Magdalena Mercado is a high school junior from the San Francisco Bay Area pursuing her education at Phillips Academy Andover. 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. 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 which she hopes to continue with Thriving Asians.