Isaiah Banta ’20

Isaiah Banta '20 was homeschooled his whole life in rural Southern California by his mom and credits his ability to have a Whitman education to the sacrifices of his mother and maternal grandparents, who immigrated together to the United States from Mexico when his mother was seven years old. 

Isaiah's experiences within Residence Life, ASWC, the Summer Fly-In, and the mentorship he received from Whitman Professors taught him to be more institutionally minded and choose a career path that was modeled after his time at Whitman.

As a result of this, Isaiah now works as a Community Organizer for the Industrial Areas Foundation, the world's oldest and largest network of community-based organizations doing local political power-building in San Antonio, Texas. Working as the organizer with local leaders and institutions, Isaiah has fought for, and won, a historic $135 million bond for one of San Antonio's poorest school districts, secured over $23.4 million for a community center on San Antonio's eastside, and organized the recognition of an alternative ID to build a shared relationship of trust between undocumented populations and the San Antonio's Police Department.