Scholar Category: Youth Mentoring

Project: Education equity as it relates to pedagogy: concentrate on the social, economic and academic challenges black and brown students face. She will research the intersections of race, culture and microaggressions as it relates to education and work towards fostering inclusivity.  In the following year, she intends to gain experience working with K-12 students in the Denver Metro area. Furthermore, she plans to work closely with students, parents and educators, promoting culturally responsive teaching, encouraging a culture of restorative justice and equity in education. She hopes to ultimately pursue a career in education policy, as it pertains to the disproportionate rates of academic success for black and brown students.

Inspiration: Growing up I often found myself in a classroom where no one looked like me. The history books only reflected faces similar to my own when we learned about slavery in America. It was challenging to navigate and make sense of who I was in relation to these environments.

When I was old enough to work inside the walls of public education, I noticed that there were students who sat in the same lonesome position as I once had. Seeing these students made me want to rectify the unspoken and spoken injustice of being a minority student. I ultimately chose my project because education equity is incredibly meaningful to me. I believe that one of the best ways a teacher can be intentionally inclusive is to value culturally responsive teaching for all students.

Future Plans for Project: I hope to engage in meaningful work that has the ability to make someone else’s life experience better.

Project: My Puksta Project for the year is teaching Financial Education to the youth (Middle School). I will be working with the Financial Economic and Education Transformation (FEET) Center. I’ve decided to focus mainly on the Aurora School District considering they are a more diverse school district. I have noticed that the youth has a lack of financial education which is a necessity to have in order to successfully sustain yourself. Overall, as a community, the people who lack this knowledge are people who are African American, Native American, Mexican Indian, Asian American, etc. As a student, I have noticed that the Cherry Creek District students have business and finance courses that are more rigorous than Aurora and Denver Public Schools. By starting small I will teach finance at Aurora Public Schools and if my plan succeeds I will eventually move on to Denver Public Schools. I have started my project in making a Business Proposal to demonstrate to the schools or youth aimed organizations what I plan to do, budgeting cost for my project, and informing them about the FEET Center. My next step was to create the curriculum. After I finish the curriculum, I plan to teach finance where the youth group meets or as an after school program.

Inspiration: Well, I began as a student in finance club that was sponsored by the Financial Education Economic Transformation (FEET) Center. As I was in the program for four years I gained interest in the knowledge and developed an idea that the reason why many people are struggling to get through life is that they do not have background knowledge in financial education. That led me to want to continue to work with the FEET Center.

Future Plans for Project: With my civic engagement work, I hope to accomplish building a better community where people are able to sustain themselves and achieve their goals wisely.

Project:  1. To educated and increase awareness to others on the history of where the model minority myth came from and how it became a political narrative against other minority group.

2. To learn the methods involved in qualitative research and carry out a research project on the AAPI students population at CuDenver

3. To Create a Space for a AAPI students to share their stories/struggles to others through the use of interview/oral history

4. To developed and plan a space/event to showcase the stories of AAPI who does not fit the Model Minority Myth narrative by the sharing of their stories to the public for final project

Inspiration: As an Asian American student, I went through the same problem of trying to navigate through the school system while dealing with all the pressure on me. I hope to help students after me.

Future Plans for Project: I hope to dismantle the Asian Minority Myth and I also hope to help AAPI students after me. I hope they understand the different issues in their own community and continue to build a network of community engagement.

Project: My Puksta project centers on expanding access for underrepresented students to obtain a financial literacy education, explore career opportunities, and receive a post-secondary education while still in high school. Taking on any of these three pillars alone is quite the task, so I decided to enlist my community partners’ support and expand my leadership role within them. This year I was invited to join the Junior Achievement Engage Board, the junior board for Junior Achievement. Upon entering the board, I was given the leadership opportunity to be the JA Bowl-A-Thon Coordinator. My responsibilities entail organizing the JA Bowl-A-Thon for the board. This annual fundraiser contributes to the 1/3 of JA’s total revenue, which allows them to provide financial literacy education to students K-12. My goal this year is to raise $4,250 a 50% increase from last year. Furthermore, in the fall, I was invited to join the College in High School Alliance Ambassador Network, which is the board for the College in High School Alliance (CHSA). CHSA is a coalition of leading national and state organizations that works towards a future where every state, and the federal government, have a policy framework that ensures that students across the U.S have access to concurrent enrollment and dual enrollment for free. We have monthly meetings to discuss the current federal and state policies in place and how each state adapts to incorporate them. I’m the youngest and second student on the board. I offer my experience during my high school journey and my experience as a current college student.

Inspiration: Coming from both a first generation and low-income family I had no one to vouch for me or help me understand how to prepare myself for higher education and a professional career. So I had to do a lot of research and constant risk-taking, to find the resources that got me to where I am today. I know that behind me are many, so I want to help others from my similar background achieve the realization that a higher education and any economic career is possible.

Future Plans For Project: Through my civic engagement work, I hope to develop go-getters, who are active in paying forward their wisdom and helping the next generation develop a strong sense of purpose.