MEET OUR MINER NATION ALUMNI CONTRIBUTORS

Anna Carrillo ’19, ’21, was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and graduated from J.M. Hanks High School in 2015. She is a proud graduate of The University of Texas at El Paso, where she earned her bachelor’s in business marketing and a master's degree in leadership studies.

Anna's connection to UTEP runs deep, as her mother, who has worked at UTEP for over 33 years, instilled a strong sense of commitment to education and community engagement. During her time at UTEP, Anna served as an undergraduate assistant with the Miner Athletic Club, fundraising for student-athlete scholarships, and as a graduate assistant in the Marketing Department, further honing her skills. With a strong belief in the power of leadership to bring about positive change and commitment to community service, Anna's current role as the stewardship manager at El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank allows her to continue to engage and serve the community.

Christian Diaz ’20, was born and raised in El Paso. He is currently the vice president of economic development for the Borderplex Alliance. He works with the business recruitment and attraction team, working to create jobs and capital investment in the Borderplex region. Christian graduated with his Bachelor of Science in sport management from Texas A&M in 2019.  He went on to obtain his MBA with a concentration in finance from UTEP. He attended St. Joseph`s School and graduated from Americas High School in 2015. Christian also was a full-time intern for the Miner Athletic Club during his final semester at Texas A&M. Aside from work, he is also a coach for the St. Josephs boys middle school basketball team. He has been a Miner fan since he was very young and some of his fondest memories have occurred at the Don Haskins Center and Sun Bowl with his family and friends. He does not miss any home basketball or football games and is a part of the UTEP Fan Council where he hopes to increase engagement from younger alumni and students.

Alexandra Sanchez ’17, an El Paso native, currently works as a digital media specialist at a non-profit, Project Vida. She is a proud graduate of The University of Texas at El Paso with a bachelor’s in marketing. She further pursued her master’s degree in digital audience strategy from Arizona State University. She owes all her inspiration to pursue a career in marketing to the American Marketing Association, which she was involved in during her bachelor’s studies at UTEP. Her goal is to eventually run a digital marketing agency, in which she hopes to help small businesses in creating strategies to help grow their online presence. Some recent achievements include running the first fundraising campaign for Project Vida to support mental health in teens. Moreover, she has executed several digital strategies to increase awareness of healthcare services for underserved communities in El Paso, such as creating a podcast named Vida Talks. If you ever see Alexandra, you will notice that she will have at least one yellow item with her, as it is her favorite color. She will probably also tell you about her most recent travel experience, while she is drinking green tea.

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