To celebrate Latine Heritage Month, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Price Latinx Student Association co-hosted a speaker event featuring four Latine USC alumni, who discussed their experiences being Latine in various public policy workplaces. 

As part of the school’s “Cultural Compass” speaker series, the event comes as an installment in a series of community-centered gatherings focused on cultivating safe spaces and celebrating the unique voices at Price.

Brittany Buendia-Moralez, student services advisor for student engagement and events at Price, said this is the third year that the school has hosted this series, having held events for Black History Month and Lunar New Year earlier in the year.

“[I wanted to create] spaces where students feel seen and can see themselves represented in the school and community that they are also a part of,” Buendia-Moralez said. “I advise student organizations, and from feedback when I first started here, [students] wanted more alumni connections. That melded and merged into this series.”

Each speaker on the panel graduated from Price with either a master’s degree in health administration or in public policy. 

After discussing their various career paths, the four alumni panelists highlighted their goals and experiences as Latine people in the public policy spaces. As an audit analyst with the City of Los Angeles’ Controller’s Office, Brisela Murillo highlighted how she’s struggled in a professional job due to her background.

“In my current workplace, I mostly work with males, and I’m not the only person of color, but I am the only Latina. … It was difficult being shut down countless times,” Murillo said. “Still, I feel like my voice is not heard. I have to have a higher-pitched tone, I have to be more assertive and be an advocate, and that’s something that I’m still struggling with on a daily basis.” 

Yamilett Medrano, senior director in the digital health department at Loma Linda University, works to make healthcare more accessible to underrepresented populations. She similarly said that she felt imposter syndrome in her workplace but grew to move past it.

“It is almost like I have a chip on my shoulder. I constantly have to prove myself … [Then I realized that] the cultural element, the thing that makes you authentic to who you are, is also your superpower,” Medrano said. 

In addressing these workplace adversities as minorities, each of the panelists offered distinct advice to students. Medrano mentioned the importance of using one’s resources, while Hector Velasquez, a project manager for California Consulting, spoke of wearing one’s cultural identity with pride. 

“Just remember, you belong. You belong here at USC. If someone hires you, it’s because they see your abilities,” Murillo said. “Just because you’re a person of color, because you are not as privileged, because you don’t have a generation of family members that have been in academia, or because you’re not as connected, you still belong there.” 

Zaira Rodriguez, a master’s student studying public policy, said it was her first time attending a Latine event at USC. Rodriguez said she liked how Gabriela Magaña, a research assistant for a consulting firm focusing on economic development, advised students to come at things like a “mediocre white man.”

“There [are] a lot of people who have the audacity to do some things that are very questionable,” Rodriguez said. “If you have no confidence, just have the audacity because someone out there [who’s] not qualified is not ashamed to do it, so you go at it. The worst thing that can happen is a ‘no,’ but then also never take no for an answer.” 

Price Latinx Student Association co-president Victoria Venzor, a master’s student studying public policy, said these diverse speaker events were important in providing opportunities to connect with other people of color.

“Even though a lot of our panelists work in different sectors, there’s still some resonating quality that you can relate to, even though [the panelists] are a couple years out,” Venzor said. “It’s this notion that you’re always going to have people within your workspace that you end up building a community with, and you’re never too old to rely on mentors or build your networking skills.” 

Venzor also situated the event in a broader, national political discourse, speaking of its importance in building community and shedding stereotypes.

“Especially given the recent funding cuts and the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it just shows more than ever that it’s critical that we take up space and [are] able to have these events,” Venzor said.

The other Co-president, Sabrina Aguilera, a master’s student studying public policy, said strength in numbers reflects differences in resources and action.

“We’re here, we’re going to continue doing the work and continue creating community for people, no matter who tries to silence our voices,” Aguilera said. “We’re still going to come together and share all of our accomplishments and resources with each other. I’ve noticed when you have a strong community, you’re able to go a lot further.”