Long before Amelia Traviesa (B.S. ’24) left her home in Tampa, Florida to study at the College of Education, her father had instilled in her a deep sense of responsibility to public service and education. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin who later served in the Florida House of Representatives, he now leads a mission-driven consulting firm that supports school districts and public institutions in strengthening education systems.
My father has always been my greatest role model, and from a young age, his dedication to service has shaped my values, my purpose and the direction of my life,
Traviesa said. My family’s Hispanic culture, history and legacy in education formed the foundation of my upbringing and inspired my initial decision to pursue bilingual education. Yet, the opportunities I found at UT Austin allowed my path to take a formative and deeply meaningful turn.
When Traviesa was just 15 years old, she and her father co-founded Collaboratory Prep, a not-for-profit charter school which supports students from one of Tampa’s most underserved communities. There, she witnessed the reality of educational inequity of access to high-quality instruction, and the positive impact of the right educational setting for students, families and communities.
Throughout high school, I worked closely with students and families and saw how education can unlock a child’s highest potential and help them rise above the limitations of poverty,
Traviesa said. Through that experience, I knew my mission for undergrad was to learn how to create opportunity through education for the next generation of children.
Charting a Course to Child Advocacy
At the College of Education, she was initially drawn to the bilingual education program as a way to transform academic outcomes for emergent bilingual learners. She knew that the college would equip her with the knowledge to create meaningful change in the lives of children.
After her first year in bilingual education, however, Traviesa felt compelled to look beyond instructional methods to examine key factors that influence a child’s ability to learn. When she returned home for summer break, she learned that two students at Collaboratory Prep — both experiencing significant instability at home — never returned to school.
That incident provided her with a deeper understanding of the many external influences that impact education outside the classroom. She went on to transfer to Youth and Community Studies (YCS), which soon became her academic home.
Coming to UT as an out-of-state student required me to build a community within a new city and a large university — and YCS became that community,
Traviesa said.
As a YCS student, she gained insight into how early childhood education plays a deeply formative role in a child’s life characterized by attachment, resilience and neurodevelopment. As Traviesa looked more closely at early childhood learning, she developed a keen awareness of how a child’s place and context exist within a broader ecosystem shaped by family dynamics and community health.
Shaping Her Career
Faculty members played an expansive role in her time at UT Austin, providing her the autonomy to pursue her passions and engage in mission-driven projects.
Under the guidance of COE faculty member Arcelia Hernandez, who leads a course in Social Entrepreneurship in the YCS program, Traviesa developed a social venture called PACT, or Protect Austin Children Together, designed to support children experiencing abuse, neglect or family separation. Ultimately, PACT served as a model for the initiatives that would eventually form the cornerstone of her career.
During the spring semester of her senior year, Traviesa completed an internship with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services within its Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Division. In her work, she confronted the complex issues surrounding abuse rooted in childhood vulnerability.
This internship became a natural extension of my YCS experience — a culmination of my growth and purpose in child advocacy through the law,
she said.
Traviesa credits her professors with giving her the support and skills she needed to translate her learning into meaningful change in the lives of victimized children in Texas. Her hands-on experience at the college also helped her cultivate deep empathy and a strong sense of community protecting children facing exploitation.
I was part of a student and faculty community that encouraged me to find my voice and identify the change I wanted to create,
she said. Active listening allowed me to understand the complexity of each situation, recognize the emotional weight carried by children, families and caseworkers, and approach every decision with empathy and clarity.
Commitment to Service
YCS taught her to view a child’s safety and well-being through a child-centered lens — one that considers the whole child and their unique experiences, whether shaped by stability or vulnerability. This foundation became critical to her internship with DFPS.
Instead of viewing cases only through procedure, I approached each situation with a trauma-informed awareness, listening more intentionally, asking better questions and understanding the broader context behind each child’s experience,
Traviesa said. I was able to advocate more effectively, respond with greater empathy, and support welfare objectives and emergency programs in ways that promoted healing, resilience, and long-term well-being.
Traviesa’s commitment to service, compassion and insight led her to the U.S. Department of Justice. In February, she began her role as an advance associate with the Office of the U.S. Attorney General, often finding herself the youngest person in the room.
I was filled with doubt, imposter syndrome and fear of failure,
she said. I stepped into a role where I was responsible for coordinating highly complex, high-profile engagements with senior public servants, but the habits and mindset I developed through YCS guided me forward.
At YCS, she was encouraged every day to show up, speak out and engage in meaningful conversations with her peers. This work gave her the confidence to take initiative and trust her own voice, even when collaborating with colleagues who have decades of public service experience.
Although Traviesa’s career path may not be as traditional as that of other YCS graduates, her purpose-driven and service-oriented mission within the Department of Justice aligns closely with the values shared by her peers.
My advice to students exploring paths beyond traditional education roles is to trust that your YCS foundation is an asset far beyond the classroom,
she said. Stay curious and listen to your inner voice. Notice the issues that move you, the moments that make you want to act, and the problems you feel compelled to help solve.
