Familiar Last Name
Since I started at CLASP, I could genuinely say that my supervisor Alejandra Londono Gomez has been an amazing mentor since the beginning. The moment I saw her Spanish last name it made me feel like I already had a connection to her. Being Latina, it can be easy to feel out of place especially within policy work. The more we spoke the more we noticed we had a lot of related experiences such as being first-gen students and being daughters of immigrant parents. Alejandra has been extremely supportive by speaking about her lived experiences and how she overcame them. At first, I was a bit intimidated, especially when she was helping me recreate my resume and we used hers as an example. All I could see were all the degrees, the links, presentations, bilingual certification and how experienced she was. The knowledge power she had, based on her resume, was fascinating.
Due to her lived experience, I have found her advice to be extremely beneficial. She has supported me by having weekly check-ins, clarifying terms, and allowing me to reach out whenever I need assistance even with things outside of CLASP. Alejandra advocates for immigrant children and that is similar to what I aspire to do. Being the minority in such a competitive field or a culture like DC’s can be extremely discouraging, I know I have felt that myself being in here as an intern. Alejandra is very committed to her work and approaches everything with a lot of confidence. She’s had that lived experience as a child of immigrants and chose to work and advocate for something she was passionate about aside from the many barriers that prevent Latinos, especially first-generation Latinos, from rising up, which is why I would consider her a mentor. Alejandra is a great example of “Si Se Puede” and continues to open doors for other Latinos.