Make college possible
Teresa Alonso León (MPA ’13) is the daughter of migrant farmworkers, the first in her family to go to college. She is also the first immigrant, indigenous Latina to serve in the Oregon House of Representatives.
College put her on a path to success, and now she is working to make sure every Oregonian has the same opportunity.
“Higher education is still out of reach for so many Oregonians,” she says. “One of the main reasons I ran for office was to work toward a future where the choice to continue an education is not limited by socioeconomic status.”
León was born in Michoacán, Mexico, came to Oregon with her family as a child, and became a U.S. citizen as an adult.
Before she was elected to the Oregon House in 2016, she earned a master’s in public administration from Portland State in 2013, ran Oregon’s GED program for the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, and was appointed to the Woodburn City Council.
In her graduate studies at PSU, León got real-life experience in an internship with the university’s Global Diversity and Inclusion office, by developing a campus-wide mentor program to retain faculty of color.
León was awarded the prestigious OHTLI award by Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 2021. The award is granted annually to leaders of Mexican descent who have demonstrated a commitment to opening doors, or pathways, for new generations and Mexican communities in the U.S and abroad.
She continues to be a voice for students and an advocate for public education in the Oregon House, as the first Latina to represent the largely Latinx community where she grew up.
To her, it’s a dream come true, and she’s leading the way for others to achieve their dreams as well.