Advocating inclusivity, brightening lives

By Martha Savage

Building bridges and fostering belonging are among the primary goals of Advocates for a Brighter Stonehill, a mentorship program run by Stonehill’s Office of Intercultural Affairs (OIA).  

“Truly, this is one of the most open and welcoming spaces I've ever found,” said Claudia Gonzalez ‘26, one of the co-coordinators of Advocates for a Brighter Stonehill (ABS), when talking about her experience in the program.  

ABS is composed of students with a diverse range of identities united by a passion for social justice and creating positive change on campus. 

“ABS leaders work very hard to create community… and engage across all differences. It is not a program that is just for one particular certain identity, it’s open to anybody who's interested in doing the work of bringing awareness to social justice issues,” said OIA director, Teddi Nguyen Lydon.   

Darcie Garcia, ‘26, the program's other co-coordinator, said that ABS has been one of the most formative and positive parts of her time at Stonehill.  

 “I come from New York City… so the culture and diversity over there compared to here is very different, and so I didn't see myself reflecting [at Stonehill] … it was like, I need a community, and I need people that look like me, and that's what ABS was offering me,” Gonzalez said.  

“It is a space for me on campus where this campus doesn't really actively make a space for me,” said ABS leader Vivian Chen.  

ABS leaders are prepared to run the Intercultural Experience Program for incoming freshmen (IXP) during a week-long training session at the end of the summer. During this week, the leaders bond with one another, engage in meaningful discussion, and create lasting memories, said the co-coordinators.  

At the start of the school year, freshmen who have opted-in to the IXP cohort attend two days of activities, games, and discussions run by ABS leaders. At the end of the two days, an ABS leader is paired with an incoming student, becoming their “big sibling” for the remainder of the year. 

Throughout the year, “big sibs” help their “little sib” with anything from registering for courses, to simple check-ins, to having meals or going shopping together. “It really feels like a big family,” said Chen. 

Gonzalez, Garcia, and Chen all said that the mentorship component of ABS is both meaningful and rewarding work.  

 It is “surreal now to know that I can be that same person for my ‘little sib’ as someone was for me four years ago,” said Chen.  

Gonzalez said getting to watch both herself and her peers grow and gain confidence through ABS is one aspect of the program she has appreciated most.  

While ABS is dedicated to raising underrepresented voices on our campus, it must be recognized that creating and engaging in these conversations is not the work of marginalized students alone.  

“There's value in having people from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different races, different everything. Because everyone has different lived experiences. And I feel like learning from those experiences is very, very meaningful… We might look the same, or we might have similar backgrounds, but we live different lives,” said Garcia.  

ABS welcomes all students and seeks to burst the social bubbles that isolate people on campus, said Nguyen Lydon.  

While recruitment for becoming an ABS leader in the upcoming school year recently closed, more opportunities will be available in the future, and there are countless ways to get involved and find support in OIA today, the leaders said.   

Those interested are encouraged to stop by the Office of Intercultural Affairs in Duffy 149, where there will undoubtedly be a welcoming face there to assure you that you do belong, and who can help connect you to your people, said Garcia, Gonzalez, and Nguyen Lydon.