Posted on December 21, 2016
Project: My Project for this year will be to construct an online platform that efficiently depicts the resources available for the homeless/impoverished community and helps them utilize these resources by making them more accessible.
Inspiration: The rising number of the homeless population as well as the wealth gap that continues to grow in this country.
Future Plans for Project: I hope to be able to provide resources so that the homeless and impoverished population will be able to permanently improve their lives. I hope my work will aid in permanent housing, job assistance, and adequate health resources.
Posted on December 21, 2016
In East Boulder County there are people who are left behind because they don’t have access to the Internet. In today’s world, being able to take advantage of all the World Wide Web has to offer is vital no matter where someone lives and my Puksta Project is designed to make sure location is never a hurdle for people to overcome in order to have access to it.
Posted on December 21, 2016
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.
Posted on December 21, 2016
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.
Posted on December 21, 2016
Project: My puksta project is to create a web app to help connect disadvantaged students to experienced mentor from their community.
Inspiration: I have had a lot of mentorship as I was growing up, and I realize the importance of it. I want to pass it on.
Future Plans for Project: I hope to address important issues such as diversity in the tech industry in the future using this app as a platform to connect females to similar mentors in their community.
Posted on December 21, 2016
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.
Posted on December 21, 2016
Project: I will be working on helping organize a program for Muslim Women that will embody some of their greatest needs, including working on inclusivity in mosques as well as a mentorship program for young Muslim Women that will be paired with other women already successful in their dream field, hobby, or lifestyle.
Inspiration: Being a Muslim Woman, lack of support systems is a common theme in my own community, and after discussing it with other women, it seemed that it was high time for a program like this in the Denver community.
Future Plans for Project: I hope to make even the smallest footstep towards a better future, a better world for the next generation. Even one small act of civic engagement can be the domino that kicks off massive waves and social change.
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
Working with the Minority Association of Pre-medical Students (MAPS), I want to help close the gap between minorities applying to medical school and their white counterparts. Through mentorship, volunteering opportunities, and networking, my Puksta Project can be a success.
Posted on December 21, 2016
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.
