Jennifer Miranda was born and raised in a lower socio-economic neighborhood and used her relationship with her community to become a leader and role model to the people of Hayward and students at CSUEB.

“When I was in high school, one of the counselors told me, ‘don’t take the SATs—you’re not going to go to college,’” said Miranda.

“So I never took the SATs, I just went to community college. Now, being in the position that I am, here at the university, I always try to serve as a role model and work with underserved populations and with communities that face disparities,” said Miranda.

She began working at the age of 14, because her mother told her it was a way to gain responsibility and give her something positive to do, rather than follow other kids in the community who were engaging in acts of poor judgment.

Miranda was enrolled in a program through Eden Area ROP and worked as a naturalist aid in a summer youth camp because she loved working with the youth in her community.

When she was younger, Miranda dreamed of becoming a marine biologist, but she didn’t know how to swim and figured that would not be the best career option for her.

Miranda attended Hayward High School, as well as Chabot College and then-CSU Hayward, and is a first generation high school graduate on her father’s side of the family, as well as a first generation college graduate on her mother’s side of the family.

She received her Associates’ Degree in Liberal Arts and her bachelor’s degree in Health Science with an emphasis in Community Health Education.

As the manager of the Health and Wellness program at CSUEB, Miranda oversees the Peer Advocates for Wellness services, as well as supervises the Health Promotion Department and has two other health educators and one other health educator assistant under her authority.

“Working with students is definitely my favorite part of my job. It is why I am at an academic institution rather than a public health department,” said Miranda.

Miranda was one of the first peer advocate students at CSU Hayward when she attended college and has watched the campus’ health trends shift during the years.

“Having the continuity of being a PAW student and essentially growing up here at the university while finishing my degree, I’ve watched the health trends shift and it has given me an opportunity to shape the health programs and department to better fit the community,” said Miranda.

Her goals for the future involve increasing the health department’s resources, visions and planning strategies. She would also like to see social media become integrated into the PAW program and the university’s health and wellness services.

She has been in a relationship for 10 years and is looking forward to becoming a wife and mother once she is done finishing up her Master’s Degree at San Jose State University.

Miranda is so passionate about her job that it can sometimes get the best of her. She finds herself working from home, on the weekends and invests a lot of her personal time into her career.

After her job at CSUEB, Miranda can see herself working in a job for the county or state public health departments and being involved with youth and adolescents in Hayward.

“I believe I was put here to make a difference. My one wish would be to see more communities join together and speak out to what issues are important to them,” said Miranda.