Maven McGregory
Senior Reporter
At 14, Michelle Loria Alvarado moved to the U.S. from Venezuela, and though she spoke no English, she had high hopes for her future.
She was a junior in high school during the COVID shutdown. She used this time to focus on mastering English.
“When everybody was at their homes, I took that time to perfect my English. I listened to music in English, putting everything in my home in English, and reading more often in English,” said Loria Alvarado.
Today, the senior Multimedia Journalism major is the executive editor of the student newspaper, the president of the National Society of Leadership and Success and now the 2025 recipient of the Nina Griggs Gunter Leadership Scholarship for leadership and service at Trevecca.
“This award doesn’t only represent me, it represents my team. It represents my people and everybody who’s around me. It represents my TrevEchoes staff. It represents my NSLS team,” she said. “It represents the hard work that my parents have done since I got to this country. It represents all the hard work that my family does and all the efforts and support that I’ve received from my family that is back in Venezuela. It represents so much more than people truly know.”
Each year female students are nominated for the award by Trevecca faculty. The award was created in honor of Dr. Nina Griggs Gunter, and a committee selects five female finalists who demonstrate servant leadership on campus.
Lena Welch, dean of the school of arts and social sciences, nominated Michelle for the award after seeing her leadership on campus.
“The older I get, the more I realize that Christian leadership takes all kinds of forms. I’ve had a chance to see Michelle’s leadership with TrevEchoes and president of the National Society of Leadership and Success,” said Welch. “I began to realize this is someone who really does provide a real ministry in the form of leadership to Trevecca, both to other students and to our university.”
Alvarado initially discovered her passion for storytelling through her high school newspaper.
“My high school newspaper was looking for reporters, and I wanted to start a Spanish section of the newspaper, so I applied. I got the position, and I started the Spanish section of the newspaper at my school. That was a really fun experience and opened the gate for other students to join the newspaper, even if they didn’t know English,” said Loria Alvarado.
That experience made her interested in studying journalism. She discovered Trevecca but wasn’t sure how she would afford it.
“My parents didn’t have the chance to save money for my education. My brother and I couldn’t work because we didn’t have a Social Security number at the time. So, we didn’t have a way to identify ourselves. We didn’t have the chance to apply for scholarships,” she said.
She was accepted with help from Trevecca’s admissions counselors. Alvarado arrived as an eager freshman ready to get involved.
“I am a people person. I love people. I love being involved. My first position was social media coordinator for the social work club when I was a freshman. It wasn’t because of influence, but because I wanted to do this. I wanted to be part of something. I want to make my college experience valuable and memorable,” said Loria Alvarado
Even though she was involved, Loria Alvarado said she still felt like something was missing.
“I missed writing. During my first semester, I didn’t write it all. I was a communications major at first. Then, Dr. (Jo Ellen) Weedman persuaded me to be a journalism major,” said Loria Alvarado
She remembers a moment when reporting responsibly shaped her into the leader she is today. Experiences like this taught her how to balance responsibility and empathy.
“Back in January, my editor in chief at the time and I were writing a story about the immigration incident. Working through that story really shaped who I am because I realized I’m not only representing the newspaper anymore. I’m representing a whole group of students who are being affected. We were in the middle of Nashville chaos and needed to find a way to do this article in a way that wouldn’t bring scandal to campus. We had to do very responsible reporting, be very aware that this is affecting students, and be as sensible as possible with the subject while reporting on the matter,” she said.
For Alvarado, being a leader is about serving others and giving a voice to others who aren’t heard.
“Even when it’s challenging, justice is one of the things that always gets me. It’s being able to show both sides of the story. It’s being able to share the voices of those who are voiceless, being able to be there for my neighbor, and share a story that is hidden,” said Loria Alvarado
Lauren Steinbrook, TrevEchoes news and engagement editor, said Loria Alvarado’s dedication and heart set her apart as a leader.
“In newspaper meetings, she’s able to keep everybody on track. She plans things out for the meetings by taking extra time out of her day to write all the things that need to be done on the board. She’s in the office every day. Most importantly, she has the ability to make people feel heard, loved, and cared for,” said Steinbrook
In the office, Alvarado not only makes sure she’s comfortable but also cares for her staff in small and thoughtful ways.
“When she works in the office, she wears whale slippers because she focuses better when her feet are comfy. She also provides snacks for us because she just cares about us in our well-being because she’s just so loving,” said Steinbrook.
Alvarado hopes her efforts inspire and support those around her.
“I really see my leadership position as a way of influencing people in a good way. Just being there for those who need support, giving them hope, and helping them grow to become better people than they were yesterday,” said Loria Alvarado.
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