Karina Gutierrez is the Volunteer Coordinator at First Graduate, a college access nonprofit supporting first-generation college students and their families. Originally from Mexico, Karina identifies as a first-generation professional who is discovering and navigating new opportunities that her family never had. As a UC Riverside college graduate with a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish Literature, she learned from the East Harlem and LA communities as a City Year AmeriCorp Member and Project Leader. She hopes to one day begin a scholarship that will allow young girls in her hometown to continue their education and dream of new stories.