Issue(s) of Focus:
Major(s):
Project:
Inspiration:
Future Goals:
Archives: Scholars
Scholar / Project
Brazil McNeal
Issue(s) of Focus: Mental Health, Bullying, Emotional Education
Major(s): Nursing
Project: I’m hoping to integrate mental health assistance and emotional literacy into any educational setting possible. I’d like to target any and/or all ages with my project. I aspire to teach others how to terminate cycles of abuse, redirect adverse people/behaviors, be comfortable with vulnerability, protect their own well-being, and much more.
Inspiration: I’ve always questioned everything and everyone growing up. I always want to know the “hows” and “whys” when it comes to peoples’ decisions, actions, and mindsets. This stems from me being a natural inquirer and being sensitive. I have found myself over-thinking and worrying excessively about how people have treated me and others negatively in the past searching for an answer or explanation. I’m sure a multitude of others can say they do or have done the same. I believe peoples’ behavior goes a long way as well as their treatment to others. Despite the fact that most people disregard this topic, I believe it contributes an abundance to concepts like communities, shared behavior(s), traits, habits, and more. Targeting the root of the problems, like obstructive behavior and lack of self-regulation, can aid in healthy, prosperous outcomes of those concepts.
Future Goals: I’m aiming to accomplish the implementation of confidence, behavioral intelligence, and mental wellness with whatever group(s) I’m able to work with. Teaching others how to react to and process unfavorable events as healthily as possible makes for a better future on their behalf and others.
Antonia Pettis
Issue(s) of Focus:Homelessness and youth mentoring for girls of color.
Major(s): Mathematics
Project: I want to work within youth mentoring, helping foster leadership, education, and creativity. I would want to focus on youth of color, especially young girls. I believe that it’s important for youth of color to have the most support while growing up and learning more about the world.
Inspiration: Growing up, I found that I had a strong passion for STEM and the arts, but what really motivated me to keep trying new things and being creative was the support and encouragement I received from those around me. Their confidence in me shaped my drive and confidence, inspiring me to pursue new opportunities. I would want to keep the torch lit by doing the same thing others did to me to encourage the new brains of this generation.
Future Goals: By encouraging inclusion, empowerment, and resource access, I hope to create opportunities for underrepresented communities to thrive through my work in the community and social impact projects. My objective is to promote equity in order to make a meaningful difference, especially in areas where voices are frequently disregarded or marginalized.
Alexa Madrid
Issue(s) of Focus: Education Equality
Major(s): Biology
Project: As of right now, I am thinking of easier access to education for all. I think that the FASFA is example of a simple hurdle for many students, the process can become very stressful and additionally make students feel different from their peers. I also believe that low income or non-dominant groups should have additional resources to help students with FASFA support as well as college mentorship.
Inspiration: I believe that the simple experience of having to fill out FASFA for me in comparison to my friends was a great first-hand experience of how FASFA can become so stressful and additionally make people feel left out or different from their peers. I also think that there is not enough support for low income or struggling students when it comes to signing up for college and having support through the process of college.
Future Goals: What I hope to accomplish with my community engagement and social impact work is making college more obtainable for students. College can seem like a very scary choice to make in your life, so therefore we want to make sure to provide enough support from the start and even after college. The overall goal is to make college more obtainable for students.
Gaje Nathan
Issue(s) of Focus: Education Issues
Major(s): Computer Science
Project: I hope to meet different organizations that have the same goals as mine. I plan to explore the different ways I could positively engage within my community.
Inspiration: My exploratory research into the direct effect of how less education an individual receives relates to their likeliness to follow the prison pipeline really captivated me and lead to a spark in my interest to that social issue.
Future Goals: I hope to make an impact to my issue in any positive way. I want to be able to say that I helped make the world a better place.
Bryanna Rodriguez
Issue(s) of Focus: Juvenile Delinquency
Major(s): Criminology
Project: I hope to work on a project aimed to reflect on the root causes of juvenile delinquency and the effects that it has on its communities. While I’m not exactly decided on the specifics yet, I hope to be part of something that teaches young children about this topic and hopefully take a more preventative approach.
Inspiration: I grew up in impoverished communities where I was a constant witness to crime and adolescents landing in the criminal justice system after putting themselves in danger. And it was always a problem that I saw in other people until the reality came knocking on the door of my own family, specifically that of my siblings. I saw the dysfunction that perpetrated my home, and I understood what had led it, so I hope to use my education to help others.
Future Goals: I hope to use my own experiences to motivate others to make better choices and encourage juveniles specifically to make smart choices and build lives they can be proud of. I understand it’s easier said than done but it takes someone who knows what it’s really like to actually make a difference and call for a sense of understanding.
Danielle Sor
Issue(s) of Focus: Inequalities in the health system regarding black women
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Project: This upcoming year I’m thinking about I’m thinking about having people be more away about black women when they need it. A lot of times in the hospital, most people won’t listen to black women.
Inspiration: What inspired me was myself. I was born with tricuspid atresia and during my hospital visits, I was attended too and cared for. I had realized that not a lot of black women like me had gotten this care and I wanted to change that.
Future Goals: With my community engagement and social impact work, I hope to accomplish more attentiveness to black women. I would also want more people to respect black women.
Jaime Hernandez
Issue(s) of Focus: Communities in poverty, Migrants struggling in the U.S.
Major(s): Landscaping Architecture
Project: I think I want to help out in community’s in which people struggle to speak English, as well as people in poverty, specifically children. Something like helping Spanish speaking parents with translations for schools or making a group for after school that can help kids with homework, provide food or snacks, something in that field.
Inspiration: My parents came from Mexico and struggled to raise me and my siblings, it’s something I’m passionate about because I went through the hardship myself. Being able to help people going through similar experiences to mine is something that would bring me joy and a sense of achievement.
Future Goals: I hope to help parents and their children live a more normal life and bring them a sense of relief. I also hope to grow relationships with them and be a connection for them.
Rainisha Pradhan
Issue(s) of Focus: Improper parenting and how it can effect the mental health of kids, Child marriage, and no access to education due to poverty.
Major(s): Architecture
Project: For my Puksta project I really wanted to focus on how poverty has led to girls and women in most third world countries and how it has led to prostitution, trafficking, and child marriage through documentation of women.
Inspiration: Poverty leading to prostitution, and child marriage instead of education has always been an issue in my country, and it isn’t discussed enough because it’s been normalized in the culture, however reading one of my favorite book called Sold by Patricia Mccormick and movie Gangubai Kathiawadi really highlighted the sexual abuse kids and women have to go through in that kind of business.
Future Goals: I hope to highlight the wrongs of child marriage and pushing girls and women into the business of prostitution through a documentary of women who has been close to a victim of similar sexual abuse and child marriage, and by possibly reaching the communities who cannot afford education for their children and showing how they can get help and resources to get out from such positions.
Sandy Elderinky
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.
