What makes you a Difference Maker?
I'm a Dearborn Difference Maker because I take time to listen to everyone who has something to say. I also try to live my life with compassion and bravery at every turn. I constantly strive to continue educating myself on important topics. I am a difference maker because I try to put my peers and my community first, their safety and well-being mean the world to me. But I also know when I need to stop and take care of myself, because you can't give water from an empty well. But lastly, I am a difference maker because I represent what Dearborn prides itself on creating and supporting: a well-rounded leader who works for the betterment of the people above all else.
Tell us about your leadership experience.
I've been lucky enough to work with the student government as the director of inclusion as well as the vice president. I am a member of our literary arts organization Lyceum and enjoy sharing my photography and poetry each semester in the journal. I am a proud member of Pride as well as my sorority Phi Sigma Sigma. My favorite things I have done on campus come from my jobs however, I am a Mental Health and Wellness Peer Mentor through CAPS as well as an employee at the Disability and Accessibility Services office. I would not be where I am today without the work I get to do on campus to promote mental health services and equity for all members of our community, it is the basis for everything I strive for.
Working with Disability and Accessibility Services as well as CAPS has given me a priceless experience in learning about the lives of others and how to continuously strive for improvement. I have met so many people during my time on campus who are my inspiration every day to fight for equity and justice for all people. It is important to me that even when improvements are made/new services are provided, that we continue to improve and educate ourselves on what the people want and need. That was my motivation when it came to being director of inclusion for student government. Constant education and feedback from my peers is what confirms I am doing my job as a leader in the community. Leadership is about being the arms and the voice of the people, without the community I come from and I strive to advocate for I would be so much less of the person I am today.
What is your dream career or goal?
My lifelong goal has always been to provide a voice for those who are silenced or oppressed, and I couldn't think of a better way to do that than by providing excellent health care to impoverished neighborhoods and cities as a doctor. Proper health care is the backbone to a successful and supported life and every single person deserves the right to be seen when they are sick, to receive medicine for conditions, and to be checked in on as they grow up no matter how much they make or what they do. Health care is a human right and we need to take care of each other.
What is your most defining moment?
To me, I feel like my defining moment on campus was the last day before we all left for quarantine in Winter 2020. I remember walking around campus that day with two close friends after sharing a meal together and playing some games almost on the verge of tears. I had never seen the campus so quiet and empty, I was used to the bustling life of the University Center, the lovely Picasso staff who knew me by name, the beautiful scenery as we walked in the EIC or past the Chancellor's pond. But I realized that day, before I walked off campus one last time, that even though I was leaving the campus there would always be a part of me that stayed in Dearborn. I might live hours away, but there is something so special about the UM-Dearborn community that has always made me feel loved and accepted no matter where in the world I am.