Student Profile: Angie Alonso-Cone, Evening Master’s Program Class of 2022

Angie Alonso-Cone came to Harris to acquire skills in economics and data analysis so she could support people in the greatest need.

Her passion for economic justice and bettering the lives of those in struggling communities stems from her upbringing in Bogota, Colombia. “I witnessed a lot of poverty among friends and neighbors," Alonso-Cone said. "Since I was very young, I developed a curiosity for how to figure out systems and policies so that people don’t have to live with so much struggle. When you see so much injustice in communities around you, you want to figure out how to support and improve those communities.”

Alonso-Cone participated in an exchange program to the United States during the final year of earning her bachelor’s in social sciences from the Distrital University Francisco Jose de Caldas in Bogota. Upon graduation, she applied for a visa to continue studying English in Colorado. “The human rights work I had been doing in Bogota had become very dangerous. I was in a situation where I couldn’t do what I wanted and there was little financial stability, so I decided to take a chance and come to the United States.”

After completing courses in English language instruction, Alonso-Cone moved to Chicago and worked in several bilingual teaching and interpreter roles. “Opportunities kept coming, and I started working with minorities and diversity and inclusion.” Currently, Alonso-Cone is Director of the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) for the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “We provide technical assistance to large and small businesses that want to contract with the government. I mostly work with minority-owned businesses, and my job is to go through the painstaking steps of certifications and other government-required processes to support businesses we work with.”

Alonso-Cone said her current role pushed her to want to learn more about policy. “I know my current work makes an impact, but I would like to be even more involved in the policy process. I also knew I wanted a master’s, but I didn’t know in what until I started learning more about Harris.”

Alonso-Cone attended informational sessions for the Evening Master’s Program (EMP) but said it was speaking with coworker Adrian Rodriguez, AM’19, that solidified her decision to apply. “Adrian’s perspective, as someone who had gone through the program, was invaluable. He told me that Harris gives you the numbers knowledge behind the social piece of policy, which is exactly what I was looking for.” The most attractive component of the program, Alonso-Cone said, was the ability to continue working full-time while furthering her education. “Establishing a career as an immigrant in the U.S. is very hard. Stopping when I’ve gotten to this point was not really an option for me.”

Alonso-Cone is confident she will be able to make an immediate positive impact in her day-to-day work from what she learns in the program. “We’ve done a lot of good work in my office, but we still need to work on presenting data to the world. I think the data and economics skills I gain through the EMP will help us to present, recommend, and implement policies in an effective way and make an even greater impact—not just at IHCC but in future roles.”