Who We Are
Amy Cardenas was born and raised in Northwest Pasadena. She began attending Stars programs in 2nd grade. After graduating from Pasadena High School, she returned to join the Stars staff team as the Middle School Program Assistant, through an internship with Techmission Corp.
After discerning her goals, Amy decided to listen to God’s call and move to Chicago to serve a year long internship with MissionYear. Amy fell in love with the windy city and decided to stay there to complete her Associates Degree while working in development for MissionYear. In 2016, she graduated with an Associates degree in Social Sciences from Harold Washington Community College. When Amy received her acceptance letter to Azusa Pacific University, she decided it was time to head back to her sunny hometown.
While pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Amy worked for the department of Doctoral Higher Education and served as the Director of Communications for the Sociology club. While at APU, Amy sharpened her passion and understanding of collegiate experiences of her own and her peers which led her to develop a love for intersectional theoretical framework. In spring of 2018, Amy earned her bachelor’s degree and received the sociology departments “Outstanding Senior” award.
With a first hand understanding of what it is like to be a first generation Latinx college student, Amy is excited to now be the College Success Coordinator at Stars. She looks forward to developing the foundation of a brand new program with lots of potential to come alongside college aged students interested in trade school, 4 year institutions, and occupational certification to achieve their goals.
When she’s not keeping up with Stars college students, Amy enjoys spending time with her family and close friends. She also enjoys reading up on books about social justice, intersectional feminism, and higher education research. You can also catch Amy at different soccer games all around the SoCal area supporting her boyfriend, German, with their Chihuahua dog-ghter, Nala Camilla.
