Jessica Pedroza
Hometown:
Phoenix, Arizona
High School:
Xavier College Prep
Jessica is currently a 3rd Year Elementary School Teacher in Chicago and a Teach for America alum.
At Notre Dame, Jess was a first generation college graduate in Political Science (B.A.). She was born and raised in South Phoenix, Arizona. At ND, Jessica was part of the first cohort of both the AnBryce Scholars and the Fighting Irish Scholars. As the Anchor intern for Latino Campus Ministry, Vice President of the Student Coalition for Immigration Advocacy, and co-founder of 1stG ND, she invested much of her time exploring issues pertaining to Latino spirituality and identity, immigration and activism, and the unique experiences and challenges of low income and first generation college students at Notre Dame. She also had the privilege of learning through travel, as she studied abroad in Chile and completed a summer service experience in Bolivia (among other shorter trips). During a semester, she was a research assistant with the Institute of Latino Studies and the Alliance for Catholic Education, investigating the feasibility of implementing a two way immersion program in a school in South Bend. She was active on campus organizing through We Stand For, a group of leaders who (among other events) coordinated demonstrations. She received two Senior leadership awards: the Irish Clover Award and the Rev. A Leonard Collins Award. In 2017, Jessica joined the Teach for America Corps in the Chicago-Northwest Indiana region and currently teaches 5th grade Science and Social Studies at Horizon Science Academy - Southwest Chicago. She received her Masters in Teaching from Relay's Graduate School of Education.