Meet Our New Student Advisors
by Making Waves Education Foundation
There’s a new student advisory committee at Making Waves Education Foundation.
The committee is led by Dr. Kristina Wright, vice president of student success, and is made of up six Wave-Makers, students who are a part of the foundation’s college and career success program.
Throughout this 2023-24 academic year, the students will serve as advisors, providing feedback and viable solutions on Wave-Maker specific program initiatives, student engagement efforts, and program policies and procedures. Committee members also have the opportunity to share about student needs and emerging trends that should be addressed by Making Waves Education Foundation.
Centering Student Voices
“Not only is this advisory role a great opportunity for college students and a great addition for their resumes, but the committee will also provide invaluable insight into our Wave-Maker population and their voices will help us enhance the overall participant experience,” shared Dr. Wright.
Meet the Making Waves Student Advisory Committee
Estefani Canizales
Anais Chagoya
Rubi Corona-Diaz
Elaine Fernandez Bravo
Brandon Williams
Felipe Villalobos
Supporting the Wave-Maker Community
This year’s committee members are interested in different career paths – with majors from human development to managerial economics to microbiology – and they are a part of other leadership and extracurricular programs.
Felipe Villalobos is in Kettering University’s National Society of Black Engineers and is president of the campus’ Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Elaine Fernandez Bravo – a UC Davis student – is a fellow with Management Leadership for Tomorrow and a scholar with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Brandon Williams is a founding member of the Howard University Coding Collaborative. Estefani Canizales is a second year student at UC Davis and serves as a peer mentor for students in Sacramento.
Each bringing their wealth of knowledge and experiences, they are drawn to this leadership opportunity to grow their skills and support their communities.
Brandon Williams shared that joining the committee is an opportunity for him to leverage his connections at his HBCU to provide resources and mentorship for other students. Rubi Corona-Diaz – who graduated from Making Waves Academy this past spring and is now studying at UC Davis – joined because she shared she loves learning, helping, and contributing towards her community. A fellow Making Waves Academy alum, Anais Chagoya is a fourth year student at California State University, East Bay, and shared excitement around providing insights that will help others.
About Making Waves Education Foundation
At Making Waves, we are committed to educational equity. Making Waves Education Foundation is a Bay Area nonprofit that supports Making Waves Academy – a public charter school with more than 1,100 5th through 12th grade students – and leads college and career programming with more than 430 college students.
Knowing the opportunities that come with a college degree, we partner with historically underrepresented and underserved students to help make college affordable and graduation attainable. Centering the journeys of our students, our personalized approach includes college and career coaching, scholarships, and financial planning.
Our alumni network includes more than 730 college graduates, who earn their degrees and land jobs at more than twice the rate of their first-generation, low-income peers, with 85% graduating debt-free.
