MARIA SELENE CASTILLO

Hometown: Thermal, California
School: University of Southern California
Major: International Relations and Spanish
Placement: U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations, and Global Corporate Social Impact

Maria Selene was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, and raised in the small rural town of Thermal in the Eastern Coachella Valley, California. She immigrated as a one-year-old, her parents made the dangerous journey to give her a better quality of life. She is a current recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. As a first-generation student, Maria Selene is very passionate about educating herself so she can be a source of guidance for her community. She understands firsthand the struggles that a low-income, Latinx person faces, but she has used those experiences to help her grow and motivate her to keep on excelling. She graduated as Valedictorian from her high school and was accepted to multiple prestigious universities. She is currently a junior double majoring in International Relations and Spanish at the University of Southern California. She is a proud USC Norman Topping and Latino Alumni Association scholarship recipient, programs in which she has completed extensive volunteer service hours. As she is about to complete her undergraduate degrees, Maria Selene is working towards obtaining a progressive degree, in which she would obtain her Master’s degree in Public Diplomacy.

As a CHCI Intern, Maria Selene hopes to gain professional experience and connect with the inspiring Latinx leaders that are already paving the way for the Latinx community. But her ultimate goal is to share her experience as a DACA recipient and help raise awareness of the importance of the program.