WEBVTT

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It was September of 2011
when I sat in the yellow room

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with walls full of
college brochures and flyers.

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I sat in front of the computer

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while staff helped other students
in other parts of the room.

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I began to fill out the UC application

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and referred to a thick binder
I had in front of me.

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It had my transcripts, volunteer hours,
awards and test scores.

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As I fill everything out,

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I began to check all of the boxes
that pertain to me and my identities.

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While scrolling,

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I check the box for first generation
Chicano Latino, woman

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and my socioeconomic status.

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One thing I notice, though,

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is that my ability status
wasn't asked in that category.

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I started thinking about how schools
would find out about my disability.

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They had to find out somehow;
I need resources and guidance.

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I worried about how I would
navigate campus and live on my own.

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My diverse ability,

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a term used to embrace
talents and abilities

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rather than to highlight inabilities,

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was not recognized as a form of identity

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mainly because people simply view it

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as an unfortunate situation
that people go through.

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Although my other identities
were accounted for

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because of the boxes that I checked,

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I realized my other identity as a person
with a diverse ability was being ignored.

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It was in this moment when I realized

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that not all intersectionalities
are being accounted for,

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and in doing so, we prevent
certain people from thriving.

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To me, intersectionality
boils down to acknowledging

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all of the identities
that make up a person together

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rather than independently.

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Because of my identity
as a diversable person

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was not being accounted for,

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I had a lot of words of what my life
was going to look like

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for the next four years.

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Now, I'm not ignoring my other identities.

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I do identify

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as a first generation, low income,
Latina woman with a diverse ability.

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Today though, I'd like to share
with you my journey at UCI

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through my diverse ability

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and how much it has taught me

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about the importance
of acknowledging intersectionalities.

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My first year was
a roller coaster of emotions.

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I feared not having what it takes
to graduate from UCI

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because of my background
as a low income Latina,

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but nevertheless,
I try to make the best of it.

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I was also excited about starting my life.

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This excitement quickly turned into fear

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when I realized that I was having
a hard time navigating through campus.

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I had a hard time carrying
my tray with food at Commons,

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our dining hall,

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and the excruciating pain
I felt on my back when I did laundry

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made me want to drop out.

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The worst was when I would trip
on cracks on the floors,

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especially walking uphill,

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and the pain I felt on my knee
every time I would reopen the wound -

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it really made me want to drop out.

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Until that point,

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my disability had never gotten in the way
of anything that I wanted to accomplish.

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I never thought
I'd even make it into a UC,

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and now my standing was being jeopardized
because of my diverse ability.

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It wasn't until the organization
that I'm a member of back home,

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called Kid City Hope Place -

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which has nothing to do with helping
people with diverse abilities -

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was able to outreach to their networks

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and found a power scooter
that a family was willing to donate.

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This was the year I began advocating
for the diversable community,

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thanks to the help
of upperclassman mentors.

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It was because of them that I realized
the power of student voices,

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and I ended that year in hopeful terms
of what the future could bring.

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Now, despite the challenges
I faced my first year,

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my second year has actually been
the worst year of my undergraduate career.

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School at that point was very demanding,

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and I didn't realize I was experiencing
mental health problems

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until much later in the year.

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I was on academic probation,
and my living conditions were a challenge.

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I hated my daily commute
on my scooter to campus,

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which was approximately
one and a half miles,

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but when it was cold and raining,
that's when the struggle was real.

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Unfortunately, I couldn't
ride the shuttles

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because of the inaccessibility
with their ramps

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and the size of my power scooter

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being too big.

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It's through these struggles
that I became more aware of ableism,

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which is the way society is structured
to favor able-bodied people,

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therefore excluding
those with diverse abilities.

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Not only is it reflected
in our physical environment

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but also in our interactions
with those with diverse abilities.

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It's reflective in the way
people interact towards me.

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I had people joke around

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and ask me for a ride on my scooter
while commuting home,

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and it's remarks like these
that affected my whole week.

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I had a very hard time
pulling through that year.

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Before my third year even started,

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I had doubts of returning to UCI

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since I wasn't having
a favorable experience.

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I had a hard time finding affordable
and accessible housing.

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And when I was given my apartment,
it had a six-inch front doorstep.

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It basically served
as a wall for a wheelchair.

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Regardless of that,
I made it work and I returned.

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The first week,
while at an event at our gym,

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I had the pleasant experience of hearing
a girl riding the elevator with me

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as she questioned the existence
of an elevator at the gym,

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since, in her words, the point of the gym
was to workout and take the stairs.

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And I guess if you can't take the stairs,
you don't have the ability to work out.

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She said this all while
she was inside of the elevator

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while watching me in there with my crutch.

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At that point, I wonder
what helped me decide to return,

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and I realized it was
the community that I had here.

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It was with their help
that I began to see changes on campus.

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Together, we worked
on the Bus Love referendum

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that has increased the cart services
offered by the Disability Service Center.

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I've also been invited to give workshops
on ableism all throughout campus.

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I even auditioned
to give a TEDxUCIrvine talk,

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and we all know how that turned out.

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(Laughter)

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I still have some time here, though,

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and I know I can do more
for the diversable community.

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The strength I have to push through
with everything I experienced,

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I owe it all to my parents,

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who struggled to get me where I am.

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In fifth grade,

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I remember my mom struggling
to help me with my homework.

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If she couldn't help me
with my fifth grade homework,

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there was no way she'd be able
to help me with college preparation.

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She would go around
the whole neighborhood,

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looking for people to help me
with my math homework.

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Even though she was unable to help me,
that did not mean she didn't support me.

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My parents' support is what got me
through accepting myself

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in pushing forward with my education,

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support that I often
failed to see elsewhere.

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When I was younger,

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I also remember her
pushing my wheelchair down the street

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while taking my brother in a baby backpack

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to take the public bus every other day

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just so we could make it
to physical therapy appointments.

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Had she not done that,
I would have remained wheelchair bound.

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Despite the inner-city struggles
we were victims of,

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the lack of resources they were unaware of

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and their foreign concept
of higher education,

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the acceptance, hard work
and tenacity my parents showed

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is what pushed me to continue
through this very day.

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Living with a diverse ability has come
with its fair share of challenges,

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and the fact

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that I'm a first generation,
low income Latina

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also play a role

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in the experiences and struggles
I've gone throughout my life.

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These experiences and struggles
are not unique to who I am

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but also prevalent in the lives of people

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with diverse abilities
and intersectionalities.

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This is why we as a society
should recognize

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that all intersectionality
should be accounted for

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and not one more so than the other.

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I know at this point, perhaps some of you
may be feeling sorry for me

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and the struggles that I've endured,

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but feeling sorry
won't solve these issues.

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Awareness and advocacy are the key,

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from being considerate
of push buttons on the doors,

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saving seats in the edge of class
for people with diverse abilities,

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or if you want to go bigger,

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bringing awareness campaigns
to your campuses or workforce

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in order to create more inclusive spaces.

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Before I leave UCI,

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I hope to continue bringing
enough awareness about this

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to show that we need to increase
the number of people

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with diverse abilities in higher education

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and take into consideration

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of how intersectionalities
affect the members in our communities.

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One year ago, I was
on the brink of dropping out

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with the frustrations,

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helplessness and loneliness
that I felt through ableism.

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Now, I stand before you,
or in this case, sit before you,

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stronger than ever before,

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with the hopes of paving the bumps
and the cracks on the floors

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to provide a smoother ride
for future generations.

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Thank you.

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(Applause) (Cheers)