Alexandra Vergara

University of New Hampshire

Alex Vergara is a first-year student, double majoring in English Teaching and Spanish. While Alex is early in her college career, she is working hard to educate herself on various approaches to making a positive social, environmental and economic impact in the world through her participation in the UNH Changemaker Fellowship. She has also participated in direct service volunteering around the New Hampshire Seacoast region through the PrOVES program and UNH Civic & Community Engagement. Alex is passionately empathetic, and uses her skills in listening and relationship-building as a foundation upon which she can engage her peers in conversations around social change. She looks forward to furthering her engagement on- and off-campus, particularly in the intersections of deliberative dialogue, diversity, and social justice.

James W. Dean Jr.
President
University of New Hampshire

Personal Statement

I believe in radical empathy. I went to high school in Hartford, CT - the poorest city in the state, and mostly inhabited by people of color. I went to a magnet school that specialized in the arts, and majored in Theatre. Doing theatre in Hartford, I was exposed to the city’s incredibly rich artistic community and saw firsthand the resiliency these spaces possess.

Theatre teaches you how to be empathetic. One must learn why a character does what they do and what holds them back from achieving what they want. When that mindset is applied to people- you start to see them in a different light.

To build a strong community we have to be able to hear people’s stories, and understand what drives them and what gets in their way. Everyone has done that- told a story that was slightly uncomfortable to a friend in an effort to make them feel better. After that, we exchange notes. How do we heal? What is already working? If you’re coming from a place of privilege, how do you use that to lift up others, or when do you step back and make sure other voices are being heard?

Alexandra Vergara
English Teaching: Class of 2023
written 2020

2020 Fellows Alphabetical by Institution

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Alexander Kaye, U. of Central Florida Miyako Iwata, UC Berkeley M. Chiamaka Okonkwo, UNC Charlotte Noelia Michelle Flores González, Universidad de Monterrey Ashlyn Woods, University of Baltimore Greta Hacker, University of Central Arkansas Christian Coleman, University of Central Oklahoma Hailey Ettinger, University of Colorado Boulder Michael Hernández, University of Connecticut Claire Sullivan, University of Dayton Maggie Nelson, University of Delaware Tarun Ramesh, University of Georgia Gregoria Uroza, University of Houston-Downtown Wasan Kumar, University of Illinois at Chicago Kaitlyn Meyr, University of Kentucky Ana Benitez, University of La Verne Amanda Gardner, University of Maine at Augusta Stephanie Turcios, University of Mary Washington Nihira Mugamba, University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC) Maggie Sullivan, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Danelia Ramirez Aguilar, University of Massachusetts Lowell Jendayi London, University of Miami Meredith Days, University of Michigan Lucy Grimshaw, University of Missouri – St. Louis Kortney Sims, University of Montana Dinesh Karki, University of Nebraska Omaha Alexandra Vergara, University of New Hampshire Keyri Ambrocio, University of New Haven Aryelle Jacobsen, University of North Carolina Asheville Katherine Torres, University of North Georgia Yarik Molina, University of North Texas at Dallas Cole Passick, University of Northern Iowa Evan McKenna, University of Notre Dame Justin Norris, University of Oklahoma Nisha Sridhar, University of Oregon Oluwatomisin Oyedele, University of Pennsylvania Stephanie Rose, University of Pittsburgh TJ Tann, University of Richmond Ana Trejo Aguilar, University of San Diego Evelyn Pedraza Fernandez, University of San Francisco Imani Sherrills, University of South Carolina Beaufort Patrick Mack, University of South Carolina Upstate Reylan Cook, University of South Carolina-Columbia - Columbia, SC Tyus Edmond, University of St Thomas Amber Heidenreich, University of Wisconsin - Superior Shehrose Charania, University of Wisconsin-Madison Tavyonia Davis, University of Wisconsin-Parkside Trenton Ebel, UW Green Bay
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