story by Aaron Moeller, Vice President of NeuroBats of ACCess Autism, ACC GROW associate, Music
illustrations by Danielle Moak, President of NeuroBats of ACCess Autism, ACC GROW associate, Game Art
Content warning: Mentions of self- injurious behavior and sexual assault.
“Drowning in Overwhelming” by Danielle Moak
Many times, I feel as if I am a fish without a school and lost at sea.
Around me are sharks of every shape. The world abroad has people who can do amazing things. In my community, there are other fish like me. We recognize each other, listen, and lift each other up. The entire world should learn a lesson from our community; we are all equal, and everyone deserves to be seen.
When I leave my community and venture out into the world, I experience a different feeling. I can sense the phoniness and the competition permeating everything. It reminds me of sharks fighting over the last fish carcass. Being in the world and disconnected from my community makes me never want to leave them. In our own spaces, we use our voices to ensure that everyone around us is heard. My college’s leadership had recognized me in the past and given me opportunities I will never forget; however, that changed when a wave came in and pulled me out to sea and away from my institution.
Last year, I submitted a proposal to talk at SXSW EDU, an international convention. This was the first time I would ever do something like this. My talk would be about how it feels to be an autistic student. I also talk about the abuse and trauma I have experienced in my life but also how I was able to triumph over it all. This was one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever had; having my peers stand beside me and those who attended my presentation saved me from intrusive thoughts that “nobody would care.”
I was proud that I was the only student at my college to get accepted. I prepared for over a year for this presentation, and I allowed myself to completely unmask and divulge my autism so that the audience could understand, to the best of their ability, how it feels to be autistic in a world that feels like it is not made for me.
After I finished the presentation, I was elated; I had accomplished the impossible, at least impossible to myself. I never believed I had a voice that could reach others and propel institutional change. I was always told that autism did not exist, that it was an excuse to be lazy, and that nobody cared, but I proved everyone who told me that wrong.
“Make It Stop” by Danielle Moak
However, after I gave this presentation, my entire world crumbled. I began having intense flashbacks from my past. I had never spoken about such personal and secret parts of my past to such a large group of people, which included me being sexually assaulted, having to learn how to mask to survive, and how writing became an outlet for me to use my voice in advocacy.
It felt like my entire mind became an ocean, and I was lost at sea. I desperately needed to get ashore but did not know how to ask for help. I would look around and see everyone around me, but my world felt like an underwater volcano about to erupt, one nobody could see coming. I screamed internally, waiting for someone to hear me.
I would look online for some closure. Someone there may acknowledge what I have done. My entire life, I have wanted to build and create something—something that can withstand time and create a legacy for me, one that helps other autistic students after me. That is why I did that presentation: to let other autistic and neurodivergent people know that they have a voice, too.
My brain told me, “Nobody cares about what you did; it is worthless, and you made a fool of yourself.” It told me this for weeks.
A month passed, and now, my favorite month, Autism Acceptance Month, was upon me. April is very special to my friends and I. It reminds us that we deserve to be recognized and that we are humans who also deserve respect and understanding. I could not get myself to smile, though, and I faded into bleak silence as I sunk deeper into my depression.
“Everyone forgot about your accomplishments; they are not even that good. Get over yourself. Nobody cares,” my brain would tell itself.
I would search online to see if my institution had posted about my presentation, but I did not see it. I desperately kept refreshing the webpage to see if they would acknowledge me, not just an autistic student, but a non-binary, gay, first-generation Hispanic student who vulnerably put themself out there to educate others on my experience being autistic in college and what support our institution offers. Yet, with every click of the mouse, there was nothing. I then waited to see if my institution would recognize Autism Acceptance Month, but they did not.
I began to sink even deeper. I lost sight of who I was and why I was alive. Why should I live in a world that does not recognize me or the pain I go through? I did not want to withstand it anymore. I did not want to live.
