Samantha Quezada jumped into UC Irvine head first. In the fall of 2023, she transferred from Santiago Canyon College in the city of Orange, and she wasted no time maximizing her tenure at a four-year university.

"I only have two years," she said. "I knew I needed to get a head start on what I wanted to do and be strategic about what I want to be involved with."

That meant getting plugged into the Lobby Conference, for one, and the Disability Services Center on campus, where she works. "That has been amazing being able to connect with my peers and also provide services that are essential for their success in higher education," she said.

It has also meant interning for U.S. Representative Lou Correa, who represents Anaheim, Santa Ana, and parts of Orange in Congress. Having attended the prestigious Stanford Law Scholars Institute in the summer of 2023, Quezada knew that she was interested in law, and she wanted some more hands-on legislative experience. Through interning locally with Congressman Correa's office as well as in the capital as part of the UCDC program, she's been able to familiarize herself with the ins and outs of legal work. "That definitely exposed me to not only what I thought legislation would be but also the back end," she said. In addition to administrative work, she got to attend briefings, meetings and committee hearings, as well as supporting constituent casework.

UCI's many career-oriented workshops, including an invaluable one on resumes, aided Quezada in locking down these positions. "That was something that was very, very helpful for me personally because, in D.C., applying for all those internships was very competitive," she said. "But I also heard back from all 15 internships I applied to except three."

Given all this, it hardly sounds like she has time for her actual studies, a bachelor's degree in business economics. Quezada is passionate about higher education, and she wanted to better understand how economics influences policy. "I recognized that any sector I was going to enter, it was going to be treated as a business," she said. Ultimately, she wants to work on educational policies that help ensure that all students are given adequate resources to flourish.

It's a goal that is influenced by Quezada's own upbringing in Orange County. In grade school, she attended a handful of different schools, and she witnessed firsthand how support for students varied from one place to the next. After transferring to a new middle school in Tustin Unified School District that had more resources, she flourished. Conversely, she realized that the potential of many of her peers was being stunted due to a lack of opportunity. "It was kind of bittersweet, and that definitely motivated me to be involved in equitable education, ensuring that other people don't come into that," she said. "If I stayed in that previous district, I probably wouldn't be where I am today."

Now, as a senior at UCI, she's involved in the Campuswide Honors Collegium, researching the effects of public education funding on children's expectations for their futures, particularly in the areas of education, career prospects and overall well-being. Brian Jenkins, associate teaching professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Economics, is overseeing her research. "I really connected with him," she said.

Stephanie Aguilar, a counselor in the TRIO Scholars Program, has been another crucial mentor to Quezada. "She was the first person I talked to when I entered," Quezada said. Aguilar had also attended Santiago Canyon College previously, and she was able to share valuable insight.

"There are not many people that I could talk to about being a transfer, because being a transfer is so different from just a normal high-school-to-four-year-university. So that definitely was helpful in terms of mentoring me towards that transition," said Quezada. "Because, academics? I feel like I was fine with that transition. But it's so different in terms of social [life] and trying to get done the things that you want to accomplish within a short two-year time span."

Quezada is excited to be graduating come June. She plans to take a gap year, and in the summer, she will apply to law-school programs for a fall 2026 start. Her primary target right now is Stanford, but she may end up somewhere on the East Coast, too. When she does leave, she knows that she'll miss specific people at UCI, like Aguilar and Jenkins. But she's also sad to leave behind the communal spirit.

She appreciates that, in a world that could be overly competitive, her peers and faculty alike have always been open to sharing, whether it's recommending opportunities she should apply for or even giving her their own personal resources. Rather than fighting against one other, it's a collective effort toward something bigger. "It feels more like we're aiding one another to help make the future a better place," Quezada said.

—Alison Van Houten for UCI Social Sciences