Chaitra Powell
"Making Understanding of Your Life’s Work"
Chaitra Powell was one of only five black students in her high school. At The University of Arizona, she experienced first-hand the value of an education in a diverse community.
“You start to know people outside of stereotypes,” she explains. “You realize that just because people look or talk a certain way doesn’t mean they’re going to fit some mold you have from TV.
Personally, I have learned more about the diverse world around me here than I could have at any other university. Every week I come across a movie, a guest lecture or a performance that I would like to see.”
Today, Chaitra recruits minority students to the UA, expanding the potential for that same kind of awakening. And even that experience has opened her eyes. “I never understood the dynamics of access to education for first-generation, low-income and minority students before—because that wasn’t me. Now I completely empathize, and it’s becoming my life’s work.
If students and employees from different backgrounds can believe that the UA is a destination where they can speak freely and know that their perspectives will be considered, then our university will be enriched by their presence.”
2007 alumna Chaitra Powell is currently pursuing a UA master’s in Information Resources and Library Science.