I could not handle the noise inside of my head. It felt like a thousand knives were scraping my bones, and I was grasping at them, but every time I lunged, the knives cut deeper. I convinced myself that I would never succeed and be recognized no matter what I did. I would never be like other students who are “good enough” to be on the front page of my institution’s social media accounts. What did I do or say that was so wrong? Is it because I am autistic?
I screamed and pulled my hair out while I tried to understand what was happening. I just wanted the pain, noise, and intrusive thoughts to end. Was it true that nobody cared about my accomplishments? Probably not, but that did not matter. When my college fears acknowledging me, I feel disconnected from the institution I love. If my brain tells me I will never end up like those successful students on the front page, what evidence do I have to refute that? My mind may be correct. Maybe I am not meant to do great things, and perhaps I am meant to wallow in filth until I die.
I went to work and saw my friends again after some time. I saw my Transformation Coach and everyone who has always stood beside me. I looked at them all and told them I loved our community; they did not know I had already given up.
I looked at all of them from head to toe. I noticed their clothes, their faces, and how they smiled at me when I met them in the eye.
They are my support group.
I was asked to think about why I do advocacy work. Seeing them reminded me that we do this for the greater good, for others like us who may not be as privileged.
I have a community, yet I cannot forget the feeling deep inside me, one that my intrusive thoughts were trying to surface. That we are not worth acknowledging.
Why is it so important that my neurodivergent community and I are acknowledged for our work? If my institution acknowledges us, it gives the greater internal and external community hope that this is where anyone can find a sense of belonging.
My community may not be what everyone defines as “perfect.” My friends may not be enough for my institution to acknowledge publicly and consistently, but I can accept them just as they recognize me. I can continue using my voice to lift my community just as they lift me.
In the end, the feeling of isolation may never fade. Why are we not good enough to be acknowledged? Why are our accomplishments, the trials we have overextended ourselves to achieve, not presentable?
I began remembering everything our community has created to highlight autistic and neurodivergent voices, including our artwork, newsletters, presentations, and more. It made me realize I was being noticed the entire time—by those who matter the most.
“Bring Me Ashore” by Danielle Moak
At that moment, I was no longer lost at sea; I was pulled ashore. My community and Transformation Coach held me up even though I could not breathe. They held me together when my institution’s fishing lure tangled me. They helped me stay calm when there were only sharks circling me.
They knew the exact words and when to say them; I did not need to beg them for it. That is what I wish my institution did for autistic and neurodivergent students: not acknowledge us because we are neurodivergent but because we are human, too. In the vast ocean of people, there is room for each color to swim. Will others notice and bring us to shore, or will we be lost at sea?
This article was last updated on 10/16/2024: The caption for the first photo was revised from “Drowning in Overwhem” to “Drowning in Overwhelming. Please note the online copy reflects the update, earlier printed copies may not.
You Are My Wild Universe, painting by Elisha Mac Gregor
Artwork and reflection by Elisha Mac Gregor, Psychology, Highland and Elgin Campuses
Have you ever had a moment when you felt a profound sense of wonder and realized that you are part of something much larger than yourself, while looking at the constellations?
This exquisite masterpiece captures the essence of the wild universe stretching across the canvas of your imagination. Each splatter tells a story of creation and chaos of nebules, birthing stars, and black holes. Such a painting is not just a visual presentation; it’s a reflection of the human soul and a metaphorical journey through our collective hunger, spirituality, and quest for knowledge.
Hunger symbolizes our innate desire to explore and understand the galaxy, a starvation that goes beyond the physical. Furthermore, the rocks and colors represent something divine in perfect harmony with the solar system, and the moment when we sense spiritual connection with creation. Lastly, the quest for knowledge represents our attempts to uncover the wild secrets of existence through our scientific explorations, reminding us that there is so much to explore and learn from this macrocosm.
