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Omar Alani (’22)

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On November 21, 2019

In Student Group, Student Highlight

For our Student Highlight this week, we interviewed Omar Alani (he/him/his), a sophomore from Malden, Massachusetts concentrating in Neuroscience. Read more below:

How are you? How’s your year going so far?
I’m doing well! This is a little different. I had surgery in August on my vocal cords to remove a cyst and since then I have been instructed not to talk. It’s genuinely a unique experience for me. Communication is much more difficult, but taking ASL this semester has taught me new ways of communication which is really fun. I’ve learned to listen more this year, something everyone should be actively practicing. That’s the only way we can learn what our family, friends, communities, etc. need. Listening to ourselves is just as important to know who we are, what our strengths are, where we can improve, to know how we can support those around us.

What does it mean to you to be UFLi?
To be UFLi means to be part of a community that uplifts one another to raise our voices and make sure we are heard. Although we may come from similar backgrounds we all have a unique story and being part of the UFLi center means our stories are heard and celebrated making us feel comfortable and welcome.

Can you tell me a bit about what you’re involved with on campus? Why are you involved with those communities?
I am involved with BRYTE, QuestBridge, PALs through Bonner, and the Muslim Student Association. I am involved with each organization because each community holds a marginalized identity where their voices are almost never heard.

Being Syrian myself and witnessing the direct effect the Syrian Crisis had on my family led me to join BRYTE to tutor refugee youth and empower them to have the ambition to use their voice.

As a QuestBridge Scholar, I understand that the voices of the low-income community are not represented enough in today’s world so I became involved to empower students like me to advocate for their rights and feel welcome in places they may have never imagined themselves to be, like Brown University. 

I work with PALs as a tutor for disabled adults because they deserve the same attention and happiness everyone else enjoys in the world and by spending quality, intimate time with them, one can truly bring positive change into their lives.

Working as in intern with the chaplain of the MSA I try to make the muslim community at Brown more diverse and inclusive to bring about different perspectives and ideas that otherwise may never been heard. In doing so, I hope to create a stronger community that empowers one another to again speak up and talk about issues that muslims face in our communities so that we can work together to solve these issues.

What community has been most influential in making Providence feel like home?
Going to my BRYTE family’s house makes me feel like I’m at home. Being able to speak arabic to my BRYTE family and share dinner with them reminded of my family. The smell of the house, the food, the people, everything reminds me of home. These refugee families that welcome us into their homes so openly and so warmly that it would make anyone feel at home.

Favorite memory at Brown?
My favorite memory at Brown would have to be when my friends surprised me with Celtics tickets on my birthday. They took me to the mall first to get me a Celtics shirt then drove me up to the game. After the game, we went out for burgers. This meant a lot to me because I never celebrated my birthday like that before. I’ll always remember that day.

Advice you’d give your freshman year self?
Do what you love and what you’re interested in because that’s the best time to explore and understand who you are as a person. Through exploration, we discover our true motivations, ambitions, and surround ourselves with the right people where everyone’s growth is mutually supported.

Santi Hernandez (’21)

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On November 21, 2019

In Student Group, Student Highlight

This week, we interviewed Santi Hernandez (they/them), a junior from Los Angeles, CA, for our weekly student highlight series. Hernandez is concentrating in Public Health & Ethnic Studies. They are involved with the Queer Alliance (QA), Nurturing Alignment through the Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC), The Next Thing (TNT), and Bonner Community Fellows through the Swearer Center. Read more below:

How’s your semester so far?
Where do I even start? I think this semester, I don’t know what about it, but I’ve been reflecting a lot and reevaluating, especially because I’ve hit the halfway mark of Brown. I’ve kind of gotten into a half-college-crisis of what I’ve done these past few years, how I’ve grown these past few years, and what I want to accomplish in the rest of my time here. So it’s really daunting to think about but I think it’s forced me to reevaluate how I want to spend the rest of my time here and how I want to be present.

What are you most excited for this semester?
I’m really excited for two things: The Next Thing, which we call TNT, and Nurturing Alignment. Aquielle, the other TNT coordinator, has been putting in a lot of work to really build up the community of queer and trans people of color on campus and to make our presence visible. I’m really excited to support her in that. For me, my role is more of support because Aquielle is really taking on the work of planning meetings and holding space, whether it’s just to build community and make ourselves known and seen and really affirming each other.

