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COLUMBIA, Mo—While many people attend community events, Alejandra Gudiño is usually the one introducing strangers, translating conversations, and making sure everyone feels welcome. Whether she’s volunteering at a local event or helping a newcomer find resources, she has become a trusted resource for Columbia’s Latino community.
But Gudiño’s story didn’t begin in Missouri. It began in Córdoba, Argentina, where she spent her childhood before moving to Colombia. Then, years later, she relocated to Mexico City to study archaeology, never imagining that her journey would eventually lead her to Columbia, Missouri.
Now, living in Columbia, over the past years, Gudiño has played many roles across the University of Missouri and the state. Still, each role shared a common purpose: helping people. Shortly after moving to Columbia, Gudiño spent eight years working at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR). She later served as a migrant educator through the regional professional development center (College of Education, MU), connected Spanish-speaking families with resources through ParentLink and worked behind the scenes, supported staff who delivered nutrition education programs to low-income communities throughout Missouri with SNAP.
Each position allowed her to strengthen connections within Columbia’s growing Latino community and build relationships that would eventually lead her to become one of the many co-founders of the Cambio Center.
Corinne Valdivia, main co-founder of the Cambio Center, played an instrumental role in helping shape the organization long before its doors officially opened. Valdivia met Gudiño years before the Cambio Center was established in the early 2000s. As the center began to take shape, she said Gudiño contributed ideas, conducted research, organized community events, and helped build relationships with local Latino families.
“Alejandra was a rule-breaker,” Valdivia said, explaining that her willingness to challenge the school board helped the organization secure university funding. For Valdivia, however, Gudiño’s greatest contribution wasn’t behind a desk or during meetings. It was her ability to bring people together. “She has connected us to the community,” Valdivia said.
While those closest to Gudiño describe her as a community builder, she credits her passion for helping others to the values she learned long before arriving in Columbia. “I was raised in a household that was always helping others” said Guidiño. Watching her parents give back shaped the way she viewed the world from an early age. They encouraged her to learn from different cultures and perspectives, while her mother showed her what it meant to care for others through everyday acts of kindness.
“We don’t get anywhere by ourselves,” Gudiño said. “Anything we accomplish is because we work hard. Nothing is free.” For Gudiño, community is more than a place, it’s the people who make someone feel like they belong. “Without community, we are nothing,” Gudiño said.
That statement has guided her work at the Cambio Center, an organization she says has changed her life as much as she has contributed to it. She believes every person carries unique experiences that shape who they are, and together those experiences create something much bigger than any one individual.
After 30 years in Columbia, Gudiño said one of the greatest lessons she has learned is that home is not limited to one place. “There is no such thing as one home,” Gudiño said. “We have as many homes as we allow ourselves to.”
Today, Gudiño continues serving Columbia’s Latino community by interpreting for families, translating at community events, and helping connect residents with resources. For her, every conversation is another opportunity to help someone feel at home.
Reported by Rebeca Hernández
Rebeca Hernández is a journalism student at the University of Missouri with a passion for multimedia storytelling, social media, and entertainment reporting. As a bilingual communicator in English and Spanish, she enjoys creating engaging digital content that connects with diverse audiences. She hopes to pursue a career in entertainment journalism while continuing to tell stories that inform and inspire.
Published August 4, 2026
