Students Reflect on Their Experiences with First Round of DEI Mini-Grants
By Rebecca GoldfineºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾'s Center for Multicultural Life created the new funding program last year to provide students with small grants of either $250, $500, or $750 to explore an aspect of a culture, ethnicity, or their identity over the summer.
The Center encouraged students to pursue projects that would lead to their growth and enrichment, suggesting as possibilities that they visit museums, take classes, or go to art shows. After a competitive process, the program's advisors awarded twenty grants.
Student recipients interpreted the objective broadly. A couple attended conferences, others did visit museums. One went for a five-day solo hike on the Appalachian Trail, while another returned to his family's home in Mexico to enjoy daily life in Mexico City, especially with his abuelita.
Maya Dowling-Wolfe, interim assistant director of identity and culture, said the students did great work with the resources and support of the program. “This grant was really significant in letting students explore their interests through personal stories, reflections, culture and social interactions which I find to be quite beautiful,” she added.
Below are excerpts from some of the students' written reflections on their experiences.
Adepoju Arogundade ’25: “I attended the 53rd Annual Conference of Minority Transportation Officials in Houston, Texas. This year’s conference theme was 'Transportation Equity: Meeting the Moment.' The resiliency of transit systems during environmental disruptions is an important topic that must be considered when planning, designing, constructing, and operating them. Storms will become more frequent with climate change, but individuals within populations will not experience the effects in the same manner. My degree at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ is a coordinate major between earth and oceanographic sciences and environmental studies. Both allow me to see the scientific aspects and human impacts of climate change and tie the two through an equity lens. Through the session, 'Equity and Access—Bridging the Gap with Technology,' I was able to explore the possibilities of artificial intelligence and mobile applications to make on-vehicle display boards accessible to non- or low-English proficient speakers, create paratransit services for disabled riders, and diversify ways to collect fares.”
The grants were funded by the Identity & Culture Centers (The Rachel Lord Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, the Sexuality, Women, and Gender Center, and the Center for Multicultural Life), THRIVE, Student Accessibility, and the Office of Inclusion and Diversity.