Janelle Nuñez

Major: History, Minor in Public Service and Civic Engagement 

Year: Senior

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Affiliations: Kappa Alpha Theta, Best Buddies 

There are many social problems that I care deeply about. From mass incarceration to environmental racism that target poor working communities of color. Right now I am working on a Facebook blog that captures the voices of young women of color activists. I first used this platform to bring a greater awareness to the Protection of Planned Parenthood. It has been a work in progress of filming and gathering the narratives of amazing young women who have challenged the democratic process and have forged new ground for social change. How can we remind young women of color of their agency? How can we challenge the ‘adults’, whose policies have put young peoples on the margins? In short, the blog hopes to provide a collective space to inspire other young women of color and it dropped October 20th on National Youth Confidence Day. My shameless plug. Catch the awesome stories then and look up ‘Brown Girl Tales’! 

Flavio Bravo

Master in Migration Studies Program

Year: Second year graduate student

Pronouns: he/him/his

Affiliations: Resident Minister with St. Ignatius Institute, Graduate Campus Climate Intern within Office of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ADEI)

Through my role in ADEI, I am actively a part of the University Council on Diversity & Inclusion, the Housing Insecurity Committee, and the Taskforce on Support and Services for Undocumented Students. Given the focus of my academic program and my involvement here at USF, I am most passionate about collaborating with others in order to best advocate for humane immigration reform. My advocacy efforts are a direct result of being born and raised in an anti-immigrant Arizona and having studied in Chicago and most recently, Mexico City.

Liliana Campos

M.S. Clinical Psychology/Doctoral Candidate, PsyD

Year: Fourth Year Doctoral Student

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Affiliations: USF UndocuLeadership Team, California Psychological Association Immigration Task Force Member, Division 12 Education and Training Committee Student Member, and USF School of Nursing/Health Professions Student Ambassador

Citlali Maldonado

Major: Business 

Minor: Biology

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Affiliations: President of M.E.Ch.A., Senior Assistant at School of Management

Something I'm really passionate about is providing inner city kids with opportunities. They're my favorite kind of people...roses growing from the concrete. I'm from Compton so that's always been an identifier for me. I remember this one time when I went over to my friend's house. Her dad was an engineer and they were arabic but they had been living here for quite some time. He asked me where I was from and I told him I was from Compton. He said “Don't say you're from Compton say you're from Long Beach or something.” I was in the 9th grade and at that time I didn't understand what he was telling me. Now that I reflect on it I just laugh because never have I ever said that I'm “from Long Beach” or tried to hide that. And look where I am now. I guess he thought that no little Compton girl could ever amount to this. That's why I'm so passionate about bringing voices to kids from inner cities because I feel like we hold a lot of knowledge that people from outside these cities don't know. For example just having your parents work 9-5 and you having to raise yourself. There is a lot of potential in kids that live in these cities, they're diamonds in the rough. I would love to highlight that they go far beyond the typical basketball and rapper stereotypes. I want them to know that these little kids from Compton can be the CEO's, they can run an entire nonprofit organization, they can be the doctors. There's just so many options and I would love to show that. These are some of the best kids you'll ever get.

Alysa Guzman

Major: International Business major with Spanish and Legal Studies Minors

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Affiliations: M.E.Ch.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanxs de Aztlan), School of Management Honors Program Community Service Chair,International Student and Scholar Services Employee

I think it's hard to pick a specific cause besides one for folks of color in general because I feel that marginalized communities need to stick together as well as validate and work toward ally-ship since many of the issues our communities are not exclusive to just one. I think I care about helping these communities so much because it's what I've grown up with and have been taught to do coming from a family of immigrants who settled in LA and have faced a lot of these issues. How do I work towards these causes? I think the most feasible way myself and other students can do it is by having these necessary conversations and creating the spaces for community members to come together.  

Eli Ramos

Major: Biology

Minor: Journalism

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Affiliations: President of USFCA Prism, voice actor of "Quincy" on the "Raising the Dead Again" podcast

People are generally passionate about issues that have affected them throughout their life so of course I'm invested in justice for people of color and LGBTQ+ people. But I also think it is important to stand in solidarity on all issues because they're so intertwined. As someone who started with movements of color, those things are inextricably tied with the Jewish community, with disability justice, with environmental justice, and so on. If you're passionate about anything as an activist, I think you should be bringing that same passion to each issue you encounter so that solidarity can truly be built.