The Postsecondary National Policy Institute (PNPI) is delighted to announce our 2021 Summer Scholars: Javier Ramirez and Arlenne Serna. As Summer Scholars, Javier and Arlenne will become full members of the PNPI team, working alongside PNPI’s staff to create high-quality learning experiences for postsecondary policymakers, policy thinkers, and policy students, while building their own knowledge on a full range of higher education issues.
Javier and Arlenne will also be engaging and networking with professionals in the postsecondary policy space from the government, nonprofit, and business sectors. They will be meeting and networking virtually as the current pandemic has required the program to be hosted remotely.
“I’m looking forward to working with Javier and Arlenne this summer as they learn the ins and outs of higher education policy,” said PNPI’s president, MaryEllen McGuire. “I have no doubt that their contributions to our work will be robust and meaningful and my hope is that they leave us with an understanding of how important it is to have students engaged in the policymaking process.”
The 10-week virtual internship for Javier and Arlenne will take place from June 7th to August 13th. The goals of the program are to build the scholars’ knowledge base, grow their professional skills, and inspire them to return to Washington to lend their voices to future policy debates.
You can read more about Javier and Arlenne below. If you would like to engage with our scholars this summer by inviting them to a virtual briefing or networking session, please reach out to us here.
Please join us in welcoming Javier and Arlenne to PNPI!
Javier Ramirez
Javier Ramirez (he/him) is entering his second year as a master’s student studying higher education and student affairs at The Ohio State University. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with two bachelor’s degrees in human relations and women’s and gender studies. He currently serves as the graduate administrative assistant at Ohio State’s Multicultural Center overseeing first-gen initiatives and facilitating the center’s Latinx cohort. He also works alongside sorority and fraternity life as a fraternity house director. Javier is interested in qualitative research that centers the voices and experiences of marginalized students as they matriculate from secondary to post-secondary education, focusing primarily on first-generation, low-income, and Latinx identities. He intends for his work to influence future policy that directly benefits underrepresented and underserved communities to create equitable educational and professional experiences.
Arlenne Serna
Arlenne Serna (she/her) is a current senior at Brandeis University triple majoring in sociology, international studies, and education studies. Arlenne is a San Antonio, Texas, native, however, she spent many years living in Mexico. Due to her connection to the southern border, she is interested in the intersection of immigration status and access to education. She is currently working with the International Institute of New England in the unaccompanied children unit where she maintains communication with newly arrived migrant children to ensure their safety and rights in the United States. Arlenne previously studied abroad in South Korea where she researched and compared education systems across the world. In upcoming years, she hopes to combine her passion for education policy and immigration reform to represent students as they enter postsecondary education.
