Episode 121: Welcome (Back) to the Northwestern Alumni Association, Yari Gallegos ’19, ’20 MS

Yari Gallegos
In 2018 Gallegos joined the Northwestern Alumni Association (NAA) as a young alumni/Homecoming intern. Now she’s returned to the NAA as assistant director of alumni engagement for student to alumni transitions. In her new role she’s helping to organize staple events for Homecoming and programs like New Chapter. NU Neighbors. Gallegos joins the podcast to share how her experiences as a student inspired her to pursue a career in higher education as well as her thoughts on the importance of connecting with and creating community—especially for first-generation students.
As a graduate student Gallegos' research—reflecting on her own college experience—focused on perceived institutional support and ethnic identity salience for Latinx undergraduate students at a predominately white institution. She highlights how through interviews she found that many Latinx undergraduate students discover university resources too late, and that many define their sense of belonging through their community and not with their school. Gallegos shares her thoughts on the importance of connecting with and creating community—especially for first-generation and Latinx students—and how these institutions can support their success.