Vanessa Fajardo is a junior at Brown concentrating in Public Policy. She's originally from Miami but now resides in Dallas, Texas. Her first-generation Cuban-American and low-income background is what ultimately led her to be interested in education equity and access. Since coming to college, she has become president of Quest Scholars@Brown and the Operations and Logistics Manager at the UFLi Center. Over the summer, with the support of the superintendent, she spearheaded her high school district's first-ever College Academy, a two-week, multifaceted workshop encouraging students to expand their college search beyond the city's limits. She also interned at the Vickery Meadows Eagle Scholars Program and did research on the program's impact of various workshops and lesson plans on immigrant student achievement and engagement. Vanessa hopes to continue her work in educational access and equity through research and legislation.