Cassidy Alvarado is the director of the Office of National & International Fellowships (ONIF) at Loyola Marymount University, where she supports students and alumni in identifying and applying for competitive awards, including the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. In addition, Cassidy is a lecturer in Loyola Marymount University’s Honors Program, an active member of the National Association of Fellowship Advisors, and annually serves as a first-round evaluator for the Critical Language Scholarship. Prior to Loyola Marymount University, Cassidy co-established the National & International Scholarships and Fellowships Program at California State University, Los Angeles, where she supported students in pursuing external awards that offered transformative and challenging experiences in the areas of academic and applied research, and global and civic learning. She also managed the Honors thesis process and assisted Honors College students with internships, research opportunities, and graduate admissions. Cassidy received a Master of Arts degree in Humanities, with an emphasis in creative writing, from Mount Saint Mary's University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. As a doctoral student, her research areas of interest include equity and access in higher education, particularly for the vulnerable transfer student population; postgraduate pathways; and international education.