I was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and came to the United States when I was a little less than a year old. I had the amazing opportunity to return in 2005 to visit, and I always dream about going back.
I pursued my undergraduate degree at Rutgers University, majoring in American Studies and minoring in Sociology.
Now being the millennial that I am, I also started my college career at Johnson & Wales University, where I received a two year Marketing degree. Lets just say I love education! I moved to Arizona in May 2011, after a change of scenery from NJ to Tacoma, WA to be with my beau who was stationed in Fort Lewis while serving in the United States Army. It took some time to embrace the Arizona heat, but eventually I left the house and began volunteering at local organizations like the Arizona Students' Association and Dress for Success Phoenix to get a better feel of the Phoenician culture.
Getting accepted to Arizona State University, into the Masters in Public Administration program, became a huge milestone for me. Being the first person to graduate from college was such an amazing accomplishment in my life, but it was not the end to my journey. So this experience has helped me explore my true passions, and experience college life as a professional.
I have worked for the ASU Graduate & Professional Students' Association (GPSA) as the Director of Legislative Affairs. Serving through GPSA has afforded me to travel to Washington D.C. on three separate occasions to advocate on behalf of graduate students; and traveling to Budapest, Hungary to attend the Right to Research Coalition's 2nd General Assembly to advocate on Open Access.
In the meantime, I serve at a local nonprofit called Dress for Success Phoenix
where I serve as a Program Manager. This position was offered to me during my volunteer service. I'm going to say doing all of this while being a SPA student has been difficult, but I have triumphed to manage my time and be successful. I pride myself in the work that I do and being a public servant.
In my downtime I enjoy finding new "foodie" spots in Phoenix, occasional knitting, reading Game of Thrones and playing with my two Boston Terriers.
Through the networking opportunities that I managed to do while serving at GPSA, allowed for connecting with many Government Affairs professionals. Through these connections I landed an opportunity to intern with the City of Phoenix's Office of Government Relations for the Spring 2014 semester.
I'm not going to lie, this is a bit new for me. Being on other side of lobbying is going to really test my professionalism in dissecting bills, managing relationships and bridging networks without attesting to my own personal beliefs. Student organizing is all about sharing your personal story, which does not work in this role.
In the interim of discovering my silent voice, I would also love to see the hands-on application of my degree. This internship falls on the last leg of my graduate program, so seeing the plethora of knowledge I just absorbed in action would be pretty awesome.
If all else fails, and I am completely thrown off on my other two accomplishments, then my highlights will be to just do some good work for Phoenix, all while being in my four wall cubicle.
Interns Rock,
Jessica
