Laura Londoño
Emerson CollegeLaura Londoño is a second-year student at Emerson College who dedicates her energy to taking action in pursuit of social justice, leading and supporting her peers, and maintaining long-term commitments to the community. Laura advocates across campus and in the community for immigrant rights and immigration policy reform. Through her role as peer mentor at Emerson, she strives toward an inclusive environment wherein all students can achieve academic success. Laura is a nurturing and passionate leader, which drives her success in building partnerships and cohesive teams. These characteristics, along with her ability to work toward creative solutions and to be resourceful, demonstrate her potential to build coalitions to overcome injustice and to build sustainable and long-term social change.
Personal Statement
As a sophomore at Emerson College, I am honored to be the President of Understanding National Immigration Through Education and lead the 2016 Alternative Spring Break Program to El Paso for service immersion in the immigrant community.
Since I was a girl I had to be an adult, translating for my Spanish-speaking parents and advocating for my own needs. It wasn't easy growing up as a first-generation student, and my family experienced tremendous discrimination. I didn't know if I was Black or white, and I was completely embarrassed by my native language. Eventually, I learned to not only appreciate my heritage, but to be fiercely proud of it.
Immigrants have always been an asset to the country, and continue to be so. Children of immigrants make up a quarter of the US child population, but policies continue to create barriers to their success. Because I want a better future for myself and my generation, I work passionately for an America that honors our history as a nation of immigrants. My goal is to collaborate with others to look deeply into the roots of social injustice in order to determine how best to use our collective strength to eradicate it.
