Reflection

Looking back at my time FIU makes me a little emotional sometimes. Right before I started FIU, I felt like dropping out of college completely. I didn't think I was smart enough or would make it to graduation. I had give up. But my family encouraged me and I decided to apply to FIU. While attending orientation, I heard about Panther Camp and from there I learned about the Global Medallion program and many other opportunities for me to be involved at FIU.

As soon as I stepped foot on campus as an official FIU student, I wanted to reach out to all the different departments and resources on campus to learn about how to get involved. I spoke with Ms. Sophie from the Center for Student Engagement and we spoke about all of my interests as a student she told me about the Women's Center. She also connected me to Dr. Nashira, who was the director at the time. I spoke with her about all these ideas I had and eventually applied to be a Student Program Assistant with the Women's Center. This was just one of the many involvements where I was able to express my creativity and passion for the feminist cause. I also met with other people (from all genders) who had similar passions as me, even though they didn't have the same cultural background as me. It was refreshing to know that there are other people who may not be Black or a woman but still cared about giving Black women a voice. It also helped me to learn to reciprocate that same support for women of different ethnicities. 

When I started with the Women's Center, I had an idea to help mothers in need since maternal healthcare is one of my passions. I was able to organize a donation drive where items that are usually collected at baby showers were distributed to a local center for young mothers. I learned how to network and reach out to other organizations outside of FIU. I also learned about so many different organizations in Miami that are dedicated to help families without homes, survivors of domestic violence and abuse. I also learned about different ways to donate them and how to donate to them. Just because I think this is a good donation does not necessarily mean that the person in needs wants it as well.

During my last semester with the Women's Center, I realized how much I truly accomplished while I was here. Although a lot of change has happened and I was introduced to new supervisors and coworkers, I learned to build a community with others. We work diligently to bring in new ideas such as Feminist Fridays where we highlight different topics in the feminist movement and highlight different feminist figures. I want this series to continue even after I graduate