We are so excited to announce this year’s Don Shalvey: Changing the Odds Award Winners! Created in 2009 to honor Aspire’s co-founder, Don Shalvey, the award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated commitment to giving back to their communities and tenacity in pursuing their post-secondary goals.

Each winner is selected from across our regions. This year’s award recipients are Stephanie Alejandre, Omar Sanchez, and Karen Arroyo. Read on to learn more about these incredible alumni!

Stephanie Alejandre 

Stephanie was part of the first graduating class at Aspire Cal Prep in 2011. Following Cal Prep, she attended and earned her BA in Sociology and Latin American Latino Studies at UC Santa Cruz in 2015. While there, Stephanie tutored adults in civics and worked as a teacher’s aide in a 1st-grade classroom. 

Through her volunteer work, Stephanie became interested in pursuing a career in education. This led her to apply to the Aspire Teacher Residency program, in which she obtained her Master’s in Education in 2016. Being the first in her family to have graduated from college, Stephanie was committed to giving back not only to her family, but also to her community. She returned to Cal Prep as a teacher in 2016 where she worked for seven years as a Middle School Humanities teacher and as Interim Dean of Instruction. Stephanie then transitioned into her current role as an Academic Program Manager of Humanities for the Aspire Bay Area Region.

Omar Sanchez 

Omar Sanchez graduated from Aspire Langston Hughes Academy in 2015. He studied Sociology and Communication at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA through the Community Involvement Program Scholarship.

After college, he pursued his passion for community engagement and committed a year of service through AmeriCorps in Stockton, mentoring youth interested in social justice. Committed to bettering his community, he had the honor of working for a non-profit called Little Manila Rising to co-develop an asthma mitigation program in South Stockton, providing asthma education and collecting vital data to advance health policy. 

Omar now works for the Department of Finance where he can work on some of the most critical issues facing California through the lens of the state’s budget process. Additionally, he continues to coach Cross Country at Aspire Langston Hughes Academy where he blends two of his many passions, running and working with brilliant young people.

Karen Arroyo 

Karen was born and raised in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrant parents, and graduated from Aspire Pacific Academy in 2016. She earned her bachelor’s degree in molecular environmental biology from UC Berkeley where she continued to work as an Environmental Biologist. Her field research projects gave her a deeper understanding of wetland conservation, regenerative forms of agriculture, and butterflies as ecosystem health indicators. Her passion for hands-on learning led her to become an Exhibit Curator and outdoor educator in Southern California.

In 2022, Karen combined her skills in scientific research, exhibit development, and science communication to join the California Science Center as the Community Engagement Specialist. At the California Science Center, Karen has 3 main projects:

• Developing bilingual exhibit spaces in Los Angeles. She is currently designing the new Air and Space Museum and a seasonal Sports Exhibit for the 2024 Olympics.
• Working on the Rwanda project where she will travel to Rwanda to teach every teacher in the country how to teach science using her hands-on pedagogy. This is a 3-year project that aims to help the education system in Rwanda recover from the 1994 genocide, and… 
•  Creating paid internship programs for high school students interested in pursuing careers in marine biology, aeronautics, and space exploration. She focuses on recruiting first-generation students and people of color from downtown Los Angeles and Boyle Heights, aiming to build a resilient generation of science learners and ensure equitable access to science education.

Karen’s career path underscores her commitment to environmental science, education, and community empowerment, making significant impacts through hands-on learning experiences and inclusive outreach efforts.