You Are My Wild Universe painting took almost 3 years to master the hair dryer technique which used no brushes. The work on the piece took 35 hours and the materials used are acrylic, spray paint, rocks, and glitter.
by Larry Davis, Vice Chancellor of Belonging and Purpose
Creating a Culture of Belonging & Connection, is an essential cornerstone of ACC’s commitment to serve all students, eliminating disparities and increasing success in service of our unifying goal of achieving an institutional completion rate of 70% by 2030. ACC’s new Office of Belonging & Purpose works with multiple internal partners, including ACC Legal Counsel, across the District’s eleven campuses to identify groundbreaking, proactive, lawful, and innovative neutral approaches based upon research-based best practices data to strengthen ACC’s capacity to create and sustain a culture of belonging where the achieving of our unifying completion goal becomes reality.
Targeted universalism (TU) and purpose oriented strengths-based frameworks are solid examples of neutral-based strategies for developing belonging support for all students. For example, Texas Senate Bill 17 (SB17) does permit the use of disaggregated data by demographic populations to identify achievement gaps, clarify and reveal the barriers or impediments feeding those gaps for each demographic group. Since we have a shared goal of helping all students achieve the unifying completion goal, TU allows us to investigate the ways that ACC’s data shows how different students are situated by need within the various systems of ACC that impact and shape our student outcomes.
The data will show some common needs, as well as distinct needs of underserved, privileged, and middle students in relation to starting strong, enrolling full-time (or closer to FT), or meeting basic needs in order to achieve ACC’s unifying completion goal. From the data clues, ACC can appropriately scale a range of common and customized services to provide each student with what they will need to reach the completion goal. Every student will receive what they need, based upon how closer or further they are from achieving ACC’s unifying completion goal.
Purpose-oriented strengths-based frameworks involve helping students, faculty, and employees identify and cultivate their interests and strengths through opportunities or activities that allow them to acquire the knowledge, experiences, and relationships necessary to pursue their aspirations with imagination and integrity. Since TU and purpose-oriented strengths frameworks are designed and implemented based upon ‘situatedness’ or need and strengths, these strategies are not prohibited by SB17.
SB17 generally means that higher education institutions cannot have a DEI administrative office, mandatory statements, or training. Most of the questions we receive involve understanding the exceptions for limited and appropriate DEI initiatives for academic courses, student organizations, short term speakers or performers, and activities that enhance academic achievement or postgraduate outcomes that can be designed and implemented without regard to race, sex, color, or ethnicity.
In conclusion, ACC TV and other college media can further our belonging and purpose culture building by highlighting more programs and initiatives that promote bridging. Bridging involves creating space to hear and see others who differ from ourselves, and it does not require agreement. It’s about creating compassionate space and practices where we can acknowledge each other’s stories and suffering that leads to more understanding of what we share—not what divides us.
by Christopher Rzigalinski, Community Correspondent, in conversation with Sonya Rendon-Rangel, Campus Coordinator, Elgin Campus
Every Austin Community College campus has a special purpose. Sonya Rendon-Rangel, the Coordinator of Elgin Campus, is not only the campus’ biggest advocate, she also embodies its unique approach to purpose and belonging. Sonya lives and breathes collaboration, love, and community.
My original intent was to write a history of Elgin, including both the town and the ACC campus. This piece was to be the latest in a series of campus profiles, complementing those I wrote in previous issues of A Collaborative Culture about Riverside and Northridge. However, my Zoom conversation with Sonya on September 17th outshined any wordsmithing I could have accomplished. In fact, my conversation with Sonya was so profound that I decided editing it in any way would be a disservice to her, the trusting relationship we built, and the beloved community of Elgin she serves.
CHRIS: Okay, the recording is in progress. Let’s begin with your name and title.
SONYA: I am Sonya Rendon-Rangel, Campus Coordinator of Austin Community College’s Elgin Campus. But I think we all have a lot of roles at ACC, right?
