Maria Reyes Pacheco
What are you doing now?
I am currently the Research and Programming Assistant here at CSPC. I graduated in 2024 and heard about the role through the Young Alumni network. I had never interned in DC before this job, so working here has given me the opportunity to learn so much about policymaking while also challenging me to dive into policy areas where I previously had little knowledge.
From large-scale convenings to website management, this role has allowed me to draw on a variety of skill sets while continuing to grow in ways that keep me on my toes. Having the opportunity to engage with each of our program areas has given me a behind-the-scenes look at how think tanks operate and, perhaps most importantly, the importance of having a supportive team to keep everything running smoothly.
How has the Fellowship impacted your career?
The Fellowship was a major turning point for me and ultimately led me to switch my major during my junior year of college. At the time, I had planned to pursue academia. I enjoyed research, but I felt that my ability to connect that research to real-world policies and issues was somewhat limited. Through the conference, my eyes were opened to the intersection of research and policy as a potential career path.
At the end of that semester, I switched my major from history to sociology, where I focused on political sociology with a concentration in Latin American Studies. That change allowed me to start thinking more seriously about what a career in public policy could look like, and the rest is history.
The conference also placed me in an environment with people from different regions, backgrounds, interests, and political perspectives than those I had encountered in my community at school. Being exposed to perspectives different from my own challenged me to recognize how limited my worldview had been at the time. That was ultimately a very positive experience and taught me the value of listening to and understanding perspectives that differ from my own.
What is your favorite memory of the Fellowship?
My favorite memory is probably only packing heels and quickly learning what a rookie mistake that was. One of our excursions was a walking tour of Union Market, and at one point, one of the Fellows from Mexico looked at me and said, “You’re walking like a chicken.” Needless to say, I laugh about it now. It taught me an important lesson (and one I adamantly share with incoming Fellows and interns): always bring a spare pair of shoes to a conference.
What is your dream job?
After much contemplating, I’ve realized that I don’t have a dream job. The further I get into my career and the more people I talk to who are further along in theirs, the more convinced I am that, for most people, a “dream” career is a nonlinear trajectory made up of a series of open doors that make sense in hindsight, even if they don’t always make sense in the moment.
For me, good people, a solid mission, the ability to grow, and the opportunity to use my creativity are what will always make a job worthwhile. That could look like a million different things, and I think that’s exciting. It also takes a lot of the pressure off trying to figure everything out right now.