Arlington is originally from Barranquilla, Colombia. After being displaced at age three, he became a political refugee and entered Canada via Montreal as a protected person at the age of five. He moved again to northeast Calgary a few years later. Growing up, Arlington loved making others laugh. He also enjoyed anime, playing street fútbol, and baking bread at his parents’ family business.

In 2021, as a first-time volunteer with the Falconridge-Castleridge Community Association, Arlington was elected Secretary and joined the Board of Directors. The association accessed a grant to install solar panels that reduced the operating cost down to zero, enhancing the quality of services offered by the community centre. Later that year, Arlington also volunteered as a project manager to build a fit park dedicated to an underfunded and underdeveloped part of the city.

Arlington’s journey so far has taught him to be proud of overcoming setbacks, and what it means to make important improvements to structures of power in his local community. He is passionate about breaking down barriers to entry when it comes to post-secondary education such as the cost of education, access to affordable housing and proper economic development conditions for students. He will be the first but certainly not the last member of his nuclear family to attend university and graduate with more than just a degree.

Arlington is in the Faculty of Arts, with majors in Political Science, Law and Society, and Sociology. Over his time as an undergraduate, he has been studying the possibility of an anticipatory post-work society.

Arlington loves to work out and go for long walks around the Bow River with his dog, a CattleJack named Astro-Juice (AJ for short). He aims to hike five times this summer and go for at least one winter hike. Arlington is big fan of Manchester City Fútbol, and can be also found at the library reading manga, geo-political economy and watching a wide variety of documentaries.