DEI Resources

2021-22 DEI Award Winners

Anonymous — Fri, 06 May 2022 20:10:03 +0000

2021-22 DEI Award Winners Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/06/2022 - 14:10

We are pleased to announce the winners of this year's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Awards! We offer this award each semester to highlight the students doing the work to make our community welcoming for everyone. Click on the links below to learn more about each outstanding student's dedication and accomplishments.

Fall 2021

María J. Ruíz-Martínez, Equity, Bilingualism & Biliteracy, School of Education
Sarah Fahmy, Theatre and Performance Studies
Dana Stamo, Biological Engineering

Spring 2022

Vinodharani Murugadoss, Professional Engineering
Prafulla Adusumalli, Business Analytics
Joseph Benjamin Burney, Integrated Media Art Practices
Cameron A. Pittman, Museum and Field Studies

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DEI Spotlight - Prafulla Adusumalli

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2022 00:02:07 +0000

DEI Spotlight - Prafulla Adusumalli Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 05/01/2022 - 18:02

Prafulla is a Masters student studying Business Analytics. Her research focuses on the intersection of marketing and data analytics to uncover the mystery behind consumer behavior. Prafulla was recently awarded a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award based on her commitment to making ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ and the larger community a more inclusive space for everyone. We asked Prafulla a few questions to learn more about her work and get to know her better. Read more below!

Give us a brief overview of your recent DEI work.

At Highradius, I was surprised by the number of paper cups being used everyday in the pantry and the resultant environmental pollution that it was contributing to. I immediately reached out to all the stakeholders and convinced them to completely stop using the paper cups and donate the savings to buy books for the children of blue-collar workers in the office. I continued my work for inclusion and equity in ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ as well. I volunteered with the Disability Services at CU as a scribe for the specially abled students during the exams. Thanks to the importance CU has given to Diversity and Inclusion, I am able to continue my service towards Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

What resources do you recommend for someone who is interested in getting involved with DEI?

CU provides numerous opportinities to be involved with DEI. The Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement is a good place to start.

How would you define Diversity, Equity, and/or Inclusion?

DEI in my view is enabling each and every individual to excel in the field of their choice irrespective of their ethnicity, race, gender, age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, religion, disability, political viewpoints, veteran status, gender identity or expression, and health status.

Tell us a bit about the people and communities you have connected with during your DEI work.

As a student at Leeds School of Business, I am lucky to get connected with peers from all over the world from various cultural backgrounds. It resulted in enriched learning experience for me and opened my mind to a lot of new things. I am also an active member of the Center for Disabilities and it made me more compassionate, empathetic and more importantly it gave me fulfillment.

How should one measure the impact of their work?

In my view, there is not one single metric to measure the impact of their DEI work. However, what one should look for is how many people's lives are you able to impact positively either in a big way or in a minute way. The amount of impact to each individual does not matter. What matters is the number of lives you are able to touch and uplift.

Tell us a fun fact about you that is not related to your research, advocacy, or academics.

I am the youngerst daughter of my mom, who herself is the youngest daughter among 14 children.

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

Ikigai. Ikigai a very short book which touches the various aspects of life in very simple language. One of my favorite lines from the book "A cheerful attitude is not only relaxing—it also helps make friends. It’s good to recognize the things that aren’t so great, but we should never forget what a privilege it is to be in the here and now in a world so full of possibilities."

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?

My grandparents. They would be very happy to know what I accomplished with my life so far.

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DEI Spotlight - Cameron Pittman

Anonymous — Sun, 01 May 2022 23:53:50 +0000

DEI Spotlight - Cameron Pittman Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 05/01/2022 - 17:53

Cameron is a first year Masters student studying Museum & Field Studies. Cameron was recently awarded a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award based on his commitment to making ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ and the larger community a more inclusive space for everyone. We asked Cameron a few questions to learn more about his work and get to know him better. Read more below!

Give us a brief overview of your recent DEI work.