CHRIS: And sometimes, unless we’re intimately acquainted with what those roles do on a daily basis, maybe we don’t fully understand them. So what does campus coordinator really mean on a day to day basis within the context of not only ACC, but specifically at Elgin?
SONYA: Strategically, we are in charge of the facilities’ well-being. That’s the way I like to think about it. We get to know our buildings on a very personal basis so that we know when something is automatically wrong. I know that sounds strange, but you get to know your buildings. I have known this building since it first opened [in 2013]. We’ve had a relationship for 12-13 years. You experience growing pains together, the building gets older with you.
You walk in Building 1000 and you want to provide a safe place for the students. You want to make sure they’re comfortable at all times. You want to make sure there’s nothing that’s going to hurt anyone or make anybody uncomfortable. You want it to look clean and bright and welcoming at all times. You walk into your building[s] in the morning and you’re able to automatically gauge: “Wait a minute, the temperature feels different. There must be something going on with our chillers, our boilers or something like that.” My building is 13 years old and now it’s going through some really big growing pains. We started off with 196 students in 2013. Now we’re close to almost 850 students that are here on a daily basis.
Monday through Thursday they’re not going in and out, the majority stay here for 5-6 hours or more. They’re spending time with us all day in shifts. So that takes a lot of energy, that takes a lot of electricity. It takes a lot of wear and tear on the building.
Also, you just get really familiar as a campus coordinator, a campus manager, with not just the building but the inhabitants, the special people that are in the building. There are so few people that have been here since 2013. But as they come, you grow new relationships with them, right? They are part of your building, your community. They inhabit your offices. They make themselves comfortable here. They make themselves at home. You want them to have a beautiful home so you work in collaboration with all departments in Facilities Management to maintain that home.
That also includes the grounds surrounding the campus buildings; we have a campus garden that has been sustained through Covid and departmental changes that included almost every campus discontinuing their campus gardens. Hunter Eichman, faculty member in Agricultural Sciences, decided he was going to sustain the garden for his class and it’s so beautiful. It’s just something you walk by every day.
Another part of our unique atmosphere is our Veterinary Technology students walking the dogs on our campus. Our semester Welcome Packet even has instructions for dogs each Semester. We love having adjunct faculty here and you’re going to see dogs walking around. So we ask that anyone not approach the dogs unless the handler says it’s okay. Because we see dogs outside our window walking by and you automatically say “I have to have one.” There are so many dogs! It’s ridiculous. Right? You can adopt the dogs but you have to be reasonable, you want to adopt them all but you can’t. There are also cats. Everyone wants to visit the animals.
I mean, there’s just so many unique things about being a campus coordinator or manager here at Elgin, but it’s basically safety, facilities, maintenance and upkeep, new projects, events, and just supporting everybody and everyone in the building, students, faculty and staff. That’s the short of it.
Animals Available for Adoption During the Spring 2026 Semester through the Vet Tech Program (Learn more here)
Kyro, 2-years-old male Shepherd mix dog.
Walker, 6-months-old male Domestic Shorthair cat.
Perdy, 2-years and 6-months-old female Pit Bull Terrier mix dog.
CHRIS: So 2013, that is when Elgin Campus opened to the public?
SONYA: Right. I was hired as an Administrative Assistant to the Campus Manager here who was [Elizabeth] Betsy Erwin.
CHRIS: And so what are your memories of the announcement that the campus would be opening? I’m very fascinated with this because when I was researching the history of Riverside, for example, the idea of having a campus in that space was very powerful for the Montopolis community.
And then Northridge comes about at a time where Austin is rapidly expanding north and the definitions of what community meant were rapidly changing. Our Asian American community members moved into that area and the demographic rapidly changed. So when you reflect now on Elgin Campus’ opening, what really stands out to you?
SONYA: I think that it was alien in some parts, like what was it going to be? The excitement was there! I’ve been here for 21 years. My husband is a native of Elgin. So, let me describe the area. People mistake Elgin for only what’s on highway 290, where we have our big box businesses like HEB and Wal-Mart.
