Meet Paola Santana

Born in Vina del Mar, Chile, Paola Santana moved to the United States when she was 10. “My mother is a nanny and my father is a truck driver,” she says. “All they asked of us was that we focus on our education.” As a student at a community college, however, Paola gradually grew aware of the existing inequities in the field of education. “I transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, majored in political science, and found an internship with the Los Angeles Unified School District. That experience was my ‘a-ha’ moment; it helped me discover my passion for education. Later, having worked with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as the board of education, I realized that change at the 30,000-foot policy level was critical, but slow and incremental. I wanted to learn to work more directly with individual students."

“This program has made me realize the tremendous need for collaboration between K–12 schools and colleges and universities,” she remarks. “It has expanded my knowledge of issues related to college access, institutional financial aid practices, and policies that undermine access and success for first-generation and low-income students. Above all, it has pointed me toward the amazing ways in which I can make a difference.”

It’s a path Paola pursued as an HGSE student. Through the TERI College Planning Center in Boston, she assisted low-income, first-generation, and adult students with the college application and financial aid process. As a member of the board of directors of the Gabriella Education Foundation in Los Angeles, she helps operate a charter school in the Echo Park neighborhood that was recognized as Charter School of the Year by the California Charter Schools Association. She is also involved with L.A.’s Riordan Volunteer Leadership Development Program that honored her with their inaugural Outstanding Alumni Award.