Maria Victoria Alonso grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Her family has always been her top priority and that devotion is what has shaped her into who she is today. Her mother has engrained in her to serve and provide for others, which is reflected in her political perspective. Maria Victoria strives to exemplify others through her faith and unwavering selflessness, by always prioritizing their needs, over her own.
Maria Victoria was first exposed to politics during her freshman year of college at The University of Texas at San Antonio. She wanted San Antonio to have a safe and gated skate park, a place where her brother, Alejandro, could enjoy. Alejandro is autistic, and finds great release when skateboarding, so naturally, she made this park her top priority. At first, Maria Victoria was unsure of how she would be able to get this done. She first approached a councilman’s office for information, then attended a town hall meeting where she advocated for the gated skate park. While all her proposal asks were unable to be met, she was able to clean up the current park, fix the lights, remove graffiti, and have police monitor the area.
During Maria Victoria’s time at The University of Texas at San Antonio, she interned at the Texas Capitol and the United States Supreme Court. Advocating for her brother has always been Maria Victoria’s motivation for public service. She often asks herself “how could I help Alejandro in this area?” which is often a driving factor of where she devotes her efforts. Maria Victoria is applying to law school in September of this year and hopes to be a lawyer one day, where she will tackle issues in her community and throughout Texas.
Maria Victoria believes that the greatest issue facing Texas communities today is lack of voting in local elections. Importantly, she feels that young voices especially tend to get lost due to the cohort’s low voter turnout. Secondly, Maria Victoria believes that more representatives should be advocating for people with disabilities. She thinks that communities should strive to be more inclusive to individuals with disabilities, and not limit their inclusion efforts on ethnicity alone.
Maria Victoria’s political perspective is built on a foundation of compassion and consistently puts others needs over her own. Maria Victoria will forever have her brother Alejandro in mind, and will fight for him, and those like him, every day.
