Mauricio Videla (MPA ’09) stood in a San Francisco conference center in early 2018 humbled and inspired. He had just been honored as a “Top Lawyer Under 40” by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)—a validation of years of hard work—yet all he could think about was how much more he could do. “I was surrounded by distinguished attorneys from coast-to-coast,” Mr. Videla recalls. “They’ve all achieved great success as individuals, yet they selflessly act as champions of diversity within the legal profession. I left motivated to work even harder.”
Indeed, Videla has always wanted to do and give more. As a child growing up on Long Island, he had very little interest in attending college and simply wanted to give back and help others. As time rolled on, though, he realized that only through the classroom could he fully embrace his varied passions. Today—three academic degrees later—Videla is excelling in a career that weaves together policy, business, and law. As an attorney for the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), he works to enforce regulations that deter deceptive and abusive practices involving such consumer products and services as credit cards, mortgages, and debt collection. “It’s incredibly worthwhile to be able to empower American consumers to take more control over their financial lives,” he says. 
It’s the perfect career for Videla—and one largely inspired by his time at Baruch. When he enrolled in the MPA program at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, he was working as a banker at Citibank, eager to learn how he could expand his career and have a deeper impact in the public sector. Inspired by classmates and professors, he found the right career path and enrolled in law school shortly after graduation. “I was fortunate to learn with, and from, such a diverse group of talented professionals,” he says, citing Marxe Dean David Birdsell as one of his major Baruch influences. “They all continue to inspire me today.”
– Gregory M. Leporati