MLK Spotlight - Christina: Summer research on Chinese adoptee experiences

Christina is a junior majoring in English with a minor in Technical Communication. This post is part of the MLK Spotlight, a regular feature on our blog. The goal is to highlight MLK student (or staff) stories, experiences, and perspectives. Have something you'd like to share? Send an email to mlkdesk@umn.edu, or ask your adviser!

Christina at the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium.

My name is Christina Leighton, and I am part of the MLK Program. This last summer, I had an amazing opportunity to research through the Multicultural Summer Research Opportunity Program (MSROP) at the University of Minnesota. I would encourage anyone who is interested in research and or graduate school to look into this program for summer 2014! 

My research, “Complex Identities and Relationships: Four Documentaries on the Chinese Adoptee Experience," discussed common issues that Chinese adoptees in America face within three important relationships: birthparents, adoptive parents, and peers and community. I chose four documentaries, out of eleven, in order to analyze similarities and differences of Chinese adoptees and their families. Issues with identity, culture, history, and coping were prevalent in all the documentaries. The research was presented at the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium on campus and within a final research paper for the program. 

MLK Spotlight - Mali: Reflecting on my summer publishing internship

Mali is a senior in MLK, majoring in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature with a minor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. This post is part of the MLK Spotlight, a regular feature on our blog. The goal is to highlight MLK student (or staff) stories, experiences, and perspectives. Have something you'd like to share? Send an email to mlkdesk@umn.edu, or ask your adviser!

Mali's experience this summer as an Editorial Assistant intern with Free Spirit Publishing gets her one step closer to academic and career goals.

As I approach graduation, my focus for my last months of school turns toward gaining valuable work experience. Throughout this year I worked as a Special Projects Assistant Intern at the Tubman Center for Women and an Editorial Assistant Intern at Free Spirit Publishing this summer. My internship at Free Spirit has been particularly special because it is aligned with my career and academic goals, and accompanies my award of the CLA Internship Scholarship to help with summer expenses during my duration at the company.

Being a CLA student, my academics are strongly interdisciplinary; and therefore, my career goals are as well. I initially sought out an internship in publishing because I wanted to gain more literary and writing experience–experience I know will be essential to a successful graduate and undergraduate career. Having experience through the Multicultural Family Literacy Program, I also had worked with children. The synthesis of my work experience and career goals rendered an interest in children’s literature. The Twin Cities are a great place to pursue work in publishing, but there are few that focus on children’s literature. I found my internship by Internet research of children’s publishing companies in Minnesota. After many phone calls and persistence, I was asked to discuss an internship position in their in-progress internship program.

At Free Spirit I work with book manuscripts and collaborate with other departments within the company to complete small tasks essential to publishing a book. This internship has been extremely multi-faceted and informational. Before beginning my stint, I aimed firstly to see if publishing was what I hoped to pursue; and secondly, to understand the publishing process and the breadth of duties that editorial work requires. As my internship comes to a close, I am sure that I have achieved these goals and gained invaluable work experience.

After attending graduate school and obtaining my Ph.D., I hope to either teach or help manage an academic press or journal. This step–interning at Free Spirit–is a small, but crucial motion towards achieving my academic and career goals. My internship was made possible through funding by the CLA Internship Scholarship, something that I encourage all MLK students to apply for, as it provided essential financial support during my stint, as well as activities that helped intellectually and personally enhance my experience. Internships are a crucial point in the transition from school to work, and I encourage everyone to find and pursue them, even if you’re unsure of the field. They provide valuable work experience that will make you a competitive candidate for the work force, as well as enrich you with experiences that cannot be found in the classroom.

The deadline for the fall 2013 CLA Internship Scholarship is on Wednesday, September 25. For more details and to apply, click here.

MLK Spotlight - Alejandro: Summer Dental Program

This post is part of the MLK Spotlight, a regular feature on our blog. The goal is to highlight MLK student (or staff) stories, experiences, and perspectives. Have something you'd like to share? Send an email to mlkdesk@umn.edu, or ask your adviser!

As part of the Summer Dental Program, students have the opportunity to do research and present their findings. Alejandro, along with is research partner, presented on Educating Low-Income Children on the Importance of Oral Health.

My name is Alejandro Cisneros. I am currently a rising junior at the University of Minnesota. Being in the College of Liberal Arts, and more specifically the Martin Luther King Jr. program, I have been presented with many opportunities to develop as a student. My major in psychology was chosen because I hope to learn more about myself so that I can grow as a person and learn more about my peers to help understand them. I have competed at the Big Ten Championships on the University of Minnesota's Swim and Dive team for two years.

I chose to apply for the Summer Dental Program because I have had the dream of becoming a dentist for over five years. This program offered a five-week exposure to the field of dentistry and opportunities to immerse myself in it.

Through the program we were educated about health disparities. Learning about the differences in care throughout Minnesota alone was very overwhelming. I also gained valuable experiences in the advanced simulation lab. Being able to pick up a hand piece and actually work in a mannequin's fake jaw was exhilarating. Using the actual tools helped inspire me to keep pursuing my goal.

If I were to give advice to anyone looking for programs like this or even this specific program, I would say to try. Initially, I was not going to sign up because I was worried that I wasn't going to meet some of the qualifications they were looking for. But even though I didn't meet all of the suggested qualifications, they still accepted me. After talking with other students in the program, I learned that there were many other students in my situation that felt they were not going to get accepted but ended up being admitted. You will not be accepted into something you do not try to apply for, so it does not hurt to try.

MLK Spotlight - Gabriela: Welcome to our newest adviser!

This post is part of the MLK Spotlight, a regular feature on our blog. The goal is to highlight MLK student (or staff) stories, experiences, and perspectives. Have something you'd like to share? Send an email to mlkdesk@umn.edu, or ask your adviser! 

Gabriela grew up in Nipomo, California, a small historic rural town in California's central coast. She has a B.A. in Political Science and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from Stanford University, and an M.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies from U.C. Berkeley. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Comparative Ethnic Studies at U.C. Berkeley. Before joining the Martin Luther King, Jr. Program, she taught in the Department of Ethnic Studies at U.C. Berkeley and in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University. Gabriela's advising style focuses on empowering students with knowledge about university resources while personalizing the advising experience to each student' unique talents and needs.

Gabriela enjoys exploring Minnesota's numerous lakes with her husband, Chester, and their shih-tzhu, Britney (Spears). She also enjoys cooking, watching documentary crime shows, writing poetry, spending time with her cat, and traveling to California to visit with her parents and siblings.