Melisa Santizo

As Upward Bound’s academic resource counselor, Melisa Santizo directly supports the academic progress of the programs’ 80+ participants via weekly study halls, connections to academic resources, and additional cultural activities. As a first-generation college student herself, her professional framework centers and celebrates students’ community, history, and existing skills/resources.

Before joining Boston University, Ms. Santizo served as a summer fellow at Emerson College’s Engagement Lab, where she helped design a two-week program for civically minded college students. She is also an AmeriCorps alum, having served a year with Minds Matter Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization who supports first-generation/low-income high school students with the support system and skills they need to thrive in institutions of higher education.

Pronouns: she/her/hers