Celebrating Black History Month with our Student Health Advocates!

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We celebrated Black History Month by highlighting some of our very own Student Health Advocates. We asked questions that were focused around celebrating their identity, ways they take care of themselves and, health! Keep reading to learn what our Student Health Advocates had to say!



Jayla Pride

When I hear “Black History Month,” I think about the stories, struggles, and achievements involving my ancestors. This month makes me reflect on the contributions that the Black community has provided for the world. 
 
One of my favorite self-care activities is surrounding myself with my own family traditions. Whether that be childhood food or older music. Reminding myself of my history helps me feel rejuvenated. It helps me remember who I am when I feel down. 
 
If I had one superpower to advance health equity, it would be teleportation. More often than not, a lot of communities don’t receive proper health care because of a lack of transportation. If I had teleportation I would help people get to medical facilities quicker. Or, transport people who can provide care to these types of communities.


Fartuun Yusuf

When I think about Black history month, I think about all the things that we overcame. The things we are doing and the things we accomplished. Black culture and how it’s so diverse. You can be African American, you can be African and you can be a part of so many different groups and you can come together with one common thing to celebrate yourself.

My favorite self-care is drawing and practicing henna tattoos. I practice a lot on myself and my siblings.

My proudest accomplishment was getting my 4.0 GPA because I worked super hard on that. Another accomplishment was taking a job 101 class and taking the initiative to reach out to jobs and doing informational interviews. I was able to interview my diabetic educator and get to know more about the career and what kind of career I want to do.

The topics I am most passionate about are mental health, disabilities and women’s health education. I am passionate about mental health because many of my friends are effect by it and many people in my school don’t know much about it and there’s a stigma.  I am interested in disabilities because my brother has it. There’s a lot of stereotypes and stigma to it. Women’s health because coming from a Somalian family, I know that a lot of people with similar backgrounds cannot talk about reproductive health or menstruation with their family. I am lucky to have a parent that I can talk to about it. I want to bring parents and children together to talk about these topics and create common ground. 



 


Jaelene Chavez

Who is your favorite black artist?

Roddy Rich, Drake, and J. Cole

If I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

I’d want to have dinner with Kobe Bryant because I have looked up to him since I was little and I really admired his love for the game which motivated me to play basketball.

What do you love most about being black?

I love the culture and how everyone can just vibe with each other and have a good time.











 


Salma Sheikh

What black means to me is resilience.

It means even when all the forces around you are trying to push you down, to break you, to silence you, you  STILL find a way to rise. 

It means strength through hardship. 

It means creativity in finding a new path when the “ideal” American path doesn’t suit you.

It means pain and discrimination no matter where or when you are.

It means being one of the only people of color in a space.

It means having a whole system against you and still succeeding.

But, it also means hope in fighting for a future where 

this isn’t as prominent or an issue any longer.