Portland State University Visitors Guide - Flipbook - Page 28
KNOWLEDGE THAT SERVES CONT.
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SHE’S THE FIRST
IMMIGRANT,
INDIGENOUS LATINA
TO SERVE IN THE
OREGON HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
Por tland State Universit y
28
Teresa Alonso León (MPA ’13), is the daughter of migrant farmworkers
— and like many PSU alum — the first in her family to go to college. She
became the first immigrant, indigenous Latina to serve in the Oregon
House of Representatives. León notes that attending college put her on
the path to success, and now she’s working to ensure every Oregonian has
the same opportunity.
“Higher education is still out of reach for so many Oregonians,” she
says. “One of the main reasons I ran for office was to work toward a
future where the choice to continue an education is not limited by
socioeconomic status.”
León was born in Michoacán, Mexico, came to Oregon with her family
as a child, and became a U.S. citizen as an adult.
Before she was elected to the Oregon House in 2016, she earned
a master’s in public administration from Portland State in 2013, ran
Oregon’s GED program for the Higher Education Coordinating
Commission, and was appointed to the Woodburn City Council.
In her graduate studies at PSU, León got real-life experience in an
internship with the university’s Global Diversity and Inclusion office, by
developing a campus-wide mentor program to retain faculty of color.
She was a voice for students and an advocate for public education in
the Oregon House, as the first Latina to represent the largely Latinx
community where she grew up.
To her, it’s a dream come true, and she’s leading the way for others to
achieve their dreams as well.
