Michelle Marie Mayorga defines the notion of leadership in everything she does.  She was a leader in the classroom.  Her 5.0 cumulative GPA, together with her rigorous academic schedule, have earned her early admission to Yale University and the prestigious position of Valedictorian in a class of 800.  She was a leader outside the classroom as president of National Honor Society and editor-in-chief of her school newspaper.  Furthermore, she was a leader in her community, relentlessly working with Habitat for Humanity to build homes in her area; she has also raised funds for Thanksgiving baskets for the needy and organized food and clothing drives to benefit the victims of Hurricane Mitch in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and her family?s native Nicaragua.

In 1996, she was one of two students from her school selected to go to Uzbekistan as part of a special anti-smoking project sponsored by the US Department of Information.  There, she represented both her nation and her Hispanic heritage as a proud and worthy ambassador.  She will graduate from Yale University the Spring of 2003 with a double major in American Studies (US Government) and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration.  Her internships have included the White House Office of Public Liaison, Hispanic Outreach (summer 2000); the Association of Bar of the City of New York, City Bar Fund SHIELD program (summer 2001); Miguel Pittman for Alderman, campaign manager (summer 2001); Destafano for mayor on campus chair (fall 2001); City of New Haven Affirmative Action Commission, mayoral appointee (spring 2002); City of New Haven Democratic Committee Ward 1 co-chair (spring 2002) and Hackley & Serrone Immigration and Consular Law (summer 2002).