organizations in New York City to develop service-oriented programming
- Program Director CL Global Group – July – August 2016
- Program director for a residential summer program for Chinese undergraduates held at Columbia
- Lead and organize educational and cultural activities.
- Facilitated interaction and communication among participants and the local program team.
- Advised participants on experiencing the best of NYC.
- Responded to participant welfare concerns.
- Carry out administrative tasks when needed
High School Leadership
- Created High School Senior Gift Fund with record breaking in funds and participation.
- My work towards the annual Senior Gift Fund broke all previous records set by alumni in both amounts of funds and participation rates. The funds were used to install 3 water-bottle filling stations on campus, in order to incentivize the use of reusable bottles.
- Student Council: Freshman President, Sophomore and Junior Rep, Senior Vice President
- Tutor at Brooklyn Jesuit Prep
- Campus Ministry Team – Arrupe Week 2015 Lecture Series on Masculinity
Special Skills and Interest
- Confident public speaker
- Mentor
- Fluent in Spanish
- Singer
Goals
- Interested in Sociology, Legal, Non-Profit, Government