Asian culture stresses the idea of holding in our mental health problems and not sharing them with others. I learned, however, that speaking to someone about my own resulted in my being happier and less stressed. My Puksta Project will educate Asian Americans to speak up about their mental health issues, address them, and realize how much better life can be.
Scholar Category: Health Care Issues
Joeylyn Corder
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.
Kiri Michell
Project: Food insecurity is a major issue around the country that is often overlooked within the college population. I am addressing this issue as it relates to the CSU campus and the students and staff who are affected. The transition from dorm life to apartments can be challenging and therefore I am providing healthy and fresh food to students as well as resources to preparing and understanding what they are eating. I have been addressing the issue by installing for a “Freedge” in the on-campus apartments. Freedge comes from the combination of the words free and fridge and is based on the idea of free produce for anyone who needs fresh produce. In the apartments, there are fridges in the main lobby that are filled with fresh, organic, and local veggies grown from the Horticulture center on campus.
Inspiration: Volunteering in the community at food banks, rescue missions, and childcare settings have inspired me to focus on food insecurity. I noticed some of my peers struggling with food insecurity and I wanted to be able to provide a resource so they have less stress when it comes to one of the basic needs in life. There are no specific food resources for students so I wanted to provide a service for students who may be struggling. In addition, organic and local produce is usually expensive which causes students to shy away and buy something not as nourishing which can hinder their studies and social lives.
Future Plans for Project: Providing students with access to free, organic, and local produce and offering cooking classes and workshops are my main goals. Ideally, I would like to expand the Freedges to other places on campus to allow for more access from other students who may be struggling. Food is a simple, but overlooked necessity, and I hope to make an impact towards combating food insecurity on campus.
Gabriela Solano Serna
Project: My Puksta Project for this upcoming academic year is to get involved with different social services agencies that promote a change among the healthcare disparities among low-income and undocumented communities. I plan to work along social services agencies that have hands on help or that provide the tools, information, and needs certain communities are limited to.
Inspiration: What inspired to choose my Puksta Project was my own personal and family experience. Coming from an undocumented family and being an undocumented myself I know the struggles and obstacles families face to receive access or adequate healthcare services. In fact, the current policies and social aspects of our society took take this social issues to the attention of others as many people are not aware.
Future Plans for Project: I truly honestly hope to become the start of change and aspirations of future generation to pursue the same passion to make a change within our communities and the healthcare. I defiantly try my best to in fact start a new organization or join any social services that reaches to the community on personal level specially in our current political climate. Help families get access to proper information on payments options, guidance, and language barriers support.
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.
Emina Mujezin
Project: For the upcoming year, I hope to help members in my community get much needed health check ups. I will also be working with my university as well as the business school to encourage inclusive excellence.
Inspiration: I’ve grown up in a communities where health was never a priority and where students didn’t even think they could go to college. I want to change that and lessen the barriers to quality healthcare and education because I believe they are rights.
Future Plans for Project: I just hope to give back to the communities I’ve grown up in and allow them access to greater opportunities. Healthcare and Education are one of the most important aspects that lead to a healthy and opportunistic life.
