Michele Siqueiros is executive director of the Campaign for College Opportunity and a Los Angeles native. Before participating in a panel on how to make higher education more inclusive, she hated on bad PowerPoint presentations, expressed her love for burritos, and confessed to a recent speeding ticket in the Zócalo green room.
What’s a surefire way to put you to sleep?
A bad PowerPoint.
Where would we find you at 10 a.m. on a typical Saturday morning?
Hiking—Griffith Park.
If you didn’t live in Los Angeles, where would you be?
Los Angeles.
Spicy, medium, or mild?
Medium.
What’s the last great party you attended?
My niece’s wedding in Guadalajara.
What food are you most likely to binge eat?
Burritos. Any kind.
What message would you want to give to your high school self?
Everyone is as insecure as you are.
What fictional character do you identify with most?
Probably Sandra Cisneros’ character [Esperanza] in The House on Mango Street.
What teacher or professor changed your life, if any?
Mr. McKune. He was my fifth and sixth grade teacher at Logan Elementary, and I hope he’s reading this because I’d love to find him.
What’s the ugliest piece of furniture you own?
I don’t think I own anything ugly. It’s not all very nice, either. But I don’t keep stuff around, so if I thought it was ugly, I wouldn’t have it.
When did you last get a traffic ticket and why?
Just last week, a mile away from Dulles Airport, trying to catch a flight back home. [Did you make the flight?] I did, thankfully, because that would have been really bad.