Paola Castellanos Martinez

Paola Castellanos Martinez (She/Her)

Paola Castellanos Martinez is a first-generation Latina student at UC Berkeley majoring in Political Science and Chicanx Latinx Studies. Raised in the San Gabriel Valley and daughter of two working-class parents, she is motivated by her experiences of growing up in an underfunded community to address issues surrounding prison, housing, labor, and immigration reform.

In her last year at UC Berkeley, she focused her thesis on studying the relationship between being an undocumented student to navigating law school. She believes that education is a powerful tool and intends to highlight the disadvantages that having a different legal status could have for obtaining a law degree. Her hope is for future students to be able to read her thesis as a guide and for law schools to make more accommodating measures for underserved & underrepresented students.

In the past, Paola has worked with the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant. She became a part of the policy team and met with legislators to push for a change in immigration reform through the Registry bill. In the summer of 2025, she will be a part of Cal-in-Sac, working closely with assembly members to pass bills supporting immigrant working-class communities. In addition to addressing the health disparities these communities are often faced with. She wants to serve as a pillar to the communities that are underprivileged, underrepresented, and underserved.