“UC San Diego is where my world opened up. I grew up in Compton, outside of Los Angeles, and attended UC San Diego for college. I was in Earl Warren College and lived on campus. At a school like UC San Diego, you meet people from different places and you learn so much from each other. My dormmates and I had many late-night conversations and debates about a wide range of topics. That was part of the learning experience. My experience at UC San Diego truly shaped me into the person I am today. It sparked my commitment to becoming a volunteer and a politically active person. It also increased my understanding of the world around me and what it meant for me to be in it as a Black woman. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to study here. It was never my intention to stay in San Diego. I always thought that I would go back to Los Angeles and do great things. But San Diego is very difficult to leave, and after graduation, I was offered a job on campus and from there I have built an...