Ariel Ventura-Lazo

Ariel Ventura-Lazo, father of two, is a first-generation American and the first in his family to graduate from college. Born and raised in Alexandria, VA, he embarked on his postsecondary journey for a second time in the Fall of 2014 after a five-year hiatus. Incepted into the Generation Hope scholar program as one of the first of three fathers, Ariel made a promise to finish school for his children. He began fiercely advocating for student parents and first-generation students locally and nationally serving as a Parent Advisor with Ascend at the Aspen Institute and participating in multiple think tanks, policy forums, and initiatives to advance student parent success. He twice had the opportunity of working with former First Lady, Michelle Obama to elevate the student parent voice and was selected as a 2022 Top 50 Chegg.org Global Student Prize finalist for his work on campus and in the community. Ariel is a recent graduate of George Mason University and currently works at Generation Hope as a Student Parent Leader.