Charlene Collazo

Charlene Collazo is currently a second-year graduate student at Florida International University in Miami, Florida studying Higher Education Administration with a focus on policy and education issues. She also obtained her bachelor’s degree from the same university in political science and journalism with a certificate in leadership studies. She currently works at the university as a research assistant looking at issues of retention and persistence among first-year and transfer students. This summer, she worked as a research assistant with Education Sector – an education policy think tank in Washington, D.C. focusing on K-12 issues on budgeting and early learning along with higher education issues of access and success. Her interest in higher education and policy stems from her many campus involvement positions and political science background as an undergraduate student. She hopes to use her policy knowledge to help shape meaningful reforms that can assist our government by working with legislatures or other officials. In the future, her plan is to attend law school and work as a legal counsel for government officials or universities.