All posts by: Anna Lee '22


A young man with glasses stands with his arm around an older woman

Non-Linear Paths to Leadership

Francisco Cartagena describes his academic journey as unorthodox. Now an employee for the City of Gaithersburg, Cartagena started his educational path as an undocumented student. While charting numerous challenges, Cartagena ’19, political science, M.P.S. ’22, cybersecurity, also found ample opportunities for growth along the way, becoming an effective leader of social change at UMBC at The Universities at Shady Grove. Cartagena arrived with his family from El Salvador as a preteen. In 2009, he graduated from high school and set out to Montgomery College to pursue his associate’s degree in general studies—a goal that would take him a decade to… Continue Reading Non-Linear Paths to Leadership

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