Leadership

Leadership is an extremely broad term. I think my parents are leaders; they’re the leaders of my family. My professors have all been leaders to me, my friends are leaders. But in terms of academic leaders, I love the work of Kimberle Crenshaw. She is one of the founders of Critical Race Theory and I have really adhered to critical theory when examining societal issues and I think that Critical Race Theory is a way forward. I also think calling out race for what it is (a social construct) is extremely important in dismantling the systemic racism in our country. Professor Crenshaw coined the terms intersectionality and CRT, which are very important in examining the problems in political systems and how to fix and dismantle racist systems. She and her other colleagues who coined the term CRT in the 80s are still working on it and many law schools have adopted it as a curriculum or added it as a part of their teachings.

I am writing my Human Rights Capstone on the opinions of the Conservative Right on Critical Race Theory. I feel that those in the conservative right who are in the news opposing the teachings of Critical Race Theory are simply uncomfortable with it because it dismantles the system, therefore they would (in an ideal world) have no privilege. They do not care for human rights and try to hide it with claims that CRT is divisive. Teaching about the division created by colonialism and slavery is not divisive: it is just addressing the divisive systems of oppressions that already exist. I am very excited to pursue this capstone paper because I hope to pursue CRT in law school. Let me know what you think about CRT if you have any opinions!

How I Make Change in My Community

“Making change” is something that has been so important to me since I was little, but with my imposter syndrome, I don’t really feel like I am making change sometimes. I remind myself that making a change can be something so little. I have these grand dreams of me being a Supreme Court Justice and end all systemic problems, but I make change in my community every day. I have focused my life around public service work, which is a more obvious way I make a change in my community. I am currently doing an outreach internship with the League of Women Voters NYC where I am trying to get more Hunter students registered and more knowledgeable about voting and more likely to vote. I love this because so many people don’t see how important voting is to them, but if we increase turnout numbers, it could change history in the same way Georgia changed history in the runoff elections. I also have a social media campaign where I create easily-digestible infographics with voting information to try to inundate my followers. I also volunteer at an immigration law firm and help with pro bono cases. But depending on what you mean by your community, how you make “change” could mean anything. For example, I make a change in my work community by being positive. That has an effect on the staff, and thus is a change in my community. Being a good friend, being a good person in general reflects being someone who makes a change. Even little things, like when I got 7 new Hunter students registered to vote all by myself, are how change gets made. Change needs to happen on every level, on the small and large scales. Spouting my ideas and what I learn in my classes to everyone I know makes a change in my community; it makes the people around me more educated on issues relating to human rights. Having an open mind could be said to make a change, but it all depends on what you consider a change. For me, I think the little things matter just as much!!

Baking

Baking

Saying that I am an expert in anything seems to be a bit of a stretch. However, the first thing my roommates said when I asked them what they’d consider me an expert on is baking. My earliest childhood memories consist of my mom teaching me how to make banana bread and homemade chocolate chip cookies. My mom has been baking for as long as I can remember and is known by friends as the best chocolate chip cookie maker ever. Her teachings have turned me into 1. Someone who needs to have dessert after every meal and 2. Someone who (constantly) bakes for their roommates.

I would consider chocolate chip cookies one of my areas of expertise. My mom and I buy giant 5-pound bags of chocolate chips every few months if that gives you anything to judge by. Despite my use of the recipe on the bag of Nestle chocolate chips, I have a few tricks to make the best chocolate chip cookies (and the link to the recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/174864/original-nestle-toll-house-chocolate-chip-cookies/)

  1. Start with room temp butter and save yourself the trouble of trying to beat cold butter (or put it in the microwave for 10 seconds)
  2. Make sure when adding each ingredient, it is fully incorporated into the dough before continuing to mix (add the eggs one by one, the dry ingredients little by little), which will make for a more cohesive dough
  3. Add walnuts for a crunch! Walnuts make every cookie better
  4. Don’t skimp on the chocolate chips.

And now, the banana bread pro tips: (I use the Fanny Farmer cookbook recipe)

  1. Use the ripest bananas you can (I let mine get super brown because it brings out the sugars in the banana)
  2. Mash bananas with a potato masher
  3. Beat your eggs until they are fluffy!!!!
  4. Add some kind of nut
  5. Serve with coffee