Carla Espinosa, the new administrative assistant at Scripps’ Laspa Center for Leadership
By Tess Miller ‘27
In fall 2024, the Scripps community welcomed Carla Espinosa as the administrative assistant at the Laspa Center for Leadership. Espinosa graduated from the University of La Verne in 2021 and did extensive work in law before coming to Scripps. The Scripps Office of Marketing and Communications interviewed Espinosa to learn more about her background and goals for her new role in the Laspa Center.
Marketing and Communications: How has your career background prepared you for your new role as the administrative assistant at the Laspa Center for Leadership?
Carla Espinosa: I went to the University of La Verne and I was heavily involved as a peer mentor, data analyst, and orientation leader. I’m used to working with students, but now that I’m out of school, everything has come full circle for me. I was used to being supported by my professors, by my bosses at work, so now that I’m on this side, it’s really fulfilling because I understand the impact when you meet people who believe in you, sometimes before you believe in yourself. College was a point where I changed for the better. Legal positions have prepared me professionally, but the people skills, what it truly takes to work with students, is definitely from when I was at La Verne.
MC: What responsibilities does your new role entail?
CE: As the administrative assistant, I handle a variety of responsibilities, including updating our website, coordinating events (which involves booking venues and managing logistics), and analyzing data related to our budget and student engagement metrics. I help out as much as I can, so it’s a little bit of everything.
MC: Scripps is committed to educating and advancing women to have successful careers and fulfilling lives. What attracted you to work at a women’s college?
CE: I had to make a personal decision about enjoying what I’m doing and the people I work with. That led me back into higher education, and from there, I found Scripps College.
Being in this environment, not only with students that are all so happy to be with each other but also working with women from different experiences with different degrees is really such a wonderful, healthy environment. Seeing the students here, everyone is filled with so much ambition. I started in October, and it was amazing to see how students are united to support what they believe in, whether it’s for them or for bigger purposes. I’m very thankful and honored to be here because, unfortunately, there are not many places that support and empower women the way that you all do it.
MC: The Laspa Center for Leadership has multiple programs and initiatives. Which are you most excited about?
CE: The Linda Davis Taylor Financial Literacy Program. You learn a lot in college, but it doesn’t teach you everything you need to know to survive outside of it. This financial literacy program gets that conversation going to understand what finance means. Being able to confront this word “finance” at an early age will create so many opportunities for you in the future; knowing how to manage your finances and what resources are out there is so important. The Laspa Center has taken something that colleges sometimes lack in outside-world preparation and brings topics that impact you as a person, not just as a student.
MC: Why do you think leadership development is so important at Scripps?
CE: Because it’s a women’s institution. When you go to a school that has this type of environment, I can only imagine how that shapes you not only as a person, but also as a professional. Having this type of experience creates people who have more empathy and more social skills than just spitting out facts or data—which are valid and usable, but you still need a lot more than that. Treating people as human beings is something that you gain from being here.
MC: The Laspa Center for Leadership highlights six competencies in leadership development: mindfulness, empathy, social skills, organizational dynamics, strategic thinking, and effective management. If you had to choose the one you find to be the most crucial, which would it be?
CE: Because of my experiences in the law field, I go back to social skills. It makes a huge impact. Social skills are something that all people—no matter their background, their beliefs, or how they identify—need to be a good human, wherever life takes you.
MC: Do you have any plans or goals for your new role?
CE: I’m really excited to have a whole year under my belt to understand what spring semester is like. My plan is to understand what it means to be at Scripps for a year and everything that entails. I want to be a valuable resource to the Laspa Center because I know there are so many great things their team wants to accomplish for you all, and I want to be part of that.
MC: What is a fun fact about you?
CE: I’m definitely an animal person. I have three pet chickens. I am allergic to cats, but I also have three, and a dog that follows me like a shadow!