People

I am an East Bay native that grew up in the Hayward-Fremont area. I went to the University of California, Irvine where I received my bachelor’s in Psychology and Social Behavior and minor in Criminology, Law, and Society. I always wanted to work with young people in a counseling capacity, so I pursued a career in school counseling. While applying for masters programs I worked as a Teaching Aide for middle school Spanish at a K-8 private school in Orange County as well as an Afterschool Teacher for the local YMCA. I attended the University of San Diego (the one on the hill) to receive my master’s in Counseling, specialization School Counseling.

My experience with higher education began at Irvine. While there, I worked for a time at the housing office as a Center Attendant – managing the front desk of the main office, mailing office, and recreation centers. During my master’s program, I worked as an Office Assistant at the student affairs office for USD’s Law School. Working there while training to be a school counselor I noticed many similarities between the responsibilities of the academic advisors and what I was trained to do as a school counselor. After graduating with my counseling degree I returned to the Bay Area and worked as a K-8 Counselor for a public school in Dublin. While I enjoyed the lively and energetic environment of being a school counselor, my mind would think back to my experience at USD Law School and how many of my passions as a counselor fit better in that setting. It is here in 2022 that I return to the higher education environment to utilize my skills in identifying students’ strengths and interests to support their pursuit of a college education and career that fulfills them! Especially since college can be a major life experience, I want to assist students in having a holistic view of how to enjoy their time – academically and socially.

In my free time I enjoy being outside and active: going to the gym, taking my hammock out to different parks, going to the beach and swimming, and very recently paddle boarding. I also like to find new and trending eco-friendly lifestyle products and fashion brands (Fillgood.co is my favorite refill store and it’s located in Berkeley!). And I love everything about superheroes, especially Spider-Man!
Fun fact: my last name is not pronounced like the city in Spain