Magdalena Mercado is a college freshman from the San Francisco Bay Area pursuing her education at Cornell University. With a passion for social justice and advocating for human rights through public policy, Magdalena actively works to be a voice for change within her communities and beyond.

After seeing her family being affected by the repercussions of the pandemic, she knew she had to take action to combat Asian American hate. In 2022, she founded Taking A Deep Dive, a youth organization dedicated to fighting for Asian American policies in education across 45+ schools nationwide.

In addition to directing a youth organization, she has worked with Massachusetts state legislators, representatives, and government officials to fight for diversified education in K-12 public school curriculums across the Commonwealth.

Magdalena joined Thriving Asians in 2025 as a Young Visionary in Wellness & Leadership. Her “Mental Health Mentorship” project focused on fostering meaningful mentorship between Asian youth and professionals. She conducted a community listening session to gain insight to supportive mentorship desired by Asian young leaders. Through podcast-style interviews, she aims to elevate stories of how Asian professionals pursued careers in mental health - inspiring and fostering warm connections for Asian youth to do the same.

Magdalena grew her leadership at Thriving Asians in 2026. As a Senior Youth Mental Health Ambassador, she bridged her roles between Thriving Asians and Act to Change. She co-facilitated the “Redefining Mental Health” workshop for Act to Change high school students - emphasizing mental health impacts of bullying in Asian communities.

As an alumni, Magdalena remains involved in the Thriving Asians community. She served as as a student speaker for the “College Pathways” event - where she shared supportive insights on the college application process, maintaining wellbeing as a young leader, and academic pathways towards the mental health fields.

Magdalena continues to grow her leadership at Cornell University. She majors in Public Policy - exploring mental health & education policy.