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Vicenta Arrizon '04, and Gil Gonzales '03, Coro Fellows

In 2004, Vicenta Arrizon '04 and Gilbert Gonzales '03 were selected to participate in the 2004-2005 Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs.

Arrizon and Gonzales were be based in the Los Angeles Coro Center and took part in a series of internships, interviews, public service projects and seminars. They were among 64 interns chosen from a pool of 300-400 applicants nationwide.

The Coro Fellows Program is the most long-standing and well known of the Coro programs. It is an intensive nine-month, full-time, graduate-level program. Unconventional by traditional academic standards, the program is rigorous and demanding, and is an unparalleled opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Gonzales, who worked as an Irvine Diversity Post Baccalaureate Urban Fellow with the Center for California Cultural and Social Issues at Pitzer College, planned to conduct most of his work and research in the area of homelessness and literacy programs to reduce recidivism rates among incarcerated youth.

Gonzales said a strong and encouraging faculty at Pitzer helped to prepare him for the fellowship.

"The Coro fellowship will allow me to experience all aspects of public affairs from different perspectives while networking with some very influential people," he said.

Arrizon participated in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in the summer of 2003 in Washington, D.C. Her career goals include law school and entering politics as either a policy maker or campaign organizer.

"Pitzer prepared me for a program like Coro by teaching me how to think outside the box, and really look at something through various lenses so that a better solution may be reached," Arrizon said. "My classroom experiences as well as those with professors have also taught me how to clearly vocalize my thoughts and concerns, which proved immensely beneficial during the selection process! Pitzer's ideology of being able to make a difference is what made me interested in Coro in the first place. Coro, like Pitzer, will be a learning experience that will prepare me for creating effective change. After Coro I want to go to law school and also earn a joint degree in Public Policy, thus graduating with a J.D. and M.P.P. I am not sure where exactly I would want to work, but I am hoping that Coro will help me decide that, since they place you in various sectors of the market."

Coro Fellowship
There are several Coro programs; the Fellows Program in Public Affairs is Coro's best known. It is a nine-month, full-time, post-graduate experiential leadership training program which introduces diverse, intelligent and driven young public servants to all aspects of the public affairs arena. Sixty-eight Fellows are chosen annually each year through a highly competitive selection process. The Fellows Program in Public Affairs is conducted in Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and St. Louis.
www.coro.org