Agents of Change
The Agents of Change department raises awareness and education on racism, discrimination and oppressive practices on campus while hosting programs and activities to amplify the voices of all students belonging to equity deserving groups at Brescia. While working closely with Brescia's Special Advisor to President, Diversity and Inclusion, Lissette Ochoa, three student executives, Nivedita Varagunan, Birabwa Serumaga, and Tala Nairoukh look at addressing important issues affecting purposly marginalized populations in order to create a more inclusive environment.
Since July of 2020, there have been over 20 forms of programming developed at Brescia including Check your Privilege workshops and an EDID book club for community learning.
The Agents of Change department and its programs is a safe space for learning, raising
awareness and initiating solutions in order to build a more equitable world.
Meet the Agents of Change Leads
Birabwa Serumaga
Bebe is a third year student at Brescia in the Psychology program. Moving from Kampala,
Uganda to London, Ontario, Canada in grade 9
posed a bit of a culture shock for me. Especially since Kampala was
quite diverse and London was not. Having experienced microaggressions (along with
many BIPOC
individuals) from fellow student and staff members during both
highschool and postsecondary institutions. Since then, I always wanted
to be a part of a movement/initiative to not only support BIPOC
individuals, but also help raise awareness and educate those who are
unaware of such acts.
Nivedita “Nivi” Varagunan
Nivi Varagunan is going into her second year at Brescia in the Foods and Nutrition program.
Having not grown up in a diverse community has driven Nivi’s passion for racial equality and diversity. When Nivi came to Brescia, she made a commitment to herself to build up courage to use her voice and make a positive change to increase diversity in her community. In her first year, Nivi joined Student Council which “helped with my confidence because I was given opportunities to have my voice heard and be in a position where I could make active change.”
Because of the recent events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, Nivi realized she needed to help. This is why she was honoured to become one of the leads for Brescia’s Agents of Change. She feels it is so important to create leadership opportunities for diverse individuals as well as create a safe space for diverse individuals.
Nivi was proud of her idea to hold the recent Check Your Privilege workshop because it opened up conversations among students. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing: “The workshop was a bit rocky as there were some offensive or sensitive aspects that were not taken into consideration, but we are not going to let this discourage us from hosting future sessions.” The Agents of Change leads are going to use the feedback and suggestions from attendees to further enhance this learning experience for others in the future.
Nivi shares, “I am excited to have a part in the future of Brescia and work towards an inclusive and diverse environment for everyone!”
Tala Nairoukh
My name is Tala Nairoukh and I am studying Psychology at Brescia! Being an executive member of Agents Of Change under the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization has been very important throughout my university journey. I have gained knowledge in diverse ways throughcultural competency, Anti- Racism training, internalized racism, etc. Agents Of Change enables students to gain research and practical based experience in various topics related to EDID.