"I Am Chapman" Meet some of the students sharing their stories as the University undertakes diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Click on the photos below to read each student’s story. Photos by Nathan Worden ’13 (MBA ’15). To learn more about diversity and inclusion initiatives at Chapman, visit: https://www.chapman.edu/diversity/

SOHINI MUKHERJEE • Senior, English literature, psychology, University Honors Program • As an international student in the United States, I encounter many individuals who have certain expectations of me and my behavior; they expect me to be socially inept, a poor English speaker, or simply seek the company of other international students. However, at Chapman I have found a community that resists these biases and stereotypes, and allows me to be who I am. Chapman has also motivated me to be more active in promoting social equity, and I hope to do so by continuing social research. I also hope to design a class to explore theories of social justice.

LEON LUKIC • Junior, news and documentary, University Honors Program • I spent most of my life learning to leave places. I was born in Germany, grew up In Connecticut, and studied in Croatia. I spent enough time in each of these places to get comfortable, but I never revealed too much about myself. In coming to Chapman, that conflict continued. During Orientation, I found a table with a button that said Queer Bomb on it. This button was the start to a journey that led me to work in Cross-Cultural Engagement and also to serve as Campus Inclusion Chair for the Student Government Association. This is what I needed to understand that I could be fully myself, that I could show all of me, and still be accepted and loved by those around me.

LARA McKINLEY – Senior, sociology with social work emphasis, applied psychology minor • In 2010 I took my first class at Chapman – Medical Sociology with Dr. Roberta G. Lessor. I had 20 plus years as a civilian in the medical field and had served in the military for 15 years, including 9 months in Iraq as a combat medic with the Marines. Our class was in a Chapman building undergoing major remodeling. In class I heard banging above me that shook the whole room. It sounded like bombs going off and machine gun fire. I quietly pulled Dr. Lessor aside and told her that I had been diagnosed with PTSD and how the loud noises affected me. I really enjoyed her class, but I told her I would have to drop it because of the location and the stress. She suggested I wait and not drop. She said she understood my dilemma and was going to make some calls. The very next day our class received an email telling us our classroom had been changed. I was blown away; I felt like I was heard. And I didn’t drop the class.

SETH YUND • Senior, biological sciences• One of the most impactful classes I’ve taken has been Death, Self and Society, taught by Bernard McGrane. It looked at the phenomenon of death from many if not all angles and encouraged students to think about death in general, their own death, death of loved ones, and grief. This process required quite an extreme amount of objective observation of one’s self and empathetic consideration of others, including classmates’ sensitivities and the grief of your family in traumatic momentsof your life. It was here that I realized how little I knew, and how little I could know, of people’s subjective experiences associated with identity and perception of the world. This sparked a curiosity that caused me to join Active Minds and enter into dialogue with many people involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives.

CRISTINA AGUILAR • Senior, kinesiology • Being the first in my family to attend college, I didn’t know what to expect when I started at Chapman. The entire process of college was foreign and actually quite scary to me. Chapman’s Promising Futures program was and continues to be a group that has helped me develop in so many ways. This program has provided me with resources and, more important, I have met people who can serve as a support group. Diversity is present not only within the Promising Futures group, but all around campus. You meet people with different backgrounds and beliefs that oppose and sometimes make you question your own. Being around people with unique experiences encourages you to think about your own in a way you have not before.

"I Am Chapman" Meet some of the students sharing their stories as the University undertakes diversity and inclusion initiatives. Meet some of the students sharing their stories as the University undertakes diversity and inclusion initiatives.

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