FIU Alumni 5 Under 35 logo

Exceptional young alumni recognized for service, professional contributions with inaugural FIU Alumni 5 Under 35 award

May 3, 2022 at 1:36pm

The much-anticipated reveal of the inaugural FIU Alumni 5 Under 35, presented by the FIU Young Alumni Network, is here.

The 5 Under 35 are a group of proud Panther graduates, ages 35 and younger, who have made exceptional achievements in and contributions to their professions. They exemplify FIU's core values of truth, freedom, respect, responsibility and excellence in their personal and professional lives.

Nominated by their peers and selected by a university-wide committee from a pool of more than 200 submissions, these five alumni represent a new generation of Panthers who are making a difference in their communities and the world through their service and expertise.

"Our goal as an Alumni Association is to engage Panthers with their alma mater and recognize them for their accomplishments beyond FIU. Our Young Alumni Network’s 5 Under 35 recognizes the most recent generation of FIU graduates who are already leaving their mark on the world and at FIU," said Sara DuCuennois, associate vice president for alumni relations at FIU.

The Alumni Association and Young Alumni Network will host a reception celebrating the 5 Under 35 on May 19 in the GC Ballrooms. All are welcome. Register to attend at FIUalumni.com.

Inaugural 5 Under 35 Honorees

Alejandro Arias '09

Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs and Honors College alumnus

Arias is an attorney and partner at Holland & Knight, LLP, focusing on land use and zoning matters. Throughout his career, he has obtained development entitlement approvals for projects such as multifamily housing, master-planned residential subdivisions, retail and commercial uses, live/work developments and student housing complexes – including The One at University City and Identity Miami across from FIU in Sweetwater, Florida.

Arias is involved in numerous professional and community organizations. He is an alumnus of the Urban Land Institute Leadership Program for the Southeast Florida/Caribbean Chapter, a member of the Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Section and Young Lawyers Division, a member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida board of directors, and more.

Johnathan Cyprien '12

Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and FIU Football alumnus

Cyprien is a strong safety in the National Football League, currently a free agent. Following a prodigious FIU Football career, he was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 33^rd overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, becoming the highest draft pick in FIU history, and he has also played for the Tennessee Titans.

Off the field, Cyprien is a real estate investment specialist and remains actively involved in the community through fundraising and service. Cyprien is co-founder and CEO of Inside The Cage, an organization dedicated to cultivating and facilitating player collective and name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for 1,000 FIU student-athletes by 2025 to ensure they have the platform, resources and support to be successful during and beyond college. Among his many outreach efforts, he founded the CypSquad At-Risk Youth Foundation to benefit programs for at-risk youth in underserved communities, he holds an annual youth football camp at his high school in North Miami Beach, and he provides backpacks for students.

Andrea Headley MS '15, PhD '18

Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs alumna

Headley is an assistant professor at Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy and a visiting scholar of Race, Policing and Crime at the National Police Foundation. At the heart of her research lies the question, "How can we create a more effective and equitable criminal justice system?" Focusing on the context of policing, her ultimate goal is to uncover what works to improve inequitable outcomes while maintaining effectiveness.

Examples of her past work include assessing police-community relations, analyzing dispositional outcomes in citizen complaints, evaluating the effects of race during use of force encounters, evaluating body-worn cameras, and analyzing accountability mechanisms in policing. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, has been presented at academic and practitioner conferences, and has been featured in news outlets such as ABC, CBS and PBS.

Hector Mujica '11

College of Business and Honors College alumnus

Mujica leads the economic opportunity portfolio at Google.org—Google’s philanthropy—across the Americas. Within this role, he manages a $100M+ grant-making portfolio that supports interventions for people who face barriers to employment and aims to provide them pathways to jobs in the digital economy. Mujica also serves on Google’s Latino Leadership Council, where he helps to steward Google’s social impact endeavors with the Latino community.

Mujica has spent the last decade advancing social justice through philanthropy and public policy. Prior to Google, Mujica's experience ranged from investment banking at Oppenheimer & Co., constituent casework at the Office of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and bilateral relations at the Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Outside of work, Mujica is a member of the boards of directors of Hispanics in Philanthropy and the Hispanic Federation, and he participates in several advisory boards, including WorkingNation.

Etinosa Oghogho Ph.D. '20

Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work alumna

Oghogho is from Edo State, Nigeria, and is currently a user experience researcher at Amazon. Through this work, she helps to improve the experience of over 1.6 million global employees.

Oghogho is also a Certified Health Education Specialist and a passionate advocate for the improvement of health disparities among underserved populations, particularly in the areas of maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, and education in resource-poor settings. She is involved in humanitarian and global health outreach efforts in the United States, Haiti and Nigeria.