Posted on October 20, 2024
Issue(s) of Focus: Sexism, gender equality, and Racial Advocacy and Equity
Major(s): Explanatory Studies/Pre-Biomedical Engineering
Project: My Puksta Project aims to elevate awareness about the critical importance of maintaining efficient hospital equipment and its profound impact on patient care, particularly in neighborhoods predominantly composed of people of color, such as those in Denver and Aurora, Colorado. This initiative will involve a thorough investigation into the statistics and personal stories surrounding the consequences of delayed medical equipment repairs. Additionally, I will organize and lead workshops and presentations at schools, community centers, and through online platforms to engage and educate the community on this vital issue.
Inspiration: What inspired me was the prolonged delay I experienced in having my MRI appointment rescheduled from a two-week wait to a three-month delay, due to equipment malfunctions. This situation underscored a broader issue: the hospital, situated in a diverse and underserved neighborhood, appears to suffer from a lack of adequate resources and attention. This experience highlighted the urgent need for improved infrastructure and resource allocation to ensure timely and equitable care for all patients.
Future Goals: Through my community engagement and social impact work, I hope to accomplish Raising Public Awareness about the crucial role of efficient hospital equipment in ensuring quality patient care, particularly in underserved neighborhoods with significant populations of people of color, Highlight the negative impact of Equipment Delays on patients, And foster community involvement through empowering them with knowledge and encouraging collective action to address and resolve these healthcare challenges through my social impact work with Puksta.
Posted on November 1, 2023
Major: Entrepreneurship
Minor: Finance
Project: What I would like to pursue for my Puksta Project is equal educational opportunity for minorities. From elementary and forward, motivating and providing resources to students of color to attend higher education and advanced classes such as honors, AP and IB in order to promote and have more diversity in advanced education.
Inspiration: What inspired me to choose this project was my experience in the education system. I grew up taking honors, AP, and IB classes which were predominately white. I always felt out of place and my peers and teachers never helped me feel included or smart enough. I would like to encourage and motivate students of color to take these advanced classes because we are all worthy of a higher education.
Future Plans: What I hope to accomplish is making advanced classes more diverse. By making these classes more diverse more and more students of color will feel comfortable and worthy enough to take advanced classes which in the long run benefit their academic career.
Posted on November 1, 2023
Major: Sociology with a Concentration in Criminology and a minor in Political Science
Project: Develop stricter and more organized regulations in my community to reduce the chances of gun violence. Supporting gun violence survivors.
Inspiration: My family was a victim of gun violence and we never got the justice we deserved. Also, we live in a world of uncertainty and fear so it’s important to address the bigger issues that add to that fear.
Future Goals: I want to be a tiny part of the change to make the world a better place in terms of gun violence. I want to help bring a little bit of ease and peace back to people in my communities.
Posted on November 28, 2022
Major: Zoology
Project: The project I am pursuing is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, specifically focusing on the Indigenous community that lives in northern Colorado. I will be a mentor and lead community events, and provide a space for Indigenous peoples to come together and heal, give preventative courses and resources, and provide overall support for the Indigenous community.
Inspiration: I am an Indigenous woman who has seen my community members be hurt mentally and physically by others, I have seen little to no coverage of Missing and Murdered Indigenous peoples in the media and news. I think that education is very important, if I can educate the community Indigenous and non-Indigenous about these issues there can be a change.
Future Plans: I hope that I can accomplish educating the community, and provide a safe place where triggering conversations can be held. I hope to teach those around us what actions to take when placed in a harmful situation, to decrease the number of community members that have faced violence.
Posted on October 2, 2019
Major: Leadership and Community Engagement and English
Project: I actually have no idea where to start, but I know that I ultimately want to work with Latinx families on helping them understand what Black Lives Matter really means and why it is important to let go of the anti-blackness that within Latinidad and “Brown Lives Matter Too”
Inspiration: The current political climate has inspired me and has opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of the elderly Latinx folks aren’t educated on why BLM is so important not only to the Black / African-American population but for other people of color as well.
Future Goals: I hope to be able to educate myself and others on social justice issues but also I hope to build connections and friendships with people because they help influence a more positive world. I care deeply about people individually and I hope to help them learn about the importance of the social justice movement that we are living in.
Posted on December 21, 2016
Project: With my project I am aiming towards mending the relationship between law enforcement and the black community. Through this African-American male leadership program called Brotherhood I go into schools and help teach young high school students lessons around social justice, identity and the importance of higher education. We also held community forums and local schools that served as open spaces for parents, community members, teacher and students alike to voice their concerns about the issues going on in their neighborhood to police offers, members of city council, the DA’s office etc.
Inspiration: My life changed on June 22, 2010. That was the day Micah, my older brother and male role model, was shot. My Puksta Project is informed entirely by what happened that day and in the days since—that’s why I’m devoting myself to ending violence in neighborhoods and areas where it’s prevalent today… and make it history tomorrow.
In these last 4 years over 500 African-American males have been killed by police and law enforcement. We are often misrepresented in mass media as thugs murderers unintelligent and pathetic. These types of ideals add in to why police perceive us as dangerous. I want to dismantle these type idealistic views.
Future Plans for Project: I hope to open the eyes of Black youth and help them understand their potential and embrace their culture.
Posted on December 21, 2016
Project: I hosted events in which about 10-15 youth in my neighborhood of Sun Valley attended. The goal of the event was to teach them about the realities of the justice system and how they could protect themselves. The youth gave me feedback that they want me to continue hosting the events each year.
Future Plans for Project: I hope to make a difference to the people around me. I hope to make people around me happy and I hope to be satisfied with the work I’ve done.
