Welcome! My name is Zinnia and I'm returning to school this fall to pursue my Master's Degree in Social Welfare at UCLA with a specialization in child and family welfare. I'm incredibly excited about this opportunity as my interest in the field has been shaped by both my own adversities and those of the people I care about deeply. I currently work in the field of social services, providing mentorship and advocacy to incarcerated teenage girls and trans youth of all genders. When I'm not working, I'm planning community events and mutual aid fundraisers, reading, drawing, or spending quality time with my partner, siblings, and pets. I graduated both high school and college a few years early so even though I'm only 29, I'm returning to school after about a decade. This means that while standing strong in my "why," I'm still trying to figure out the "how." I'm no longer a carefree 15-year-old college freshman. This time around I have a plethora of financial responsibilities before even considering tuition. And so I'm extremely grateful for the consideration of each and every scholarship I am applying to, plus to this site for giving me the chance to submit myself and my story.

• Caregiver

  Hospital & Health Care · In Home Health Services

  Jan 2019 – Present

• Program Manager

  Civic & Social Organization · Million Little

  Jan 2019 – Jan 2020

• Arts Education Consultant

  Education · Artists for Trauma

  Jan 2020 – Jan 2021

• Supervisory Case Manager

  Social Work · Friends of the Children

  Jan 2021 – Jan 2024

• Juvenile Justice Advocacy and Re-Entry Coordinator

  Civic & Social Organization · Young Women's Freedom Center

  Jan 2024 – Jan 2025

• First Year Social Work Trainee

  Social Work · ONEgeneration

  Jan 2025 – Jan 2026

• Second Year Social Work Trainee

  Social Work · La Defensa

  Jan 2026 – Present

• Advocacy
• Politics
• Volunteering
• Philanthropy
• Entrepreneurship

• Track & Field

  Junior Varsity

  2009 – 2011

• Student researcher

  UCLA · Social Work

  2026 – Present

  Research topic:

  Domestic Violence

• Award Recipient

  Young Arts Silver Medalist Award · Photography

  2014 – 2014

• Social work intern

  Volunteering · OneGeneration

  2025 – Present

• Juvenile Re-Entry Coordinator

  Advocacy · Young Women's Freedom Center

  2024 – Present

  Mission:

  Providing support, mentorship, training, employment, and advocacy to young women and trans youth of all genders in California who have grown up in poverty, experienced the juvenile legal and foster care systems, have had to survive living and working on the streets, and who have experienced significant violence in their live