My recent DEI work mainly revolves around outreach to local communities, where the location of this work has been centered around museums. As an emerging museum professional, I held as one of my goals was to represent the voices that were not encouraged to be more involved in the field of museums. Museums have an inherent authority in spreading knowledge, and it is vital to understand how this value changes in various communities. I have chosen to use my experience to be an advocate for DEI initiatives, whether in class or with my volunteer jobs, and then further develop materials that continue to spark conversations on this topic.

What resources do you recommend for someone who is interested in getting involved with DEI?

A resource that I cannot recommend enough is volunteering at local museums, community centers, and similar institutions. The work that museums are currently doing consists of outreach to the communities, and they need the hands to do it. This work often consists of DEI work, with the mission to create more accessible and equitable assets requiring unique perspectives and ideas. Other excellent resources include student organizations being run on campus. If you are interested, and DEI is one of them, there will be an organization that works well with that. Furthermore, suppose somehow the club or organization you’re looking for does not exist. In that case, that is the chance to go and create something impactful.

How would you define Diversity, Equity, and/or Inclusion?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion all become one heck of a topic. I do not think I can create a definition for any of these terms without somehow plagiarizing a dictionary. However, I cannot stress enough the significance of these words as they relate to the work we must strive to become better with. Combining these into one instance, I would give meaning to DEI as the bonds we all share and how we can strengthen these bonds to encompass everyone’s unique background.

Tell us a bit about the people and communities you have connected with during your DEI work.

Working in various museums, I have connected with multiple communities while involving DEI work. In Denver, working with the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center, I have connected with the local community consisting of many People of Color, assisting with preserving and conserving their history in the area. Through my school program and work, I have also connected with Indigenous communities and other communities of color. Our collaborations yield great conversations about what it means to hold authority and how we can best create an accessible experience.

How should one measure the impact of their work?

The impact of this type of work is rarely immediate, but it can be measured by how it persists. Looking at the community one is attempting to affect, I believe it is essential to understand the context of one’s place and look to cast the widest net in terms of influence. Measuring this will involve long-term evaluation and knowing whether your work affects all interested groups, even at a minor level.

Tell us a fun fact about you that is not related to your research, advocacy, or academics.

I am a classically trained tuba player, currently a member of the Boulder Concert Band. Also a pretty big gamer, when I can find the time.

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

The Whole Picture by Alice Procter, a book I read for class, but personally I enjoyed it because it brought up many interesting ideas about decolonizing efforts in museums and forms of identity as it relates to art and history.

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?

Brennan Lee Mulligan (Writer and Performer). His work as a game-master (Role playing) is fantastic, and his philosophies are refreshing and always on point.

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DEI Spotlight - Dana Stamo

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

DEI Spotlight - Dana Stamo Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/15/2021 - 00:00

Dana is a third year PhD student studying Biological Engineering. Her research focuses on new therapeutics for hard-to-treat infectious diseases. Dana was recently awarded a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award based on her commitment to making ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ and the larger community a more inclusive space for everyone. We asked Dana a few questions to learn more about her work and get to know her better. Read more below!

Give us a brief overview of your recent DEI work.

My primary role in DEI work involves my participation in the student organization STEM Routes, which works to create an inclusive community for STEM graduate and undergraduate students who are first-generation, low-income, or under-represented. Our biggest program right now is the Uplift Undergraduate Research Training and Opportunity Program.

The Uplift Program collaborates with existing undergraduate research programs, such as UROP and BSI, to ensure participants gain the skills and experience they need to become competitive applicants for any hands-on scientific projects. Many existing opportunities demand that students volunteer their time (which is not possible for many low-income students) or learn on the fly (which is exceptionally challenging without excellent mentorship). We address these challenges by dedicating the first 8 weeks of our 24 week program to shadowing and training. Students are also required to attend regularly occurring workshops that inspect a technical aspect of career development (such as science communication or REU applications) or a soft-skill necessary in the sciences (such as navigating imposter syndrome or finding an identity in STEM). Finally, in addition to a lab mentor, participating Uplift students also meet every other week with an identity-based STEM Routes mentor to ensure students feel supported even outside their science. Student participants have no GPA or coursework prerequisites for this program and they receive a stipend for their work, making this program a bridge into the world of undergraduate research for many students.

