by Nettie Gould, MPA Student Ambassador

March 30, 2020

As a determined bilingual student, Alejandro completed his MPA while simultaneously learning English. It was hard enough to work three jobs, volunteer, and go to school with an English language barrier. However, Alejandro did not view himself as a victim. He had the mindset that it was an opportunity for him to get better; that was his focus. Each year he came back with more wit and more desire to become a better student, a better teacher, and a better advocate for his community. As Alejandro aimed to improve his writing, his biggest challenge became accessing the help he needed to translate his thoughts and ideas into English. 

Alejandro’s writing process:
1) Make an appointment with the campus writing center
2) Explain in Spanish what I understood in the book in English
3) Tell them what to write in English
4) Review it in English
5) Then okay it
6) Then do it myself and present it in a week

Alejandro also has an impressive background in working in the nonprofit sector. He has an ability to overcome challenges by creating new ideas and expressing those ideas in conjunction with improving the organization(s) he works for. His determination became apparent when he attempted to join a feminist Nonprofit group called Safe Place. After three attempts of applying for this organization, he became the first-ever male volunteer to enter this feminist organization. Alejandro became a powerful, spoken advocate. He educated people about Safe Place through Evergreen’s campus radio station, KAOS. In addition to this advocacy work, his background in statistics became an asset to the organization’s grant writing team, resulting in a $100,000 grant award. Alejandro Rugarcia (MPA’11) is a great example of resilience. He demonstrates what it means to be intrinsically driven by passion, inventiveness, and altruism. Alejandro continues to work with local Nonprofit organizations sharing his story and inspiring others to “Be the Star of their Communities.”