Salma Douah

Colorado State University - 2027

Youth Mentoring/Education Equity

Issue(s) of Focus: Youth mentoring/Education Equity

Major(s): Health and Exercise Science

Project: In completing my Puksta project, I aspire to aid minorities, particularly first generation students, in successfully navigating through the hardships of being in an entirely new educational environment. Throughout this year, I hope to begin pursuing my project by raising awareness on issues such as lack of resources and support being provided and not being easily accesible to first generation students. Raising awareness is a crucial step in building a community of inclusiveness and equity in higher education so that is where I will begin.

Inspiration: What inspired me to choose this project is the negative impact that educational inequity and lack of mentoring had on me during my freshman year here at CSU, and I still notice the effects of these hardships now. I constantly found myself in environments where my peers would know how to access and utilize all resources provided to them while I’d be lost and discouraged when it came to my experiences and concerns. A lot of this was because I did not have a community to turn to since my family was not able to give me academic advice when it comes to college due to inexperience. I yearn to provide accessible support systems to first generation students so they do not have to undergo the same situations.

Future Plans: My goal is to make the transitioning into college experience a less frightening obstacle for first generation students and students of color. I want to assure students that they are not alone throughout this journey and they do belong, despite the doubts and hardships that may arise due to being introduced to an unfamiliar academic environment.