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Survivor advocacy has been a lifelong passionateness for Fresno State postgraduate pupil Veronica Zarate Cortez, who has dedicated her world and idiosyncratic travel to supporting those affected by trauma.
“Since I was little, I ever wanted to bash thing to assistance people,” Zarate said. “The thought of knowing wherefore radical are the mode they are intrigued me.” Her passionateness for science took basal successful precocious school, with an aboriginal involvement inspired by characters similar Harley Quinn successful the Batman series. “I liked the conception of talking to idiosyncratic and helping them enactment done their experiences,” she said.
A Central Valley local, Zarate earned her bachelor’s grade successful psychology from Fresno State successful 2023, on with a certificate successful unfortunate services. She is present pursuing a master’s grade successful marriage, household and kid counseling.
Despite her aboriginal interest, Zarate faced taste barriers to pursuing her dreams. “In accepted Mexican culture, science isn’t truly talked about. My household thought it was strange, but I knew it was important,” she said.
A idiosyncratic acquisition during precocious schoolhouse shaped her vocation path, igniting her tendency to enactment survivors of trauma. “I felt alone, unheard and misunderstood,” she said, reflecting connected however therapy helped her heal. “By the clip I was successful college, I directed those emotions toward helping others heal the mode I did.”
Zarate’s world travel intensified her committedness to subsister advocacy. While completing her undergraduate degree, she earned a unfortunate services certificate and began volunteering astatine Fresno State’s Student Health and Counseling Center. This acquisition led to her relation arsenic a wellness coordinator and yet to her existent presumption arsenic a subsister advocacy services pupil coordinator.
Her enactment with the Survivor Advocacy squad introduced her to events similar Take Back the Night, a programme dedicated to lasting successful solidarity with survivors of intersexual assault, dating and home violence, and stalking. “I attended the lawsuit during my sophomore year, and it stuck with maine forever,” she said.
In outpouring 2024, Zarate and the Survivor Advocacy team, including Mindy Kates and Faviola Elicea, hosted an in-person Take Back the Night event, sharing stories of Indigenous communities and highlighting their experiences. “People header with trauma differently, particularly erstwhile it comes to intelligence health,” Zarate said. “I privation to punctual everyone that determination is nary cleanable unfortunate oregon a cleanable survivor.”
Zarate’s advocacy efforts were recognized erstwhile she was awarded the Achievement of Excellence successful Health and Wellness Award by the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management this year.
Her enactment includes originative outreach projects, similar acquisition displays successful the Memorial Garden and the “Red Zone” installation, which focuses connected raising consciousness astir intersexual battle connected assemblage campuses. She besides developed a sex-ed Loteria, a culturally applicable adaptation of Mexican bingo, to prosecute students successful learning astir intersexual wellness successful an approachable way. She did an creation assemblage called “Art Against Abuse” successful October 2023, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, for survivors and radical who person been affected.
“These topics are heavy,” she said. “You person to locomotion a good enactment betwixt educating radical astir their rights and enactment systems portion being mindful not to scare them.”
Zarate and the Survivor Advocacy squad volition big a tabling astatine the Wellness Wednesday lawsuit from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. connected Tuesday, Oct. 2, astatine the Memorial Fountain to admit Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The squad volition besides admit Purple Thursday connected Oct. 17, encouraging the field assemblage to deterioration purple successful enactment of survivors of violence.
“I’m arrogant of however acold I’ve come,” Zarate said. “I privation others to cognize they are profoundly valued, and I privation to proceed supporting them connected their healing journeys.”
Zarate took a infinitesimal to stock words of affirmation to students, unit oregon module who mightiness beryllium connected the obstruction astir getting the enactment they need. “Despite what you oregon others mightiness say, you bash person worth successful this world.”
Survivor advocator Mindy Kates emphasized the value of the team’s work. “We strive to make a civilization of safety, solidarity and enactment for each affected by violence,” Kates said. “Our services are confidential and dedicated to empowering survivors done advocacy, prevention and education.”
For much accusation astir Fresno State’s Survivor Advocacy program, sojourn https://studentaffairs.fresnostate.edu/survivoradvocate/index.html oregon telephone 559.278.6796.
(Written by Alexis Ford-Duncil, Health Communications and Promotion Specialist, Student Health and Counseling Center)
