Alexa Pereda

SFS ’17
Age: 19
Hometown: Phoenix, Ariz.
Major: Undeclared

Why did you choose Georgetown?
I chose Georgetown because I knew I wanted to major in International Relations in some sort of way. I’m from Arizona, and there’s no school dedicated to that kind of area there, only majors, so I thought what place to look for schools than D.C. Georgetown was actually my reach school, my first choice, and I really didn’t think I’d get in, but luckily I did.

What do you do?
I work at Yates. Last semester I wrote for The Progressive for the College Democrats. That’s it really. I’m trying to find my place here. I think there’s a lot of pressure to join in clubs, just because you see that everyone is so involved and you feel a lot of pressure to find your place, and sometimes you don’t know what that is and what you want.

Do you feel obliged to be busy at Georgetown?
Yes, because the busy people are very, very judgy of you.

Where are you from? Compare and contrast it to Georgetown. Where are you more comfortable?
I’m from Arizona although I was born in Texas. My parents are both Mexican and I’m a first generation. I think that it’s kind of harder coming into Georgetown as a first generation student just because you’ll see that a lot of the students obviously aren’t. I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on me to succeed and to show everyone else that I’m up to par. And because I went to public school in Arizona. So there’s been a lot of different facets that have made coming here potentially difficult for me. But then you get here and everyone’s so open and it really doesn’t matter in the end. But coming in, it was a big issue for me. First semester was difficult because I really missed home. But once you settle in and make your core group of friends, get to know the work, start actually knowing what to do on weekends, it gets better. And now the weather’s started getting better. I know now I’m going to miss school when I go home.

What’s your greatest fear?
Public speaking. I’m really loud with my friends, but when it comes to doing it in classes, I just can’t.

If you could lead a protest on one thing, what would it be?
Women’s rights or immigration reforms. In Arizona preferably, just because immigration especially is a really important issue there that really does need to be addressed. It’s very close to home obviously and I think that people don’t really see how important it is.

Best and worst thing about Georgetown?
The worst thing is definitely the bipolar weather, The best thing is the amount of diversity you get to see, you see people from all walks of life and they all have different stories, and everyday you learn something new, and it just makes it a really fun place to be.

Interview by Jess Kelham-Hohler