An Excellent Teammate: Alexis Wong Has Helped Underrepresented Students Feel Welcome and Succeed in College
After years of home-schooling, Alexis Wong learned to trust her intuition, which led her to Monterey Peninsula College and, in turn, prepared her for a university to pursue business.
“I toured Cal Poly and it just felt right, just as it felt right in choosing my community college,” Wong said, adding she turned down $40,000 in scholarship offers tied to attending a University of California campus. “I got an overwhelming sense of peace I can only attribute to God. After choosing Cal Poly, I received a large scholarship that made it so I didn’t have to pay for my schooling. Before that email, I was prepared to pay it on my own because I knew I was supposed to be at Cal Poly.”
Wong was one of several Cal Poly students recently recognized by University Communications and Marketing in its annual "Great Grads" year-end feature.
Wong credits much of her outlook to her godfather, Elroy D. Gardenhire III, an Army veteran and educator who has been mentoring students from all walks of life for more than a decade. His guidance strengthened her devotion to faith, service and relying on her instincts when making critical life decisions.
Wong’s pathway as a business administration major with a concentration in management and human resources was different than many of her classmates.
“Being home schooled for all of middle school and high school meant that I did not get much, if any, peer-to-peer interaction,” the Monterey, California, resident said.
As an MPC college freshman she was involved in the school’s Umoja (Swahili for unity) Learning Community that helps underrepresented students remain in school, graduate and transfer to complete a four-year degree. As an Umoja ambassador, she advised hundreds of students on how to overcome obstacles such as when, on her own, she helped the entire men’s basketball team apply for scholarships and achieved a 92% success rate.
Over her two years there, she also served as a Lobo ambassador for Jumpstart, a student orientation program, was a calculus tutor and was invited to speak at the college foundation’s annual gala that raised over $120,000 to support MPC student scholarships.
Enrolling at Cal Poly as a junior, she followed a similar pathway and was soon part of the college culture. Since her first year at Cal Poly, she has worked as an Orfalea College advancement assistant, managing communications and donor outreach.
Her senior year was much busier.
Since July of 2025, she has been the treasurer for the Black Student Union, dedicated to providing a safe, welcoming and empowering environment for students of color. “I manage our club’s budget and make sure we are not only utilizing what we have but having a future mindset for the boards that will come after us in making sure we save the money we have,” she said.
Last summer, she was a coordinator for CORE, Creating Opportunities for Representative Engagement, a pre-Week of Welcome orientation connecting underrepresented students to campus resources, community and connections.
She also traveled to Trinidad and Tobago last summer to help Assistant Professor of anthropology Dan Castilow to complete his documentary on “liming,” Trinidad’s culture of informal social gatherings, examining race, masculinity and the national identity. Wong and the team spent 15 days filming on the Caribbean islands.
She shined in the classroom under Learn by Doing, fully immersed with presentations and on team-based assignments.
“In community college, I maybe had two group projects out of the 16 classes I took there,” Wong said. “Coming to Cal Poly and diving straight into the quarter system, where I had to present in almost every class, and worked on a multitude of group projects, really helped me become Ready Day One.
“While I previously developed public speaking at MPC for extracurriculars, Cal Poly strengthened those skills in a professional context. Through frequent presentations, I am confident I can present myself and my ideas effectively in a boardroom.”
Wong may pursue a career in management and human resources as her focus includes employee management, people skills and organizational leadership. She also holds a professional rating from the Society for Human Resource Management, a premier certification for HR professionals managing day-to-day tasks such as policy implementation, employee relations and compliance.
“Being a full-time student while working multiple jobs has given me the discipline and demonstrated the grit that will benefit me wherever I go,” she said. “I have been told I am an excellent teammate you want on your team, and I believe it is because of my authenticity and reliability. Having to navigate college financially on my own, I have a large interest in growing generational wealth and sharing that knowledge with others.”
The 21-year-old travels hopeful and on the eve of commencement she is again trusting her intuition to hit the ground running when she chooses her next challenge.
“After graduation, I plan on celebrating my achievement by going back home to spend quality time with friends and family,” Wong said. “I will start preparing for the Graduate Record Examination for when I decide to pursue my masters and doctorate programs. I am choosing to truly rest — not rush — and move forward intentionally. I know I value my faith, integrity and gratitude for this life, so wherever that takes me, I will be excited.”
