Although she has only completed two years at Loyola University Chicago, Mariana Chavez has managed to both make a name for herself and impact the institution in numerous ways. She is a very active member in her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, plays club basketball and is a volunteer at Saint Thomas of Canterbury soup kitchen. She is also a member of the Alternative Break Immersions program, where she and other Loyola students travel to underprivileged communities and help make a positive change. So far, she has gone to Los Angeles, Ca., El Paso, Tx., and this year plans to venture to El Salvador.
To top it all off, Chavez is the Vice President of Student Government for her junior year where she and President Michael Fasullo work to implement their ideas during the upcoming academic school year. Chavez is, of course, ecstatic about many of them, but she’s most looking forward to their worker justice campaign.
The Student Government is trying to gain equal rights for all of Loyola’s contracted workers with respect to wages and health care. Her hope is that Loyola’s student body will show more gratitude and appreciation for the employees and their unseen work that keeps Loyola running, beautiful and safe. Chavez is originally from Mexico, but eventually moved to Brownsville, Tx. She went back and forth between the two places for most of her life, but considers Mexico her true home because most of her family still lives there. Loyola serves as a home-away-from-home and she appreciates all that Chicago has to offer.
Even though Chavez is extremely busy with her extra curricular activities, she always finds time to hang out with her friends and sorority sisters or make a trip to her favorite cupcake shop: Sprinkles. Big things are on the rise for Loyola student, Mariana Chavez, so keep an eye out for her future endeavors and accomplishments – because there will be many!