Jasmin Hinojosa
LEAD of Policy Research & writing Committee
Jasmin Hinojosa is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Merced. Currently, she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Management and Business Economics with a minor in Writing. Having been born and raised on the outskirts of South Central Los Angeles enlightened her passion about raising awareness to societal and educational issues facing impoverished communities. Ms. Hinojosa’s areas of interest have included literacy education, nonprofit activism, event management and law.
As a high school student, she took part in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League, a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District to support and cultivate policy debate within the region. There she learned about policy and began to grow her interest in law. Furthermore, throughout her collegiate career she became part of UC Merced’s “I Can Read!” literacy initiative, who’s primary focus is to motivate K-3rd grade students in the Central Valley to learn to read, particularly those reading below proficiency. Mid-summer 2016, she initiated a program alongside Vernette Doty, Associate Director of Student Life and Civic Leadership, that aimed at establishing English literacy support and homework help for local and migrant farmworkers, families and their children. She has since become a stipend recipient for her efforts in improving literacy in the Merced community and is in route to beginning a tutoring initiative in the Atwater community.
Ms. Hinojosa is also employed at the University of California, Merced as an Instructional Events Student Assistant, having had previous experience in an internship with the Development and Alumni Relations, Special Events department in early Spring 2016. Moreover, she began working alongside Professor Mark T. Harris in Summer 2016 after having shadowed him that previous spring. She served as a Central Valley Leader for his nonprofit organization during that time and has since been working with him on several projects including helping organize a financial literacy course for San Quentin inmates and editing some of his published work.