CHCI-Walmart Intern
Hometown: Truckee, California
School: University of California, Los Angeles
Major: Sociology
Placement: The Office of Rep. Norma Torres
Adela G. Ortiz was born in Truckee, CA and grew up as an only child. Her mother migrated from Durango, Mexico to the U.S. at the age of thirty-two and raised her to understand that hard work alone does not guarantee success: higher education is key. Adela is thankful for the invaluable determination her mother’s example instilled in her, including the motivation and inspiration for being the first in the family to earn a college education.
Currently Adela is a junior at UCLA, where she studies sociology and cognitive science. She is a 2018 Academic Advancement Scholarship recipient and earned a slot on the campus’ Dean’s List. Adela interns at the Family Resource Center of Truckee focusing on immigration support services, and contributes as a mentor for La Fuerza Latina, a college access program for underrepresented scholars.
As a CHCI Intern, Adela strives to develop transferable expertise for pushing forward progressive community reforms while simultaneously investigating career paths. Through CHCI Adela hopes to overcome increasing class division by building bridges between communities. She aspires to attend law school and integrate the knowledge acquired from sociology into law enforcement, in order to return to her community and provide protection for the most vulnerable.