Victoria Reyes is currently working at Alhambra BHC Hospital in the emergency room as part of the trauma response team. There she works with a team of registered nurses, doctors, dieticians, and physicians to aid adolescents with eating disorders and trauma. Prior to graduating, she completed her USC field placement in Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She graduated from California State University, Northridge in 2018 with her bachelor’s in public health. She then went onto the University of Southern California to obtain her Master in Social Work on the macro concentration track. The macro concentration is one that she describes as “policy-based - it discusses policies that affect everyone as a whole such as laws and rules for a nonprofit organization.” She is originally from Eagle Rock, California.
Besides her full-time job, she is a part-time college seminar instructor for eleventh-grade students that attend Crenshaw High, Washington Prep High, Dorsey High, Manuel Arts High, and Jefferson High School. This program is a partnership between these South Los Angeles high schools and the University of Southern California. During her time at USC, she also worked for the Student Athletics Academic Department. “I primarily helped students with their writing skills and time management - as student-athletes they struggle with such a busy schedule. I greatly enjoyed this job, because college students are my favorite target population.” She also served as the Social Chair for USC’s Social Work Student Organization where she served during the Fall 2020 - Spring 2021 academic year. Here she was in charge of the organization’s social media presence, developing/implementing workshops, as well as of creating outreach to help get social work master students interacting with each other and involved.
She told us that she choose USC because “USC was the only program that had a macro MSW and that is what I gravitated towards. What also pushed me to go to USC was all the opportunities that it would give me. As a person of color, I wanted to become a mentor for other people of color. When my eleventh-grade students see me succeeding with a USC degree- it motivates them to apply.” Her biggest passions are mental health and social justice advocacy. She is currently pursuing her mental health license - in order to help enact policy change and have a better grasp of how to empathize with those she is working with. Her goal is to obtain her clinical license within 2 years post graduate, then work with college students and adolescents from a macro-viewpoint. Here, she plans on developing & implementing programs and workshops that focus on diversity and equity while incorporating mental health. Her advice to future Trojans is “You know more than you think. It is easy to get caught up in that mindset, especially at a prestigious university. You were accepted for a reason you will learn your passion - you know more than you think. Do not be doubting yourself.” Her advice to those she hopes to work with in the future - young adults- is “ Invest in yourself whether it is mental health, physical health, holistic self. It is okay to sometimes be “selfish” - there are times when it is the right thing to do for your health and well-being. These are also times when taking care of yourself is necessary. Stick to your goals, dreams, and your passions, do it for yourself.”
In her free time, she runs the platform on Instagram (@socialnarrativeguide). Her role model is her mom: “I am a first-generation college student. My mom is an immigrant and worked her way up the ladder to become an accountant. She was a single mom and I was the oldest so I was able to firsthand witness all of the obstacles that were thrown her way. She became her own CEO of her business and made me realize I can be anyone I want to be."
