Growing up in a Mexican American home along with seeing the effects of domestic violence on her family— Melissa Alexandra Padilla has cultivated a passion for women’s rights, human rights, poverty alleviation, political theory, and civic engagement. Overcoming many challenges, Melissa is a first generation college student at the University of San Diego pursuing a bachelor of arts in political science with a double minor in philosophy and gender studies. Her dream is to work and dedicate her life to the alleviation and eradication of these issues through the realm of public policy. Her research experience includes analyzing United States foreign policy and the role it plays in the sphere of international women’s rights. She is currently working on analyzing and understanding the scope of feminicide in Mexico, and the limitations that arise as a result of the current focus on feminicide in Cuidad Juarez. The goal of her research is to motivate academics, activists, and international NGOs to address feminicide as an issue that is taking place throughout Mexico as a means of pushing for justice in the country.