What resources do you recommend for someone who is interested in getting involved with DEI?

CU has a variety of DEI efforts at every level (campus, college, department, etc.) and they all overlap and collaborate. The best way to find a DEI effort that you jive with is to get involved! The more you engage, the more you'll learn about other programs, clubs, and efforts around the university.

If you're in a STEM field, I recommend the organization STEM Routes, a program run by graduate students which predominantly serves low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented undergraduate students in STEM. If you're looking for something campus-wide, check out Diversify CU Now which brings together students, faculty, and staff to work towards institutional changes which better support diverse members of our campus community.

How would you define Diversity, Equity, and/or Inclusion?

I'm not sure the textbook definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion are too important beyond motivating work which contributes to a community that ensures the success of every individual. Enabling success is not controversial; accounting for diversity, equity, and inclusion in pursuit of enabling success means we must consider that success is achieved and ultimately manifests in unique ways and that each individual has the agency to define that success for themselves.

In other words, diversity acknowledges that every individual's definition of success, excellence, and happiness is unique. Equity ensures that resources are available to enable each individual to accomplish their goals and pursue their lifepath. Inclusion empowers each individual to identify and explore their definition of success and celebrates the many different ways success, excellence, and happiness can manifest.

Tell us a bit about the people and communities you have connected with during your DEI work.

There is no shortage of incredible people you meet doing this kind of work. I've met incredible individuals across the school through prospective student recruitment events, mentorship trainings, conferences and community meetings or forums, and more. The more I engage, the more I expand my network.

A potent epicenter of creative thinkers in the DEI space is the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), where I've never failed to find individuals so stoked to explore the nuance of normalized community practices and experiences. The BOLD Center (an inclusive community for underrepresented students in the College of Engineering) has been a home for me since 2014 when I began my undergraduate degree at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ. Today, it continues to be a trove of incredible student advocates and passionate engineers. My home base DEI community is STEM Routes, a graduate student-led organization which creates programming to help underrepresented students advance their STEM career. Beyond the event planning, STEM Routes is a supportive community of students—each with their unique obstacles and challenges in pursuit of a STEM career—who informally mentor one another. I've established some of my closest friendships through STEM Routes while contributing to serving as the mentor I wish I had.

Tell us a fun fact about you that is not related to your research, advocacy, or academics.

I'm obsessed with working on projects. I have about 16 hobbies that I keep up with on a regular basis. Typically, I'll finish a long day at school, working towards externally imposed deadlines, only to come home and work on my personal deadlines. Some of my hobbies include reading, painting, graphic design, skateboarding, studying foreign languages, and playing video games.

Oh, I also keep track of my projects with mini syllabi that I put together myself and manage in a digital planning app called Notion. I suppose I could list planning and tracking as an additional hobby of mine...

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

TJ Klune is a lovely author whose stories evoke all the warm, fuzzy feelings you want when you're curled up in front of a fireplace (real or virtual) with a hot drink in the coldest months of the year. But my favorite part of Klune's books are that he confronts modern-day issues, like systemic racism or death and grieving, in a contemporary fantasy world. Furthermore, Klune is queer himself and his stories include accurate, positive queer representation.

Most recently, I read Under the Whispering Door, a story which follows a recently deceased lawyer, whose ghost lingers around a tea shop until he is ready to cross over to whatever comes next. During his time at the tea shop, our protagonist lawyer reflects on the way he lived his life and pursues a more profound happiness with the people he meets at the tea shop in his few remaining weeks. This book explores grieving, death, nostalgia, love, and chaos in such a simple, achingly human way. Klune managed to describe experiences and emotions I wasn't able to put into words. I absolutely did not know how much I needed this book until I read it.

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