Karem Lopez is studying both English and Education at the University of California Santa Barbara. She’s set to complete her BA in the Winter of 2022 and hopes to attend a Teaching Education Program either at UCSB or Cal State Channel Islands. Born in Mexicali, Baja California, she moved to Oxnard at 7. Her early interest in books and writing is what drove her to study English as a first-generation student. Much of her academic success is due to the inspiration she gets from growing up in Oxnard. By going into teaching, she plans to reduce both the achievement gap and school-to-prison pipeline seen in the Latinx population of her hometown. Karem finds it important to always give back to your community, and she helped Dr. Olguin begin the foundation of the Barrio Internship Program for the Global Latinidades Project.