Being one of the first people in my family to go to college, it was really important for me to have a sense of community in the place that I worked. And it's really exciting to come to work every day and feel like there are people in my research lab in my department and throughout the institution who really value DEI work, and see it as such an important strength of our culture. And so when you apply to be here with us, you're surrounded by people who have that as a core value and what we think about.
We have a number of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including our "DEI Meet-and-Eats." So that's an opportunity for students to come together and we discuss a topic related to DEI then connect as a community. We also have coffee hours, and we have a monthly newsletter so that students can get updated on all the DEI activities that are taking place, learn more about heritage celebrations that are coming up, and be connected with resources as well.
We also offer one-on-one coaching. So that's an opportunity for students to work with someone who can help them with setting their goals and coming up with a plan to achieve those goals. So anything from support navigating relationships to support creating a plan for their academics, that's what coaching can provide. We have a number of student clubs and organizations.
Our Student Diversity Initiative hosts a number of events. We also have recess, which is our Latinx student organization. We have SQUAD which is our student queer association, and a number of other organizations. That's really an opportunity for students to get together as a community, learn more and have fun.
There's this infusion of DEI support and innovation in work that is going on that students can get involved in and benefit from. The Institute for Excellence in Health Equity is a really exciting resource and leader of DEI work at our institution. All of the research that's focused on substance use early childhood education, the food environment, other forms of health equity research targeting communities of color, it's all really rooted in this health equity lens that helps us create an environment that's more equitable for all.
