By Casby Bias She is a counselor. She is a Diversity Coordinator at Marquette University's Counseling Center. And on Tuesdays, Angela Zapata takes on a different but just as challenging occupation: an instructor for a CommUNITY class. “Diversity is kind of a big umbrella for a lot of different things underneath it,” Zapata said. “I try to do a lot.” CommUNITY is a cross-cultural engagement housing opportunity in McCormick Hall. Selected freshmen come together and learn more about becoming social justice leaders within the society. Zapata prepares the students to be more comfortable expressing themselves toward other cultures and learn how to respond to bigoted information. Receiving a mention in the spring 2013 Diversity Committee newsletter, the social justice advocate smiled proudly as one of the program’s teachers. An aspiring activist must have a strong heart in order to pursue such a career in social justice. Zapata said that her interest started early thanks to her family’s backgrounds. On her dad’s side, a Mexican revolutionary fought exclusively for the rights of peasants and land. And on her mother’s side around the same time, Zapata had a three-time grandfather who started the first Mason union in Washington state. “My family in their own individual ways has tried to fight for equality,” she said. “It was either in social class or giving people opportunities that they didn’t have before.” With the stories of her family, and her parents encouraging her to stand up for herself, Zapata worked toward becoming the first person in her family to go to college and go to graduate school. She obtained a social justice leadership position within the process. “From an early age I can remember being helpful to other students,” the diversity counselor said. “[I was] really engaged in student leadership positions, and really tried to create opportunities for other people to feel engaged.” In college, Zapata said that diversity points filled into every educational opportunity she explored. The topic appeared through her women studies classes, professors and debates. “It all really helped me expand my understanding of different social identities; power, privilege, oppression and the psychological impact of those things,” she said. “It really set me up for being able to get the position like the one that I have where I can really do this work from a day to day basis.” With her passion and expertise, Zapata became prepared for what she would teach the CommUNITY students. She said that the first semester included educating students about stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination and privilege. “During the first semester we talk about the foundations that are important in social justice work,” She said. “So we understand issues about our own personal identity, where those come from and how those shape who we are.” Zapata described the second semester for the class as the “-ism’s.” “Last semester we looked at ageism and adultism and ableism,” Zapata said. “This semester we’re looking at racism, classism, sexism and heterosexism.” Techniques that Zapata uses in the class include telling her own personal stories related to social justice. She also uses a dialog-type technique in order to engage the students. “In diversity education and social justice education, what’s much more impactful is actually having real dialog and learning how to listen to others,” she said. “[You] share your own perspective and understand the other person’s perspective.” Through the class, the cross-cultural engagement instructor brings the Marquette community and the world closer together, Katalina Traxler, Zapata’s CommUNITY teaching assistant, said. As the semester winds down, Zapata looks forward to the final week’s conversation that she plans on discussing: allyship and advocacy. She said that she enjoyed opening up to her students and will continue to do so in the future. “We show our own vulnerability and emotions when things come up,” said Zapata. “Whether that’s anger, sadness or hurt feelings or happiness because emotionality is a real part of this process.”
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Meet Casby.A summer business intern at Harley-Davidson. Majoring in journalism with an entrepreneurship minor at Marquette University. WILL be known nationally as a powerful positive influence! ArchivesCategories |