I reduce inequalities in my everyday actions by actively engaging and collaborating with impacted communities and recognizing the critical role they play in ensuring that social change is sustainable. By directly working with community members, I am able to learn from their diverse perspectives and ensure the actions we take are appropriate.. As a member of the RISE for Health and Wellness program, I develop summer learning sessions for immigrant and refugee youth. We work directly with the youth to ensure our learning curriculum addresses the challenges they have identified and experienced. In this way, we are able to create an inclusive and meaningful learning experience and ultimately empower youth to become active leaders in their communities

I believe that we need to continue encouraging more collaborative opportunities at both a local and global level. With collaboration, we are able to foster collective social change that ensures everyone’s voices are heard. We should strive to develop and maintain collaborations in which everyone is treated with dignity and compassion, particularly marginalized communities. Meaningful social change cannot occur without it being inclusive and fair. Working together fosters empathy, as it becomes clear how many issues, local and global,  affect us all in some way.