That’s not all of it, Elgin is a Main Street town. It’s beautiful. It has a main street with little mom and pop shops, restaurants. We have unique festivals. We have Hogeye. A huge festival with a pig for a mascot. We’ve got Western Days. We are known for our barbeque, we are the home of Southside Barbeque and Myers Barbeque. We have a very close knit community. I just attended, in July, a celebration with my husband that was called the Jubilee, where all the graduated high school classes, from forever ago, all joined and reunited. And it was amazing, Chris. I mean, all these people who they knew from as far back as 1940 were there!
I got to know people really quickly here even if I was a transplant. I was raised in San Antonio, lived in Montana, moved to Austin and then from Austin to Elgin. I had a job with a corporation for about 12 years in Austin and I was going to transfer back to San Antonio, but I did not and I decided to stay in this area and buy a house. People from California were coming in hot and all the rents were going up in my area. I couldn’t find a reasonably priced house in Round Rock, Pflugerville, or Georgetown, so the realtor showed me places in Kyle, and then we went to Manor and lastly Elgin. I didn’t want to be in Manor, it was too close to Austin. I wanted something different.
So, I went towards Main Street in Elgin and there was a Catholic church, right over on Central Avenue. It was a really old building. It was beautiful, and then I went on Main Street and there were these majestic older homes. The small town vibe hit me hard and there were all these old buildings downtown, and I sat there on the steps and I was like, “oh my goodness, I feel this place, this is where I want to be.” I moved into my new home in August. I met my future husband in January. I thought I was determined to stay single but we dated for two years and got married and settled here.
I absolutely adore my husband. I was never able to have a child, because of a health issue. We had the opportunity to foster a child that I recognized immediately as my son because my heart literally connected to him when I met him. His name is Lyndon. He came into our home when he was five years old and adopted him on my birthday when he was seven years old. We thought we were going to be that older couple that found each other later in life and that we’d go to Colorado or go to New Mexico on vacations and just be that couple. But then we had a five year old in our life.
So, I had to make adjustments in my work schedule, since my prior job had me traveling all over the place. I applied and got a job at the City of Elgin and got to know all the people that run the city. The movers and shakers. It was amazing.
Then this talk comes in about ACC coming and the excitement follows. We don’t even have anything but one story buildings that were actually utilized in the city of Elgin. So it’s like we’re actually getting a college campus here, in the city of Elgin! ACC! They had the registration trucks here, Elginites were registering for classes. I remember voting on it, seeing the building progress from the highway. The excitement was just crazy.
I’ve always been in the Finance and HR fields. I was employed in the Finance and HR department at the City of Elgin and I heard about the Administrative Assistant III job here at ACC Elgin.
Somebody said, “Well, if you’re interested, I know you probably aren’t, but there’s an admin job out there.” I applied for it because the holidays you get here are great and now I’ve got this child so we can match our holidays and spend quality time together. So four years into the city of Elgin, I told my boss I was going to apply for the ACC job, and I applied in January.
I heard nothing for a while. I thought, “okay, well, that was a try.” Then in May, I got a call from Austin Community College asking me if I wanted to interview. The first week of May, they offered me the job, the second week of May, I was here. So it was like it happened literally almost overnight. I was here for the Open House/Resource Fair for Building 1000 and the Grand Openings of both buildings. I remember all the excitement. During the Open House, it was so exciting to see my neighbors and friends at ACC. I even invited my parents and they took the trip from San Antonio. They spent the whole time touring the campus with my son and husband. I remember being exhausted after that day, and I went to HEB for something. I was so surprised to see the HEB employees all wearing ACC shirts. It was so overwhelming and I was just so happy to be part of ACC!
