Alejandra Muñoz, M.S.

I attribute my success to my mentors. In high school, I probably wouldn't have gone to college if I didn't have the support from my college counselor, and that model of one-on-one college counseling support we have at Yes Prep was crucial. Throughout my career, I've had really good supervisors who have not only been my bosses but also coaches, where I've learned a lot from them. I've had a variety of female and male supervisors, but the start of my career was primarily female supervisors, and that was really inspiring to me - I wanted to aspire to be like them. My mentors and supervisors have served as coaches, and I think that has been the key. They see things that you don't sometimes, and they put me in situations where I'm going to grow, where they know I will succeed, and have opened doors for me.

The best career advice I've ever received is to write it down - to sit down and outline a plan for where you want to be. Dr. Moore was the first one who got me to make a plan for myself, which is interesting because I do that with my students all the time, asking them where they want to apply, but I had never had anybody do that with me. He shared a simple template asking what is your short-term goal for this year, your next 3 years, 5 years, and 10 years, and just really outlining it out helped make it a reality. At the time, I was not in the director role, but that was my aspiration, and we started with that plan. So the career advice would be: write it down and see yourself - whatever you're doing right now should be aligned to where you want to be in the future, so that the opportunities you are accepting, because our time is valuable, are connected to that end goal that you want.

To a young woman, I would say stay focused and don't let the distractions get in the way of where you want to be. The distractions come in multiple ways - it can be as simple as having an interaction in a team meeting where maybe your voice is not always heard. I think that a lot of times when we are younger, we don't come back in and restate things, or maybe we say something we want to do or share an idea, but someone else takes it and runs with it without giving you credit. I would say be brave in naming when your idea is yours, naming when you have data that shows you did these things - market yourself, because there won't always be a mentor or a person to advocate for you. I've worked in other places where you're indispensable, essentially, so there won't always be a boss that puts you where you need to be or talks about you in spaces you need to be at. So you need to advocate for yourself. Stay focused, be brave, and advocate for yourself.

One of the most significant challenges in my field is that, while more students are becoming college-ready, many are not successfully completing their post-secondary education. Addressing this gap between college readiness and college graduation has become a central priority in my work, as it is critical to ensure that students not only gain access to higher education but also achieve meaningful completion outcomes.

The values most important to me in both my work and personal life are mentorship, focus, bravery, self-advocacy, and giving back to the community. I believe in the power of mentorship to guide and uplift others, while maintaining focus allows me to stay aligned with my goals and purpose. Bravery and self-advocacy are essential in navigating challenges and standing up for what I believe in, and I am deeply committed to giving back to the community in meaningful and impactful ways.