Ashley Alvarez is a third year Management and Business Economics (MBE) major with a Spanish minor. Ashley is also a first-generation college student. Ashley currently works as a research assistant to Professor Justin Cook collecting country level UNICEF data. She also is employed as an undergraduate course reader for Introduction to Economics and Intermediate Macroeconomics. Additionally, Ashley has off campus positions working as both a private tutor and as a caregiver. Despite the multiple positions that she holds, Ashley has been able to maintain a very high GPA and is currently on the Chancellor’s Honor’s List. One member of the Economics faculty said of Ashley, “not only is she a top performer, but she’s genuinely a nice person to work with.” Another member of the faculty said, “I think the world of Ashley. She’s a star student, with a bright future ahead of her. She is exemplary.” Ashley plans on pursuing a career in human resources upon graduation from UC Merced.