We just got so much feedback and support from the community. David Glass [Bastrop County Commissioner of Precinct 4 and ACC Elgin Advisory Board President], Doc Graham [Elgin Veterinary Hospital and Southwest Stallion Station ACC Elgin Advisory Board] bless his heart and may he rest in peace, were on the advisory committee that came over here to add to the campus. Just all the people in the community that really are important people, not because of their titles or what they do but because of who they are and the love that they pour into the community and right here on this campus.
I spoke with Byron [Mitchell, Elgin ISD School Board President] the other day. Hwas the Elgin I.S.D. School Board President when we opened. I said to him,“You’re still the school board president, part of our population; 200+ students are here every day from Elgin High School, get over here! Do some kind of retreat with your school board so that you can see the results of all your hard work!”
There are some things that we had to work through, like how all of a sudden our population turned into predominantly early college high school. But for the most part, I will tell you, they just love having this three story campus building in the city of Elgin.
Students participate in a craft at Elgin Campus. Photo provided by Sonya Rendon-Rangel.
All of a sudden our population turned into predominantly early college high school.
CHRIS: That’s amazing. You know, it’s theirs. It belongs to them. When you mentioned the advisory board specifically, what were some of the key elements that the community was arguing for when thinking about the identity of this campus within Elgin? What were the things the advisory board wanted to see ACC contribute to the city of Elgin?
SONYA: Veterinary technology, because, you know, Doc Graham owns the stallion place or he owned the stallion place out here. His family owns it now. So, we definitely had to have Veterinary Technology. Then, Agricultural Science, that was another push. If you were born into a farming family, then you’re going to know how to farm, right? But this new generation that was leaving home and doing this other business would now have the opportunity to grow their family’s business by staying right here in town. So ACC wanted to give them that chance by getting an education here in Agricultural Sciences.
During and after Covid the population just boomed here, especially considering the gentrification in East Austin. Everybody wanted to have an acre and start growing their own fruits and vegetables. It was a time of regrowth for people. They were changing jobs. It was so fascinating that so many people came from all these urban settings and because of the pandemic, they were like,” I’m going to make my own bread. I need eggs to make the bread so now I’m going to, you know, get chickens to lay eggs. I’m going to learn how to maintain a garden, sustain gardens. Now I’m going to make a living doing it, chickens or crops or whatever.”, And it stuck. Farmer’s markets boomed. So, yes the main and logical pushes for programs here were Veterinary Technology and Sustainable Agriculture. They also wanted a place where students could take all their academic core classes. At that time, Early College High School wasn’t yet a glimmer. That came later.
They also wanted and still want evening classes, Adult Ed, and academic core classes for people that couldn’t go to college during the day. So, the first four years, we had a very robust evening program, then Early College High School students came in and they were a pretty small group, maybe 200 or 300 the first years. Then they started growing the next semester and we’re at 500. Then the next year we’re at 600, and then Covid happens and everything goes down and then it explodes back. I think Early College High School got so big here that it got too big without explanation to the local part of the population here in the city of Elgin. So people that were coming in from our community were saying, “I don’t want to go to that school. It’s just got kids in it. They walk in here and they’re like, “Oh, no. I’d rather not.” Until we started explaining how the program became so much of who we are, how it’s not just Elgin I.S.D. How it’s three districts, how the program is run, the benefits, what it brings to the community, how it helps our community grow by allowing students to learn here and work here, how we are fulfilling the promise of giving them the college experience.
When I became Campus Coordinator in 2021, and because I had seen the population of traditional students in the past, I wanted to grow the traditional student population within our capacity without affecting or losing any of our early college high school participants. We were at 2% in 2021, and with the help of our academic advising team, we are at 36% right now. So you’re going with those stats, you’re going to have at least one participant that’s traditional out of a few. And it gives a different air in the classroom for the ECHS students, they want to impress those traditional students.
