CHCI-Toyota Intern
Hometown: Kissimee, Florida
School: University of Florida
Major: Political Science
Placement: The Office of Rep. Frederica Wilson
Sol Ortega was born in Peru and immigrated with her family to Kissimmee, Florida when she was seven years old. Sol is a first-generation student at the University of Florida and has seen the difficulties of obtaining educational resources. This, along with witnessing the hard work of her parents, is what drives her passion to serve her community.
Throughout her undergraduate career, Sol has been civically active on her campus and has served as a student senator for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, as Chair for the Advocacy Committee under the department of Hispanic Latino Affairs (HLA), Marketing Director for CHISPAS at UF (an immigrant advocate group), and as Vice Chair for the University of Florida’s Reitz Board of Managers. Through her roles, she has been an advocate for tuition equity for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students by helping lobby for equitable tuition rates in the Florida legislature and worked on HLA’s recruitment and retention efforts for Hispanic/Latinx students.
As a CHCI Intern, Sol hopes to enhance her passion for the Hispanic/Latinx and learn how to be a better advocate for issues impacting her community nationwide. Sol hopes to build a strong and ample network that she can take with her when she returns to her home state of Florida. After graduation, she wishes to continue advocating for the Hispanic/Latinx community as an ally for other underrepresented communities.