And in all aspects of her life,
Andrea has striven to do just that.
Born in Mexico City and raised as
an immigrant in Miami, Andrea
saw early on just how lucky she
was to have a foot in two worlds,
one in Mexico and another in
Miami, when many immigrants
in the United States could not.
She remembers traveling to rural
Comitan de Dominguez, Mexico
to visit her grandmother as a
child, where she would connect
with friends and family who didn't
have the opportunity to get a
college education, and instead
married young and never left. At
the same time, Andrea knew that
(as an American with privilege,
even if her family worked hard
to earn it) she had endless
opportunities within reach—like
being able to graduate from
Harvard University and benefit
from the connections it provided.
As friends who were
undocumented immigrants
struggled to get a driver's license,
let alone go to college, Andrea
saw firsthand how broken current
systems meant to support those
communities actually were.
Knowing this, she realized she
needed to, in her own words, "use
her privilege to fight injustice."
So she did. Andrea is currently
a staff member at the United
Nations Migration Agency
(IOM) Headquarters in Geneva,
Switzerland.
For her, the real fight started
as early as high school. Andrea
dove into an Independent Study
with Dr. Regalado, focusing on
immigration policy in the US.
She began working with lawyers
at the University of Miami to
understand everything she could
about immigration law, all while
balancing high school classes,
Varsity Soccer and extensive
community service, including the
service trip to Nicaragua. Andrea
was one of the first students to
participate in a semester abroad
program in Aix-en-Provence,
France, where she was exposed
to Model UN Club and visited the
WHEN ASKED WHAT ADVICE SHE WOULD GIVE STUDENTS TODAY,
ANDREA ORTIZ '12 SAID:
Don't worry about finding the
'right' job, salary, or school. Worry
about finding your passion!"
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class of 2012
ALUMNI PROFILE
ANDREA
ORTIZ
ANDREA
ORTIZ
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