Student honored by Planned Parenthood
Jazmyn Horton-Alvarado, an SDSU Imperial Valley student in the social work master’s degree program, was recently named Planned Parenthood’s national Annual Invincible Generation Action Leader of the Year.
“This is the first time a student involved with Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest was chosen for this award,” according to an email from Maribel Padilla-Leyva, Planned Parenthood community organizer, Imperial County.
“I didn’t expect this and didn’t even know I had been nominated,” Horton-Alvarado said. “But I am really proud and honored to be the first in all of the Pacific Southwest to be named.”
The award honors her for starting SDSU Imperial Valley’s first chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA), getting students engaged, providing education and advocating for student needs on campus.
That she would get involved comes as little surprise to those who have seen Horton’s student leadership blossom since she started the MSW program in 2020. Last year she became president of the SDSU Imperial Valley chapter of Students of Social Work Association. During the pandemic, she spearheaded the club’s launch of a series of extraordinarily successful drivethrough donation events to collect items needed to help local non-profit community service organizations provide service.
She also joined the Associated Students Council, on which she now serves as vice president of university affairs. She and A.S. President Carlos Fitch are now the first SDSU Imperial Valley students to represent the campus on the University Senate, the university-wide shared governance organization.
Now in the second year of the three-year program, Horton-Alvarado also is working to complete her educational credential program simultaneously.
Yet, she said, “When I decided to go to graduate school, I decided to jump with both feet and everything I had.”
Following that philosophy, she launched the campus’ Planned Parenthood Generation Action club this year. Horton is quick to point out that all she has accomplished was done as part of a team of students, faculty and the administration.
In her email, Padilla-Leyva said, “One of the important projects (Horton-Alvarado) and fellow PPGA members worked on was advocating for free menstrual products and condom dispensers in campus bathrooms, which will be installed soon.”
Beyond her pride about receiving the award, Horton-Alvarado is enthusiastic about the changes she is helping to bring about for students at SDSU Imperial Valley.
“I want to give back to this community,” she said. “The (MSW) program is
everything I ever wanted and more. And it is great to work collaboratively with
the administration committed to bring services and student life to campus.”