Scholar Category: Gender Issues
Celeste Pegues
Project: Sister to Sister is a student organization that strives to assist minority women at MSU Denver with scholarship, college retention, mind and body wellness and community service. We tailor our workshops and services to the intersectionality that women of color face everyday in their community and personal life. We provide a safe space for self-actualization, self-care, and self-empowerment for women of color on their journey through their college experience.
Inspiration: Seeing the need for a safe space for Women of Color on Auraria campus
Future Plans for Project: A student org that will bring forth fellowship, self-care and activism
Monica Simpson
Project: MSU Denver has a significant number of non-traditionally aged students. Some are returning to school after a few or many years away, and some have never before had the opportunity to attend a university and earn a degree. Older students have distinct needs and challenges, as well as unique wisdom and supports to offer one another. The Wisdom Collective is a student organization that will allow and encourage older students to make meaningful connections with others who understand their journey. Our goal is to build community & connection, support & safety, and resources & resilience.
Inspiration:I found myself back in school after being widowed and raising my children to adulthood. There were numerous compelling and practical reasons I needed and wanted to earn my degree. My story isn’t really terribly unique; there is a substantial number of older students on our campus who’ve faced significant life challenges and are now working to balance academics and other responsibilities while pursuing a new or growing career. There are few if any resources that address our specific situation, and after talking with other non-traditional students I realized that we are in the best position to support ourselves. We have amazing adaptability and strengths! Our stories and experiences are our greatest assets, and I saw the need to create a place where we could share our wisdom, ideas, and encouragement with one another.
Future Plans for Project: My hope is that The Wisdom Collective will be a place of community, support, and resources for non-traditionally aged students. I’d love to see a student organization that not only looks after its own members, but also takes part in campus service projects to address needs of our student body as a whole. We are already working on two significant service projects for our inaugural 2018-2019 year: A Fall food drive for our school food pantry, and a Spring event to encourage and teach self-care to all students. I also envision steadfast and growing support of our members for one another, so that they can see their own true strengths and abilities and move forward into the next chapter of their lives with the knowledge and confidence that they are capable of affecting change in their own communities.
Bailey Cross
Project: My community engagement project is The (Blank) Monologues. Inspired by The Vagina Monologues, The (Blank) Monologues is a student written and performed production about social issues facing students on campus. These issues include by are not limited to sexual assault, domestic violence, racism, sexism, homophobia, and more. The target population served is the CSU community including students and staff, as well as our beneficiary, Crossroads Safe House.
Inspiration: I realized that there were so many issues that college students face, and all too often they are told that they should not discuss their experiences and they are swept under the rug. I firmly believe that we cannot solve these issues unless they are talked about in the open and put front and center.
Future Plans for Project: I hope to provide a platform for survivors to share their stories and let others know that if they have similar experiences, they are not alone. I want to ensure that these issues cannot be ignored.
Rebecca Robidoux
Project: My project is to compile a report via observational research on the impact of social/emotional intelligence training on the interactions between children.
Inspiration: Instances of widespread LGBT bullying in my own high school initially drew me to the issue of LGBT anti-bullying. Research and the initial work I’ve done with A Queer Endeavor as well as certain classes I’ve taken on campus, have inspired me to extend my project to include general education reform.
Future Plans for Project: I hope to begin a shift in methods used by teachers in the classroom. In the future, I would see all teachers be trained in how to cultivate a respectful community among their students; one that resists bullying to a large extent. The ultimate goal is to facilitate an environment where students can grow into tolerant young adults.
Scout Azlan
Project: Equity for lgbtqia+ community and education through video game mediums. From insurance to interactions with healthcare providers to disparate connections to proper resources, the LGBTQIA+ community experiences many setbacks specific to their community within the healthcare industry. While this issue could be tackled a myriad of ways, I believe that ignorance due to lack of education towards the LGBTQIA+ community is a major barrier in solving this disconnect. By creating the foundation for safe zone training catered specifically to health care providers and even medical schools, I hope to start creating a more conducive environment for those within the LGBTQIA+ community to get the proper healthcare they deserve.
Inspiration: When I realized that I was pansexual at 12 years old, I didn’t feel any inner conflict towards this identity of mine– it just was. But a major part of my struggle can be defined by external disagreement about my own social identities that I was perfectly fine with. Having been invested in not only the LGBTQIA+ community but also in my identity as a person of color and being raised a muslim, the hatred and fear that others can create towards others will always baffle me. What has helped in trying to understand those who fail to understand that, for example, being gay will never be a choice– just as being straight isn’t– is that what most likely underlies these xenophobic systems is a lack of education. A failure to understand what it means to be a part of these communities and identities. I hope to be able to address ignorance through educating. We can continue to fight against opposing parties that stand in the way of equity by telling the how incorrect they are, but I want my work to approach ignorance by breaking down problematic belief systems by helping people come to these terms in their own way.
Future Plans for Project: Beyond getting those within the LGBTQIA+ community connected with proper healthcare and educated providers, I hope to sustain safe zone training not just within the healthcare field but in all the places we spend our daily lives in, from schools to the workplace. I hope that my work will be able to branch out into a student organization, built with the purpose of developing safe zone curricula catered to different environments and people. Overall, I want to be able to communicate the value in approaching problematic beliefs through proper education and purposeful dialogues.
Henry Christopher
Creating a curriculum on LGBT history and culture to be used by Gay Straight Alliances is the goal of my Puksta Project. If young people who realize their gender identity and sexuality feel like they have a future and can easily access positive role models my Puksta Project will be a success.
