For many, being a student means learning the basics before making a foray into the professional world.

But Master of Social Work student Alejandra Cortez didn’t want to wait and decided she wanted to do something meaningful now. So she ran for president of her hometown’s neighborhood council – and won.

Now Cortez, who was elected in April for a two-year term, hopes to improve the lives of residents of the northeast Los Angeles community of Cypress Park. Its neighborhood council serves the area in a variety of ways that range from programming and community outreach to land use and funding, but the council’s primary role is to be a form of direct support to residents.

One of Cortez’s priorities as president is to educate those in Cypress Park about current events that affect them, such as the restoration of the Los Angeles River, and about the presence and duties of the neighborhood council itself.

“I didn’t know the neighborhood council existed until someone referred me to it. When I started going to the meetings, I saw what a great resource it is for the community,” Cortez said. “A lot of what I’ll be doing is revamping the neighborhood council because many people don’t know about it. The neighborhoods around us are up and rising, and I want to make sure that we don’t stay behind.”

Cortez’s desire to improve her community began when she was studying sociology as an undergraduate at USC and volunteering for the Joint Educational Project, a service-learning program that assigns students to areas surrounding the university. While teaching math through the program at Homeboy Industries, an organization that works to reintegrate former gang members into the work force, Cortez heard stories from those she tutored about just how gang-prone Cypress Park really was. She resolved to do all she could to make a difference in her community.

“Most people graduate and move out of their hometown, but I wanted to graduate and come back to make a change,” Cortez said. “I wanted to give back and get involved with the youth in my community.”

After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Cortez worked in Chicago for City Year, an organization that provides academic support to students in low-income areas. Though she had left Los Angeles for a while, this experience only reinforced her desire to help back home.

“I was working with high school students, and I would tell them to go to school, but these were kids that lived in neighborhoods where they cared more about their survival rather than their homework,” Cortez said. “City Year is one of the reasons why I wanted to go into social work because I saw myself using that education to support the youth surrounded by gang violence in my own neighborhood.”

Robert Hernandez, a part-time assistant professor at the USC School of Social Work, remembers Cortez as a driven undergraduate student in his Adolescent Gang Intervention class.

“She was very enthusiastic and interested in making a difference in underprivileged communities,” he said. “She has the willingness to join and become an active participant in the community she serves.”

Hernandez also encouraged Cortez to study social work when she was an undergraduate student, and her graduate school education has already brought her one step closer to serving her community.

“When I was doing my election, I was learning about public speaking and community outreach in my policy class,” Cortez said. “Being able to hear a guest speaker talk about campaigning and addressing community involvement helped me a lot because I needed to apply it right away.”

Cortez intends on making Community Organization, Planning and Administration her MSW concentration, which will allow her to continue to improve Cypress Park using the skills she has learned at the School of Social Work. 

Her genuine passion for change and willingness to speak up in the face of adversity is what Hernandez said will make Cortez an impactful president of the Cypress Park Neighborhood Council.

“She not only serves but also empowers others by coming up with solutions,” he said. “The community has been waiting for a person such as her to work with them.”