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How do you define diversity?
Diversity is being able to recognize that everyone is different, and embracing that idea. Just like our mosaic rose, diversity is made up of different shapes, colors and sizes. When you put it all together, it creates something beautiful.
How do you define inclusion?
Making everyone feel as if though they belong. Whether that is within daily life, or our organization.
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What makes you feel proud/powerful?
Knowing that I beat the odds. I am the daughter of immigrants, who never completed high school. I grew up in a low-income area, and my school was ranked as one of the worst in the state. According to statistics, I should have never made it to college, let alone a prestigious university. Every time I walk into a classroom, I am so thankful and full of pride to be pursuing a degree. There is something so great in knowing that despite some of the challenges I have faced, I am still afforded with the privilege of attending university. Especially in the current political climate, where people are doubting the abilities of immigrants, and minorities.
Clarissa
Mezquitic
20, Beta Epsilon,
Michigan State University, Fall 17
Can you pinpoint a moment when you became empowered with that which makes you feel powerful? Describe a moment in your life when you started to embrace your identity.
On my first day at university, I walked into my Business 101 seminar. I looked around, and soon realized that in that room of over 100 students, I was the only one who was brown. On the second day of university, I walked into my Writing 101 class and when the professor went through roll call, my name was the only one she couldn’t pronounce. It was at the moment, in a room full of “Johnsons, Smiths, and Jones’,” that I realized I was the only “Mezquitic.” I was rare, and beautiful. My skin, my name, and my pride were all so uniquely mine. That makes me feel powerful.
Has Kappa Delta Chi had any role in amplifying what makes you feel powerful? Please Describe.
This organization has allowed me to further explore my identity. Being surrounded by like-minded women who support makes me feel comfortable. When I’m with my sisters, I feel like I can be myself. They are my home within my university.
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