And I’ve noticed that traditional students embrace the high school students by reaching out to them. So, we’re seeing that we’re close to 900 in enrollment now. We’ve been teeter-tottering and getting lower and higher, but our capacity is 1,200. And I think that pretty soon we’re going to run out of classroom space completely. So, now we’re concentrating on a third thing that we promised the community when this campus came into being. They wanted a welding program.
This new building that’s coming up and probably won’t break ground until 2026 or 2027—that is going to be the continuing education and welding building. The fourth thing the community asked for, which we haven’t managed to get together yet, is the automotive program.
CHRIS: Like what we have at Riverside and Round Rock?
SONYA: Yes.
CHRIS: The overview that you just gave is also really powerful because in a lot of ways it gives us the story of Elgin’s history. I know you’re still focusing on traditional students and agricultural sciences. But this transition into the new generation of early college high school students and their unique needs, where did that come from? Why do you think there was an astronomical rise out of nowhere?
SONYA: Well, it changed quickly because the opportunity was given to us ten years ago. We didn’t know what this program really was. We didn’t know anything about how early college high school would affect the students. I remember Shasta [Buchanan, ACC Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs] coming in here and fighting for early college high school. Elgin Campus was the pioneer of that initiative. Our goal is treating them like traditional students. I think that the Elgin Campus is very unique in the fact that our students aren’t isolated.
They’re not assigned a floor to themselves. They are literally just part of everything here. You walk in and they’re just students everywhere! They’re in the Commons. They’re on the second floor. They’re on the sofas. Wherever. I think the opportunity to bring other communities into the ACC District is made more desirable with the prospect of the Early College High School program.
We just had Elgin high school students at first. Then it was Bastrop and Manor. Logistics were the main conversation. What’s more beneficial for those students? Is it more beneficial for them to go down to Highway 290 to the Highland Campus, or can we welcome them right here in Elgin? Manor chose Elgin. CRCA Bastrop did the same. ACC reached out to these high schools in the area, and it seemed like overnight we watched this campus grow. They just filled our building up and that was it, you know? Literally, from one semester to the next.
CHRIS: It’s interesting to look at Elgin as a microcosm, not only for the area and its change over time, but also in terms of the Greater Austin Area as a whole.
SONYA: Elgin Campus is this whole area. You see Pflugerville and Round Rock and you see Austin from here. Everything is melding into the city of Austin. Pflugerville is not too far from here, and it’s getting closer the more they build out the highways. I call the space between Manor and Elgin, “Melgin.” We’re just sort of melting all into each other. There’s a lot of growth, literally the housing growth has exploded within the last eight years. That’s going to bring more questions, like about how we are going to extend this highway. 290 absolutely has to grow.
There’s other questions with transportation, too, that we talk about every day here. We have to support growth in a reasonable way as citizens, bringing more transportation and what we can for the students of the Elgin Campus. I live in Elgin, and I literally have seen students walk from Manor to our campus in Elgin because there is no viable transportation out here. I’ve seen this as recently as three months ago. The students that live out here are in a demographic where they can’t always afford cars. Both parents are working or they’re single moms or single dads and they’re trying to raise a family. They’re using that car for transportation to and from work. And they’re just trying to make it.
If you’re part of the community that’s providing for the college, then you’re forever tied to supporting initiatives that will bring students relief so that they can get that education. It’s not just here in these walls. It’s outside in the community advocating for things constantly so that your students are supported. Because whether they live in Elgin, Manor, or Bastrop, they’re the same here in this community. They need to get here, they need to get out of here safely each day and they need to have that sense of relief that it’s going to be provided for them. So it’s a never-ending fight. It doesn’t end at 5:00pm. It just keeps going.
CHRIS: You said something that really stuck with me. You mentioned the connection to citizenship and this idea of active participation in the kind of overall citizenry, including the way we show up for each other and for our students. How do you feel the rest of us in the community can specifically show up for Elgin and its students to help with these very issues that you’re talking about?
