Our Lady of the Lake University student Emilio Gutierrez, a McNair and TexasFAST Scholar, has been selected as one of 23 fellows for UP Partnership’s Leaders of Tomorrow, a nine-month leadership fellowship focused on advocacy, public policy and civic leadership in San Antonio and Bexar County.
UP Partnership works to ensure that young people throughout Bexar County are prepared for the future by coordinating data, aligning educational and career pathways, and promoting policy changes that help young people and communities reach their full potential.
Through the fellowship, Gutierrez will gain hands-on experience while learning how community voices can help shape decisions and policies. His interest in advocacy is rooted in a desire to make sure individuals from different backgrounds and experiences have a meaningful role in conversations that affect their communities.
“All voices deserve to have a say in the decision of what is to be done,” Gutierrez said. “That is why I aim to serve my community with integrity, to restore trust in leaders and academics.”
Gutierrez hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology and eventually become a university professor. He also sees community advocacy as an important part of his future, using his education and experiences to elevate voices that may otherwise go unheard.
His participation in the UP Leaders of Tomorrow fellowship will provide an opportunity to develop the skills, relationships and experience needed to turn that commitment into meaningful community impact.