Christina Ochoa ’23 has been named a Newman Civic Fellow for her commitment to addressing social change and injustice.
The national Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who address issues of inequality through collaborative action to create long-term social change.
Ochoa advocates for incarcerated people serving life sentences in New York state through the Cornell University Parole Initiative; she earned the award for her dedication to transform systemic injustice in prisons and parole policies.
“The work of an advocate is not to speak on behalf of a marginalized community, but rather to engage in direct, cooperative action to help secure improved conditions,” said Ochoa, a development sociology major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Global Development. She is minoring in creative writing, law and society, and inequality studies.