MARIA ALEJANDRA FORERO

Hometown: Coral Springs, Florida
School: University of Florida
Major: Political Science and Public Relations
Placement: The Office of Sen. Alex Padilla

Maria was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and immigrated alongside her family to the United States when she was two years old and grew up in Broward County, Florida. As a bilingual immigrant that valued her education, Maria became passionate about pursuing a career that focused on allocating resources to education and underprivileged communities. Maria believes that strengthening one’s intercultural competence is essential when holding leadership positions to ensure leaders can empower their constituents.

Maria graduated from the University of Florida (UF) in May 2021. She earned a B.A. in Political Science, B.S. in Public Relations, and a Certificate in International Relations. She also finished various courses regarding Nonprofit Organizational Leadership. Maria is taking a gap year or two to pursue experiences that could strengthen her professional career and allow her to better serve the public. Her ultimate career goal is to work for the United Nations regarding aspects of education policy around the world.

On-campus, she became the President of Lucha Latina at UF and focused on mentoring the Latina community at her university through programs and community outreach. She also served as the Director of Risk Management for her multicultural sorority, Gamma Eta, Sorority, Inc., and ensured members felt welcomed and safe. Maria aims to pursue her goals of contributing to underrepresented communities and elevating the voices of those around her.

As a CHCI Intern, Maria hopes to familiarize herself to a greater extent with the legislative process as well as to expose herself to professionals in the fields of international relations and education that she can learn from. She hopes to gain experience that she can use to contribute to society and to continue to advocate for those around her.