![]() I met Marcela when I was doing an internship at CalPolyPomona in 2007-2008. We were both in the early stages of our student affairs careers. The beauty of this field is that you will run into someone you met when you were a "baby" professional at various conferences and you can still feel the same vibe that you did with them when your first met them! Marcela's path in higher ed is quite inspiring. As a PhD student she was also the Founding Director of the Middle Eastern Student Center at the University of California, Riverside. This center is the first of it's kind in the UC system and in California. Seeing her updates on Facebook, I would wonder how does she manage grad school life, work, and have fun? She somehow does it and does it well! For more a more detailed bio on Marcela you can check out her about.me. Follow Marcela on twitter @marcelaspeaks. You can also follow her UC Regents adventures on Marcela Ramirez - UC Student Regent Designate. I love her hashtag #RegencyRealness. She spits truth! Oblivious meets Marcela Ramirez ![]() Affiliations (arts org, fun things you do, etc) : Paint, Netflix, Hulu do those count as organizations? I'm part of professional organizations but that's work. Fun things would include cooking at home and trying out buzzfeed recipes while listening to my jams and dancing in the kitchen. What's the one word you are guilty of using too much? I have a series of words: race and racism, fighting white supremacist ideologies and taking down the patriarchal capitalist establishment. I say this multiple times throughout the day. I think about how race has shaped this country ALOT these days. I'm a PhD student so the nerd life is real. How did you end up doing what you are doing now? I got fed up of being in a low mid-level job and wanted to do more. I knew I could do so much more with continued training so I went back to school. While in the program I applied for the highest position in the land that a student leader could aspire to and I got it. I'm now Regent-Designate Ramirez and serve the people of California and represent over 260,000 students on the UC Board of Regents. Which member of the Wu-Tang Clan best describes your personality? Ok so I know some of their songs but have no idea what their personalities are like. I must have missed the fanfare growing up. I mostly listened to Spanish music and had my own rock, pop and rap all stars. Consciousness raising Spanish rock is my kind of music. Dogs or Cats, who wins? Why? I'm allergic to cats so maybe dogs but only small ones. I don't like to clean up after them and overall I'm not a pet person. I know I'm breaking people's hearts right now. What is the best part of any given day for you? Sleeping in whenever possible and lazy Sunday's. I thoroughly enjoy slow mornings with a cup of coffee and the latest Facebook news updates. I follow a lot of news organizations, culture critics, and national movements or campaigns across this country. I like to be informed and know what is going on in my world. I have been writing and journaling a lot more so that's been fun. In a zombie apocalypse who would you want on your survival team? The Rock, A sniper, A bomb maker, A scientist and my Girlfriend What is the last thing you searched for on google? Janet Jackson songs If you could talk to your high school self, what would say? Don't be afraid. Don't doubt yourself. You are smart. Keep investing in your learning and you will make it to the top. Stay creative and stay engaged with your academics. It will pay off in the future. Don't listen to the haters, ha! Listen to grandma and grandpa and hang out with them as much as possible. What is the best thing or meal you ever ate? Pretty much anything ever made by grandma. The most complex and simplest things cooked by her hand are so tasty. What is a memorable project that you are working on or have worked on? I like to paint and recycle wood for pallet projects. I have a pallet coat and purse rack hanging in living room. I'm working my way towards pallet patio furniture.
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![]() Audrey is one of my favorite cat people. I am always envious of cat people because I am deathly allergic to cats and cannot have one. I would be the bestest cat lady too. Audrey also is an amazing bread maker. They make awesome breads. If I had a bajillion dollars I would have a bakery in my home. I would have my own bread maker on staff. It would be carbolicious. When Audrey isn't baking bread or herding cats. Audrey is also a writer who writes at audreykuo.wordpress.com. Audrey is also a community organizer who can help you raise money if your organization needs money. Besides baking bread and writing, Audrey also has a talent for holding animals, both baby animals and adult animals. That is a super awesome talent as well. Enjoy this Oblivious Interview! Oblivious meets Audrey Kuo Name(s) Audrey Kuo (they/them) Affiliations (arts org, fun things you do, etc): I'm a community organizer who also performs poetry, writes fiction, and bakes bread. What's the one word you are guilty of using too much? I've noticed that I use the word "anchor" very often in my poetry (in relation to writing about oceans, love, diaspora, finding roots). I'm also hesitant to draw attention to it, but anchor anchor anchor. How did you end up doing what you are doing now? I write because I need to. Baking bread was a long-time aspiration, dough I really got started after my friend Narinda shared sourdough starter with me. Community organizing came out of always wanting to build connections between people and finding ways for us to share our resources and wisdom and pain and healing and growth. Which member of the Wu-Tang Clan best describes your personality? I've always been fond of Method Man, but I don't know if he describes my personality, per se. Dogs or Cats, who wins? Why? In, like, a fight? I think cats are more likely to fight dirty and might edge out dogs. In a cuddling competition? I'd say dogs in general win. Personally, I'm a big fan of both, so I'd say with dogs and cats, everyone wins. What is the best part of any given day for you? I grumble and whine about it a lot, but any day when I make time to write, that's the best part of the day. Writing gives me space to process and keeps me grounded, whether it's poetry, fiction, or journaling. (I feel the same about preparing food and eating with folks I love, but I definitely need the balance of making personal time for myself with a journal or my laptop.) In a zombie apocalypse who would you want on your survival team? I have been community asset mapping my apocalypse survival team for the past year or so. It's not zombie-specific, but it involves figuring out who is able to live off the land and who is willing to use weapons to defend a community. I'd say it's a very Octavia Butler-influenced vision. I won't name names (in case the zombies are tech savvy and want to start picking people off), but I am making a mental Rolodex of healers, street medics, teachers, and community gardeners. My ideal apocalypse survival community would bring together a lot of QTPOC artist/organizers who are cognizant of each other's access needs, invested in creating and eating good food, and committed to personal and community accountability. What is the last thing you searched for on google? "miss major fundraiser" -- I was going to make a list of donation links for folks who are boycotting that ciswashed, white-washed "Stonewall" movie, but there's already a good list at the bottom of this Autostraddle interview. If you could talk to your high school self, what would say?
"Hahaha, you're so queer!" And then after laughing some more, probably, "Don't worry, everything will make more sense once you figure that out. Also, you need to start decolonizing your reading and learning, here's a list of books." What is the best thing or meal you ever ate? I went to a six-course Co+Lab dinner hosted by Melissa King, fundraising for La Cocina. Other than Kristen Kish, the dinner featured basically all of my favorite Top Chefs (Melissa, Nyehsa Arrington, Shirley Chung, and Mei Lin). It was like my Disneyland! Every dish was pretty much incredible and OMG, Nyesha made this kimchi sea salt that I wish I could put on everything. Plus, I could see into the kitchen from where I was sitting, and it was all these badass Asian women chefs working together. They stuck around to talk to all the diners, and they were clearly so supportive of each other. And Melissa's mom was there telling everyone she was proud of them! What is a memorable project that you are working on or have worked on? I put together first draft, second chances, a chapbook of love poems in 2011. Currently, I should be but am not editing a chapbook of flash fiction called unmarked boxes. My goal is to get that out by the end of the year. I'm also really excited to be working on Hey, Can I Hold That? a coffee table book I'm making for myself featuring me holding baby animals. So far, I've held a lot of human babies and cats, plus three baby goats, so if anyone out there has some puppies or access to other baby animals, please let me know! |
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