The Aspen Institute

Marcela Alvarez (San Diego, CA) received her B.S. in Management Science at University of California San Diego, graduating with Summa Cum Laude Latin honors and as the economics department’s top student. She was a Chancellor’s Scholar throughout her academic career, as well as a recipient of a UC San Diego Hispanic Scholarship Council’s award. She spent her first year at UC San Diego working with OASIS (Office for Academic Support and Instructional Services), an on-campus organization that aims to support, encourage, and mentor first-generation college students. During her time with OASIS, she worked closely with Spanish-speaking students and their families to ensure a smooth and successful transition from high school to college. She learned all-things U.S.-Mexico during her three years at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at UC San Diego and developed a greater passion toward her community as an intern at San Diego’s South County Economic Development Council. Both positions involved daily interaction with elected officials, policymakers, and members of academia from both side of North America’s southern border. While at the Center for U.S-Mexican Studies, she was involved with the Mexican Migration Field Research Program, a program surveying nearly 7,000 high school students from both sides of the border with the intent of gaining insight into the educational trajectories and professional aspirations of youth in the cross-border region. After travelling to 25 countries across four different continents, Marcela returned to her hometown and joined the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation as Research Coordinator, where she work to tell San Diego’s data-driven story – a story she hopes will attract diverse businesses and talent to her longtime home. Participated in Innovation and Culture at the Border.