Vanessa Colchado Mas graduated from the International Baccalaureate Program at Bartow High School in 2012. She was Key Club President and French Club Historian; she volunteered as a canned food drive coordinator, was a summer camp counselor, and ran cross country.  Vanessa attended the University of Florida, studied abroad in Montpellier, France, for a summer, and graduated with a master’s degree in Accounting, specializing in tax, in 2017. After graduation, she earned her Certified Public Accountant license and worked at public accounting firms, including Deloitte and Purvis Gray. Throughout college, she had been an active e-board member of UF’s Mexican-American Student Association (MASA) and an active e-board member of an immigrant rights advocacy organization called UF Chispas. Vanessa now works as a financial investigator at the Fair Food Standards Council (FFSC) – a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing farmworkers’ rights. Vanessa and her husband live in Ocoee, Florida, and are taking French classes with the local French alliance. Vanessa’s other hobbies include reading, sewing, playing with her two cats, and finding ways to give back to her community.