The First Latina Elected Sheriff in California is a graduate of the University of San Diego.
Christina Corpus has officially broken through history this summer by becoming Elected Sheriff of San Mateo County, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California.
San Mateo County's Incumbent Sheriff Carlos Bolanos conceded in his recent race against Corpus, after noticing that the USD Alumna had a convincing lead in their election this summer.
Just one year after graduating from USD over two decades ago, Corpus began her professional career in San Mateo back in 2002, when she hired as a correctional officer for the County.
During her early years working as a correctional officer for San Mateo County, she learned a lot about vulnerable communities that often experience challenging scenarios in their day-to-day life.
“A lot of these people were born into very challenging circumstances: they had parents or family members who were incarcerated, they were subjected to a lot of physical, sexual or mental abuse, or there was drug or alcohol use in their home," Corpus told USD. "You have an opportunity to get them to think about themselves in a respectful way and offer them resources to try to get them the help that they need," she added.
One of Corpus biggest achievements is not just the fact she completed her Masters in Science Degree in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership, but the fact she took the challenge of going through that higher education process while being a mom of two and working full-time.
She walked on commencement day in 2021.
“To all the moms out there, we’re super women! We can do anything. We can always find an excuse to not do something, but when you make excuses, you have to remember you have children. I always hold myself accountable by saying, ‘How can I ask my child to do something if I’m not being the example?’ You not only inspire your children, but also other women. In the end, I can tell you all the hard work pays off," said Corpus on her college achievements.
Corpus has also been an advocate for the status of every law enforcement official, due to the amount of violence they witness as part of their daily job.
“It’s really important for us to take care of our law enforcement officers because we see so much trauma. We often have this mentality where we’ve just got to suck it up and move on, but we’re human and those things don’t exactly leave us.”
She will be sworn into her new role on January 2, 2023.
