Fellow:Youma Diabira
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Bio
Xavier University Junior, Youma Diabira, is an activist, community organizer, and educator. She is currently studying English Education and is on a path to becoming a lifelong educator. Her advocacy work and commitment to advancing equity began while she was in high school in her hometown of Philadelphia, and she continues her activism locally in New Orleans. In Philadelphia, she aided in the formation of her school's equity and inclusion office. She is also the co-founder of the Philadelphia Black Student Alliance, which builds and unites Black student unions in the greater Philadelphia area. She was recognized for her work in Philadelphia by being awarded the Princeton Prize in Race Relations.
Youma has served as a community organizer with UrbEd, where she worked to amplify students' voices in the Philadelphia School District. Currently she is a second year fellow for the Next Generation Leadership Institute. In this role, she has held voting events, distributed reproductive health products, and advocated for the first ever condom distribution program on Xavier's campus. This fellowship has aided in the formation of a student-led Emergency Contraceptive dispensary for students on her campus. On Xavier's campus, Youma serves as the Student Government Association Deputy Chief of Staff, a sexual assault peer health educator, and a site-leader, along with various organizational memberships.
In addition to her recent work in reproductive justice and on campus, she is an emerging educator. She has served as a STEM NOLA educator, completed a Summer 2022 teaching fellowship with Breakthrough Birmingham, and served as a teaching assistant at The University of Ghana Basic School for 1st grade. She looks forward to combining her passion for education and community organizing by pursuing a a career in secondary and higher education post graduation.
Achievements
2023-2024 HBCU White House Scholar 2023 M.A.X. Community Impact Awardee 2023 "Young, Gifted, & XU" Awardee 2023 Women Empowering Nations x Cantu Beauty GLOW Global Cohort Member 2023 Women of Xavier Leader of the Year 2023 Council of the Year Awardee 2023 Educational Testing Services HBCU Presidential Scholarship Recipient 2022-2025 McNair Scholar 2022 Truman Capote Creative Writing Awardee 2022 NSLS Honor Society Inductee 2020 Scholastic Arts & Writing Silver Key Award 2021 Princeton Prize in Race Relations Certificate of Achievement 2021 Central High School (Philadelphia) Disharoon Award Recipient
Social media profiles
www.linkedin.com/in/youmadiabira
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