How Jacklyn Alonzo Heredia ’26 turned four years at Santa Clara into a legacy
Last fall, Jacklyn Alonzo Heredia ’26 was on a panel sharing her college experiences in front of a group of middle school students who were touring campus. Standing there, she gave them advice: “No matter what you’re going through right now, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to make it. One day, you’re going to be in a leadership position, passing your classes, and getting a degree, just like me.”
It was a profound moment because Heredia didn’t just see herself in those middle schoolers. She had literally been in their shoes, attending that same middle school with the same teachers.
And when she sees where she is today at Santa Clara, directing the campus’ (MCC) and overseeing 17 clubs and thousands of students—well, Little Jacklyn would never have believed it.
Growing up in nearby San Jose, Heredia originally wanted a fresh start somewhere far from home. What changed her mind was a Preview Day conversation with the president of Santa Clara’s Ballet Folklórico club—recognizing that this was a place where she could stay connected to her culture and still become someone new.
That cultural connection didn’t just happen on the dance floor. A border immersion trip led by the Ignatian Center connected her to migrants whose stories felt achingly familiar to stories shared by her family at home.
Her honors thesis followed naturally: an interdisciplinary research project on Guatemalan migration, rooted in her own family’s journey out of Guatemala in the 1980s. The thesis earned Heredia a 2026 Helene Lafrance Library Undergraduate Research Award—one of two presented annually by the University’s library to honor exemplary student research.
After co-chairing Santa Clara’s Undocumented Students and Allies Association (USAA), the history, political science, and ethnic studies triple-major will leave Santa Clara to work for a local immigration nonprofit, with hopes of earning her Ph.D. and eventually leading immigration reform.
On leading the MCC through its 40th anniversary
“Being able to stand in front of alumni and show them around the newly renovated Shapell Lounge, show them how far their efforts and the MCC had come—that was a turning point. I realized the work I do isn’t just something that affects today, here and now. My work will have an effect 40 years down the line.”
On her mentor, Bernell Nevil III, associate director of the Office for Multicultural Learning
“When I was a freshman, there were many times when imposter syndrome hit me like a brick in the face. Then, I met Bernell, and he steered me in the right direction, reminding me that I was chosen to come to Santa Clara for a reason. I think he’s become like my big brother.”
On what a Jesuit education means to her
“For me, a Jesuit education asks, ’What are we learning that can help us better support others?’ It’s about examining our everyday life and finding ways to not only support the most marginalized but also support the people next to us, to bring other people up.”
It is the mission of the Multicultural Center (MCC) to provide the cultural student organizations of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ with an environment conducive to the unique expression and appreciation of different cultures of people of color.
