No Stigma, No Shame— Just Schooling

Sure values education because she understands the challenges and obstacles her parents overcame as immigrants to receive an education and strongly believes education can help individuals like herself from disadvantaged backgrounds overcome barriers and achieve their goals. Last year, Sure committed her spring semester and summer to coordinate a college readiness summer program for first-generation, low-income high-school students. This program deepened Sure’s interest in education and her passion for social justice within the education system. She took EDUC 304: Race, Class, and Gender in Education and learned how each identity and how they intersected affected students and their futures. Following the recent news concerning reproductive healthcare rights and academic censorship within public K-12 schools, Sure is eager to further her knowledge on the issue of the lack of a substantial Sex-Ed curriculum within K-12 schools. 

Manna inherited her great value for education from an early age. Her mom has worked in education her whole life and has always said that she gets up every morning to help children achieve a better life for themselves. Because of this, Manna believes that learning proceeds empowerment, and K-12 education is integral to creating a foundation for a child to build advocacy for themselves. Alongside this belief, Manna has devoted herself to reproductive rights advocacy through participation in the CCL's ASB: "Mind the Gender Gap," in doing summer research on abortion policy in Texas, and by serving as this year's Director of Advocacy for Planned Parenthood Generation Action @ Rice. She has made it her goal to advance reproductive advocacy on campus and generate a productive dialogue aimed at normalizing language around reproductive issues between Rice students and the greater community.