Ariel Rebecca Zlatkin, 24, a graduate of Wellesley College, served four years on the board of its Hillel affiliate, ensuring that the interests and needs of Jewish students were heard by the greater student body. As philanthropy chair of the college’s Historical Society, Rebecca organized volunteer events at area non-profits, including a nearby homeless shelter. The COVID-19 pandemic forced her to return unexpectedly to the United States last year from Spain, where she had been studying and learning Spanish in an intensive language program. “But I did what I always do,” she said. “I pivoted.” She volunteered at the Connecticut Association for Human Services with a focus on providing free tax-preparation services for low-income citizens, whose refunds and economic-impact payments are critical for their survival. Hired as a liaison to Connecticut’s Spanish-speaking community, she crafted an online system to deliver virtually the organization’s services that before the pandemic were delivered in person. Then she returned to Madrid, where she currently serves as a North American Language and Culture Assistant at Spain’s Ministry of Education. At IE University she will study international affairs and diplomacy. Her goal is a career in public service with a focus on trade between the United States and the Spanish-speaking world. An accomplished violinist, Rebecca wants to create a program that connects American orchestral musicians with immigrant children at border detention centers as means of social transformation and integration of at-risk youth.