For Nurturing Alignment, they’re focusing on specific skills that are applicable. We’re putting into practice making practical tools that you can use whether in this community or through skill building workshops. One that’s coming up is on how to build boundaries. Others we’re exploring are how to address harm, how to get more in tune with your body and with your emotions.

Favorite memory at Brown?
I think I’ve had this moment with a lot of people, but it’s been the one on one conversations that have really been an a-ha moment. That’s the best way I can explain it – kind of like an epiphany. Those one on one conversations where I learned something about myself and learned something about another person. I feel like those talks have especially shaped the way that I move around at Brown. I think I’m not a person that thrives in big groups, so I would say it’s not one favorite memory because right now I can think to a couple people that I talked to that have really changed my perception in some way.

Advice you’d give your freshman year self?
Oof — I feel like if I’m giving real advice, it might be something along the lines of, things are going to be shitty and the transition is going to be ugly but know that all these obstacles are going to help you grow in the long run. Most of all, be gentle with yourself. I think that’s something I’ve been telling all my friends when I give advice. I say you have to be gentle with yourself. Treat yourself the way you treat other people. I find I’m more hard on myself so take things day by day, week by week.

I think if I had just been patient, not rushing growth, I think I could have been in a much better headspace. I think that would be my overarching advice: don’t rush growth. 

Agnes Tran (’22)

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On November 21, 2019

In FLiSP Scholars, Student Group, Student Highlight

We’re excited to share we’ll be continuing U-FLi student highlights into the new academic year! For our first highlight of the semester, we interviewed Agnes Tran (she/her/hers), a sophomore from Covina, CA. Tran is considering Public Policy/Econ or International and Public Affairs as her concentration. She is also a member of IMPULSE Dance Company, Vietnamese Students Association, and a writer for Visions Magazine. She’s also looking to interview UFLi students as her project for the Storytellers for Good Fellowship. Read more below:

How are you? How’s your semester so far?
I’m good. I think it’s been pretty good. Mainly getting into the groove of doing school work after a summer of not reading. This summer, I interned at a multimedia journalism company in Vietnam. About 90% of my time was spent translating articles into English. I can’t read Vietnamese so I spent a lot of time on Google Translate.

Can you tell me a bit about what you’re involved with here at Brown?
On campus, I’m part of IMPULSE Dance Company so I dance a lot with them. I’m also on the academic proposal team for the Southeast Asian Studies Initiative and part of the Vietnamese Students Association. Sometimes I write for Visions Magazine. 

This year, I’m on the board for IMPULSE. I’m the Community Chair. Technically I’m in charge of workshops so I thought I should try to lead some of them. Last Saturday was my first time doing it. It was very scary but probably one of the most memorable things I’ve done at Brown so far.

Why did you audition for IMPULSE?
I saw IMPULSE before ADOCH and I really remember thinking this is the kind of school I want to go to. In auditions, I came in with the mindset that it was a workshop so I wouldn’t be too stressed about it.

I heard you’re also working on a storytelling project. Can you tell me more about it?
Students are able to apply through the Swearer Center with project ideas so mine was talking about first-gen low-income narratives at Brown or other elite institutions. It’s a year long project. You can write, make a podcast, use photography, or video.

I really like writing and I wanted to use storytelling as a venue for social change and policy. I feel like a lot of students at Brown aren’t familiar with FLi narratives so maybe this would help bridge the gap between those two groups.

I’m looking for anyone who’s interested in sharing stories. If anyone has any experiences they’d be comfortable sharing, I’d love to talk them.

What does it mean to you to be UFLi?
I think it means being resilient and resourceful. Being a part of two worlds and knowing how to navigate that. I think a lot of it is remembering who helped you get here, why you’re still here, and the people in your life that have shaped you for the better – and for me it’s family.

Lastly, advice you’d give your freshman year self?
You’re not going to be a neuroscientist – or anything related to STEM. You need to breathe because you still have 3 years to figure things out.

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