About the Authors

Blanca Davila | UT Brownsville
Blanca Davila is pursuing a Master's degree in Public Policy and Management at The University of Texas at Brownsville. She is interested in education policy, specifically postsecondary education, equality and equity related issues. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Applied Sociology with a minor in Business Administration from Texas State University. She participated in internships with the San Marcos Public Housing Authority and Latino Media Studies where she conducted research on services for the elderly and teenagers, managed and coordinated community events, festivals, and competitive documentaries on Latin related issues, gathered data and analyzed for final reporting. Blanca currently works as the All In Student Ambassador Coordinator where she leads and prepares other college students to become Student Ambassadors that go back to their alma mater to encourage high school students to earn a postsecondary credential with labor market value. Blanca is also engaged in her community by being part of Leadership Brownsville Class XXIX. Blanca interned with Achieving the Dream.

Tharani Devi Krishnakumar | UT Arlington
Tharani Devi Krishnakumar is pursuing dual Masters degrees in Social Work and Urban Affairs and a certificate in the Geographic Information System (GIS) at The University of Texas at Arlington. She is from Salem, India and received her Bachelor's in Electronics and Communication Engineering. In India, she volunteered for numerous non-profit organizations and was inspired to work for a humanitarian cause. She received the Outstanding Master Student award in Social Work at UT Arlington. She is part of the Students Relations Committee, UTA volunteers, Green Team and the UTA Office of Sustainability. Currently, she is working as a Graduate Student Assistant on-campus. She is interested in finding solutions for social and environmental issues. Her ambition is to work for the United Nations. Tharani interned with Green Peace.

Sara Polk | UT El Paso
Sara Polk is a first year Master of Social Work student at The University of Texas at El Paso. She is about to wrap up an internship with Dismas Charities, a federally managed Bureau of Prisons halfway house in El Paso, where she has worked with federal offenders on successfully transitioning into the community at large. Sara is a first generation college student and graduated with a degree in International Relations from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. She served as an Americorps VISTA at a health department in rural Illinois and has worked as the executive director of local non-profits in El Paso, Texas. Sara has a passion for working with individuals that suffer from addiction and substance abuse, and hopes to become a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor after she receives her Master's in Social Work. Sara interned with Congressman Beto O'Rouke.

Amy Wieczorek | UT School of Public Health 
Amy Wieczorek is a graduate student at The University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center pursuing a Master's degree in Public Health in the division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, with an emphasis on global health and leadership. She received her Bachelor's degree in Community Health Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Amy is a graduate of the UNMC Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute and has served as Miss Nebraska for the America National Teenager Scholarship Organization in 2010 and Collegiate America in 2011. Amy has worked in diverse areas of public health including obesity prevention, work site wellness, sustainable communities, drunk driving prevention, as well as women's and children's health in foreign countries. Amy interned with the National Women's Health Network.