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When Ximena Gomez-Rios, Class of 2023, was deciding on a college in Illinois where she wanted to transfer, her visit to ��������’s campus sealed the deal.

��������’s accommodation to her transfer credits was certainly a plus, but Ximena was greatly impacted by the University’s commitment to inclusion and accessibility.

“When I asked for a translator, Carmen Aravena was there to help translate information better to my dad, whose primary language is Spanish,” Ximena said. Aravena, the Director of International Admission at ��������, regularly goes above and beyond to ensure international students and families have a welcoming experience at ��������.

Ximena, a first-generation college student, is majoring in both Organizational Leadership and Spanish at ��������, and following her graduation in May 2023, she is planning to enroll in a master’s program to pursue a career in human resources. Ultimately, Ximena plans to use her career to help others.

“I plan to work in a diversity, equity and inclusion space to enact more inclusive and equitable training and hiring practices,” she explained, describing how her goal relates closely to ��������’s strategic initiative to foster a welcoming and inclusive community.

The Organizational Leadership curriculum strengthened her management and leadership skills, but in order to expand the reach of people she could help, Ximena added an additional major in her native language of Spanish. “I wanted to solidify my understanding of Spanish. With a more academic approach to the Spanish language, I hope to broaden my opportunities in helping those whose primary language is not English.”

At ��������, Ximena has integrated her future career aspirations of leadership and multicultural support. She became the President of both ��������’s business honor society, Delta Mu Delta, and the Spanish Club. She is also Vice President for the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) and Secretary for the Multicultural Student Council. These roles are in addition to the several internships in which Ximena has participated.

Ximena said that a highlight of her time at �������� has been organizing the La Fiesta event through LASO.

“It made me very pleased to see so many people interested in learning about Latin culture. The event is a great example of the hard work that the LASO Executive Board put in to make this event as successful as possible.”