Community Advocate

Northwestern students often hold misconceptions about cultural organizations on campus, says Lijia Evariz, co-president of Alianza, Northwestern’s largest Hispanic and Latino student group. “It’s up to us, the minorities,” she says, “to clear things up.”

Throughout her time at Northwestern, Evariz has fought to empower the Latino and Hispanic community. After a February column in the Daily Northwestern accused minorities of self-segregating, she helped organize a march, from Patten Gymnasium to Norris University Center, advocating unity among all students.

A sister in the Latin American sorority Lambda Theta Alpha and the external vice president of the Multicultural Greek Council, Evariz has spent her time at Northwestern working for the ideal of “community.”

Evariz, an economics and psychology major from Chicago, will have to pick between several possible career paths after college. She might go into consulting or nonprofit work, but she’s also considering graduate school for psychology or an MBA. Evariz also had an offer from Teach for America.

No matter where she ends up, Evariz has one central goal. “I’d like to help the community with whatever I do,” she says.

— Christopher Danzig (J08)