2020 – Yazmin Baptiste

Yazmin Baptiste Major: Anthropology and Sociology Minor: Religious Studies Thesis Title: Respeta lo que no siembras

I think the “Lafayette ideal” must have a strong sense of how to embrace failure. My ability to excel in rigorous academic courses and a diverse set of extracurricular activities was because I allowed myself room for accountability and improvement. It has been through those failures that I have been able to carefully assess what is important to me and the resources at Lafayette that could help me succeed. I have been enormously grateful for the compassion and critique my professors, and fellow students have shown me. They gave me a strong sense of how to extend empathy and curate my vision for a sustainable and equitable future.

When I came in as a first‐year, I couldn’t locate my voice in the sea of all the other successful students at Lafayette. I felt insecure in comparison to all my peers because I thought I had to compete with them. However, somewhere between finding my confidence in Speech and Debate, becoming a team leader for two ASB trips, and confronting the complex power structures at Lafayette through the Mental Health Invisible Tour, I learned my peers are not my competition. Instead, they are my greatest allies, and through their wisdom and experiences, I have become confident in our abilities to confront our realities and re-imagine our collective futures.

If you look at my resume, you wouldn’t be able to understand how each activity I have done has helped me become the well‐rounded person I am today. But in short, my accomplishments taught me that I can become the immigration activist I want to be one day. Curating my sense of leadership at Lafayette has been one of my greatest struggles, but also has become one of my proudest attributes.

Other Information:
Academic Activity/Award 1:
Senior Thesis‐ Respeta Lo Que No Siembras|1|My thesis will be building off of work from scholars and activists that reject notions of citizenship and statehood and clarifies the centrality of borders to capitalism. My thesis is based on my work doing ethnographic work at the US‐Mexico border and clarifying the centrality of anti‐Blackness to the structure of oppression we see in border communities. It is also intimately tied with my background growing up in a Caribbean household with immigrant parents in New York City.
Academic Activity/Award 2:
Deans List|4|I have been on the Deans List for seven semesters
Academic Activity/Award 3:
Eastern Sociological Society Conference Session Winner|N/A|I received first place in my poster session for the clarity and creativity of my poster board about my senior thesis
Academic Activity/Award 4:
IES Global Citizen of the Year|1|The Global Citizen of the Year award recognizes a IES Abroad student who make a significant impact through philanthropic, academic, or personal efforts during their study abroad experience, and who also plan to continue their work after their time abroad. My award was based on my time studying abroad for a year in Morocco and Italy doing research about Italian detention centers, teaching immigrants English and transferring the skills I learned abroad on Lafayette’s campus.
Academic Activity/Award 5:
Posse Foundation Full Tuition Leadership Scholarship|4|The Posse model works for both students and college campuses and is rooted in the belief that a small, diverse group of talented students—a Posse— carefully selected and trained, can serve as a catalyst for individual and community development. Therefore, I was chosen to be one of the leaders of tomorrow to create inclusive broad‐based change.
Campus Service Activity /Award 1:
Speech and Debate Association|1|I was the 2017 Pennsylvania Poetry State Champ based on my performance on a poetry compilation about Black womanhood and hair.
Campus Service Activity /Award 2:
Gateway Career Services Externship Program|2|I externed at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and The Horticultural Society of New York on Rikers Island.
Campus Service Activity /Award 3:
Resident Advisor|2|Through my work as a Resident Advisor, I not only helped first‐years and sophomores create cohesive communities in residence halls, I also strove to assist my fellow RA’s. My sophomore year I facilitated talks with Public Safety to create more accountability and transparency in reporting systems to Public Safety leadership about officer conduct.
Campus Service Activity /Award 4:
Kaleidoscope|2|As a member of Kaleidoscope, I led and supported workshops on a variety of topics involving the Big 8. But my proudest accomplishment is making the Mental Health Invisible Tour which challenged how we show empathy to one another both interpersonally and through our campus institutions. The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Stitcher.
Campus Service Activity /Award 5:
Member of Equity Transformation and Accountability Board|1|Combining my knowledge and skills as a Resident Advisor, I worked with Public Safety to increase accountability and transparency in their department.
Community Service 1:
Jeremy Saxe Award|1|This prize is awarded annually to a senior who best exemplifies the ideals of academic achievement and intellectual curiosity, personal engagement in the community and a commitment to making the world a better place.
Community Service 2:
Alternative School Break Team Leader|2|When I first applied to ASB, I wasn’t accepted, but I deeply believed in the values and mission of the club, so I applied as a Team Leader. Thankfully in my two years as Team Leader I have been able to go to Texas and Arizona, leading trips about Restorative Justice and Immigration.
Special Interest Activity/Award 1:
The Business of Border Security|Spring 2019|This is the title of my independent research project I did in Italy. I think it encapsulates my passion for understanding how sovereignties work together to create integrated power structures that keep immigrants disempowered in the global community
Special Interest Activity/Award 2:
NYC Office of the Mayor Policy and Planning Intern|Summer 2019|This is one of my most recent internships that I did in the summer of 2019 which helped me develop an understanding of how city government works and how it can be used as a powerful tool to uplift my local communities in New York City.
Special Interest Activity/Award 3:
English Language Teacher at Foundation Orient Occident|Fall 2018|During my time abroad, I interned at Foundation Orient Occident as an English teacher. Through this experience meeting immigrants from across sub‐Saharan Africa, I deeply refined my strategy for engagement in volunteer experiences that critically evaluates voluntourism. I applied my skills from this internship in the ASB trip I led to Arizona.
Special Interest Activity/Award 4:
Office of U.S Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Immigration Caseworker|Summer 2018|Through this internship I was able to learn how immigration affects New York constituents. My internship took place during the Separation of Families and the Supreme Court decision upholding the Travel Ban. Because of the events during the summer, in tandem with my amazing team, I learned how state government impacts, and can transform, immigration processes.