My name is Melissa Padilla and on May 16th I will be graduating from UC Berkeley with a BA in Political Science and a concentration in International Relations. I am also a single mother to a 9 year old boy named Ezikel who is my #1 supporter and biggest fan. It's been a long journey through higher education and the last 6 years have been extremely difficult, but we made it. We started out homeless in community college and now we're graduating from the #1 public university in the world. I'm a proud political and social activist. I advocate for issues such as human rights, affordable education and housing, ending violence against women, and for the fair treatment of low-income families. I plan to get my Masters in Public Policy and go on to run for state office. Please check out my campaign! I'm raising money to study at the "Summer Peace Institute" in Costa Rica.