Julie Mercado

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT JULIE MERCADO

Julie Mercado immigrated from Mexico 10 years ago with the goal of obtaining her education. Julie is the oldest grandchild of 45 grandchildren and the first one to graduate from college in her family. She came to the United States no knowing how to speak English, so she started taking ESL classes at Clark College and was able to complete an Associate in Arts degree after two years of her arrival to Vancouver, WA. In 2015 Julie earned a B.S. in Psychology from WSU Vancouver. During her time as a student, Julie work towards providing college access information for the Spanish speaking community. As an Admissions Counselor at WSU Vancouver, Julie’s main goal was to provide all the information to students to make informed decision about all of their options after high school. In July of 2019, Julie became the Campus Director for the Center for Intercultural Learning and Affirmation (CILA) at WSU Vancouver. Julie provides support to students of color, LGBTQIA+, international and first generation students through programming, case management, resource specialization, and wrap around support. Julie is skilled in Program Management and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work. Her equity and inclusion work is informed by her identity as an immigrant, a Latina, a woman of color, a first-generation college student, adult language learner, college grad, and fist generation professional. Julie\'s to community cultural wealth (see Dr. Tara Yosso framework) are: Social Capital: Establishing trust, relationship building, taking initiative bridge building, confidence Familial Capital: Deep connection to community through shared experiences, use of cultural lens, knowledge that can be shared in multiple environments Aspiration Capital: Goal oriented, resilience, go-getter, determination, adaptability, persistence Linguistic Capital: Decision making, code-switching, ability to navigate more than one language, storytelling Navigational Capital: Resourcefulness, self-awareness, teaching, ability to multitask and prioritize, proactive Resistant Capital: Social Justice orientation, ability to adapt quickly, inspiring others, strong core values Julie graduated with her Master\'s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy and works towards creating an inclusive community where historically underserved students are affirmed and have sense of belonging at WSU Vancouver