Melissa Juarez CC’23 is Making an Impact Through Education

As early as middle school, Melissa Juarez CC’23 knew she would need financial aid to go to college, but she had no one to instruct her about the process.Then, at her church’s youth group in Lawrenceville, Ga. she made a cherished friend named Ana; Ana was a few years older, a high school junior, and she had already established herself as a positive influence in the church community. She became Juarez’s mentor and introduced her to programs that would help her reach her academic goals, like QuestBridge, a national nonprofit that connects exceptional low-income students with colleges and financial opportunities.

Now Juarez, a math-statistics and education major and a QuestBridge scholar, wants to be that mentor for others, and is dedicating her time to increasing education access in underrepresented communities.

Juarez has been an education coordinator since high school with the nonprofit HoPe (Hispanic Organization Promoting Education), an organization which supports Hispanic students in Georgia and helps them to pursue their educational and career goals. As part of her duties, Juarez mentors high school seniors, guiding them through the admissions and financial aid processes at top universities in Georgia.

Here on campus, she’s been a program coordinator and a volunteer teacher with Columbia’s Community Impact program, arranging daily classes in all subjects to help Spanish-speaking adults in Upper Manhattan prepare for their high school equivalency exams.

She says she would love to work for the Department of Education after graduation, and use her data research skills to help craft policies that address education inequality. She also wants to create new programs to help low-income students.

“When I was in high school I could have benefited from more knowledge about financial aid processes, especially for the Ivy League,” she says. “My peers and my colleagues at HoPe helped me a lot, but there should be more programs that are accessible to students, that teach lower-income kids the ins and outs. Programs that create a feeling of community.”

Juarez with her siblings and cousins at Georgia’s Amicalola Falls, May 2020.

COURTESY MELISSA JUAREZ CC’23

Columbia was Juarez’s first choice as a QuestBridge finalist (she also applied to Princeton, Yale and Stanford), and she applied early decision. She was working as a food delivery person for DoorDash when she received an email from the College. “I was so nervous! I went to my room and closed the door, and when I saw the email had the acceptance video I started screaming,” she says. “I ran upstairs to tell my mom; we were crying. It was really emotional — I really thought I wasn’t going to get in anywhere.”

She says her time at Columbia has been transformative, especially in terms of her education classes. She considered a future as a lawyer or a political representative, but the College helped her realize there were ways she could give back while staying true to her interests.

“I took classes in education and read about ethnography and I realized a lot of different skills are needed to have an impact,” she says. “I didn’t know education data was a thing before I came here.” After just one semester, she switched majors. “There’s something about being here and seeing everyone do their niche things that they love — it inspires you to do what you like to do!”

Juarez says that, for a lot of low-income students, it can feel overwhelming to have the odds against them. But Juarez truly believes it’s worthwhile to explore financial aid opportunities.. “I would encourage more low-income students to shoot their shot!” she says with a laugh. “Just send the application in! Apply to summer programs! The financial aid office is there to help you. Everyone in the Columbia office is so nice, and they’re always willing to help.”