Ariana Casillas Rodriguez

Congressional Intern, Presented by Walmart  

Hometown: Lakeland, Florida  

School: Lynn University  

Major: Political Science   

Placement: Office of Rep. Maxwell Frost  

While Ariana was raised in central Florida, she spent her early summers with her family in her homeland of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. She comes from a teenage single-parent household and was the first in her family to attend college. Ariana completed her Bachelor’s degree in three years, majoring in Political Science with an emphasis on American Government and Politics at Lynn University.  

While attending her campus, Ariana took on several leadership roles. She worked three on-campus jobs as a full-time student, while maintaining her involvement in student life. Ariana served as an Orientation Leader for incoming students, mentoring them through their challenging transition from high school to college. She also served as President of Latinos Unidos for two and a half years and was awarded Student Leader of the Year for her dedication.  

Ariana believes in the power of representation and knows that the key to her success is education. She is now studying for the LSAT and pursuing her goal of becoming a human rights attorney. Her ultimate career aspiration is to serve on the Supreme Court, inspired by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. While interning with CHCI, Ariana hopes to strengthen her networking skills and expand her knowledge of the inner workings of the legislative process, while also appreciating the opportunity to see Latinos in a field she had only dreamed of as a child. She hopes to use this experience to inspire others from single-parent households, showing that statistics are never a guide.