Noe Diaz migrated from Guatemala to the United States after finishing high school. When he arrived, he worked two jobs and took ESL classes. A couple of years later, Noe decided that he wanted to pursue a career in college. But in order to qualify for financial aid, he had to obtain a GED. He then started taking classes at College of Marin and majored in business because he had some experience helping his dad’s small business in Guatemala. To keep increasing his business knowledge, Noe decided to join the Honor Society Club as the treasurer. Besides keeping track of the finances of the club, Noe helped organize fundraising and social events. Noe enjoyed his business classes and successfully obtained his associate’s degree in Business Administration.

After finishing his associate’s, Noe transferred to the University of California in Berkeley to study Political Economy. While taking classes in history and political economy, Noe decided that he wanted to learn more about the issues that affect low-income communities, so he decided to get a concentration in inequalities. While at Berkeley, Noe worked for the Puente Project where he helped gather, organize and analyze data from different high schools and community colleges.

Noe is very passionate about helping low-income and immigrant communities. He is very happy to have the opportunity to be part of the DreamSF Fellowship cohort and to join the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) as his placement. At this organization, he will have the opportunity to learn more about business at the same time that he will be helping low-income and immigrant communities achieve economic equity. Noe will help provide a variety of different services including access to employment, unemployment insurance, and fill out taxes.

In the future, Noe would like to keep working in the nonprofit sector to continue helping his community. Noe is also interested in going to graduate school and is considering getting a Masters in Business Administration, and starting a business that helps low-income communities. In his free time, Noe enjoys nature, listening to music, swimming, and playing basketball and frisbee.