Isabel Fajardo, 17, is a student at Pomona College after graduating as valedictorian from Emerson Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. She has a variety of interests, particularly journalism, fashion and design, media and social justice.

​

Isabel has written for the NorthWest Current, a local D.C. newspaper, is the founder and was the president of an ACLU club in which students discuss social justice issues with a mission of giving young people a chance to make themselves heard as activists. The inspiration for the club came from attending the 2017 ACLU Summer Advocacy Institute. Her interest in finance came from living in a gentrifying Latino neighborhood, a summer economic pre-college course at Brown University and research about the D.C. Latino community for Hola Cultura, a local nonprofit Latino cultural magazine. She has also worked with the New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) Mural Arts Project, helping to gather signatures on a petition for mural ordinance reform -- tying in nicely with the values of the ACLU.

​

Isabel became the ambassador to the InLight Magazine chapter at her school, a multicultural magazine with a focus on unique student perspectives. One of her proudest achievements is being awarded the Critical Exposure Youth Leadership Award, a program for which she is a fellow. She most enjoys spending time with dear friends and family, as well as reading and baking.