SONYA: Well, even if you’re not a person that lives in any of these communities, there’s going to be civic meetings held about extensions to the toll road. You ask yourself: Is that a good idea for our students? Coming all the way from home on a toll road? Have you ever been caught in Manor traffic? It’s horrible. Let’s talk about that. Let’s talk more about shuttles for Austin Community College students and employees at town halls. Let’s talk about the rural communities that better transportation is going to benefit. At city council meetings, board meetings, let’s get those topics on the agenda.
Another issue here is we need more food places around campus. This is something I’ve been advocating. If you come to our campus, all the food places are further down the highway. It would be great to have food trucks come up here. We got a basic permit to have food trucks during Welcome Week, but that was a special occasion. Why not all the time? I have 832 students. They’re here from 8:30am to 4:00pm. They have no place to eat. We have a great food pantry. Ms. Geneva [EGN Student Life Coordinator] is great at getting food donations for our student life lounge. But what if students want to buy something different? They can’t get a hot meal anywhere. So, the community needs to come together and collaborate on solutions.
I’m currently meeting with city officials and local vendors. We’re going to work with the city closely. In our next meeting, I’m hoping to provide some kind of continuity plan to make hot meals available for students. Opponents step in and say, “You can just go to the Chick-Fil-A across the street.” Well, we don’t have that. Don’t put us in that bubble because we’re different out here. We love that we’re unique in that we have this opportunity. That’s how everyone can help. Just realize that every campus has unique needs.
CHRIS: You’re so right that oftentimes we tend to think of our campuses at this sort of homogenized entity. We don’t always take that step back to ask what each campus needs in the larger narrative of ACC. I’ve been thinking of this exact concept in the context of Service-Learning and the projects we do on particular campuses. They might look similar but they’re always going to be different based on the unique needs of the communities in each of those campus areas, faculty interests, student success measures, etc. That balance becomes leaning into those specificities, while at the same time having something that feels cohesive around you. And I admire you so much because, from a leadership perspective, you saw a need, you went for it and you made it happen. Where does that commitment come from inside of your soul?
SONYA: In answering that, I have to start with a story…
PART TWO
CHRIS: The overview that you just gave is also powerful because I think, in a lot of ways, it gives us the story of Elgin’s history. I know you’re still focusing on traditional students and agricultural sciences. But where did this transition into the new generation of early college high school students and their unique needs come from? Why do you think there was an astronomical rise out of nowhere?
SONYA: Well, it changed quickly because the opportunity was given ten years ago. We didn’t know what this program really was. We didn’t know how early college high school would affect students. I remember Shasta [Buchanan, ACC Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs] coming in here and fighting for early college high school. Elgin Campus was the pioneer of that initiative, making them feel like traditional students. I think that the Elgin Campus is unique in the fact that our students aren’t in barracks, dorms, or portable buildings. They’re not assigned a floor to themselves. They are literally just part of everything here. You walk in, and they’re just students everywhere; in the Commons, on the second floor, on the sofas. Wherever. I think the opportunity to bring other areas into the Greater ACC District, like Bastrop, for example, was made possible by Elgin’s early college high school project.
We just had Elgin High School students at first. Then it was like, “Okay, let’s reach out to the surrounding communities like Manor. What’s more beneficial for them? Is it more beneficial for them to go down to 290 to the Highland Campus, or can we welcome them right here to Elgin?”
The community chose Elgin. Then Bastrop did the same. ACC reached out to all these high schools in the area, and it seemed like, overnight, we watched this campus grow. They just filled our building up. And that was it, overnight, literally, one semester to the next.
CHRIS: It’s interesting to look at Elgin as a microcosm, not only of the whole area and its changes over time, but also of the Greater Austin Area.
SONYA: Elgin Campus is this whole area. You see Pflugerville and Round Rock, and you see Austin. It’s just Austin turning. Everything is melding into the city of Austin. Pflugerville is not too far from here, and it’s getting closer the more they build out the highways. I call the space between Manor and Elgin “Melgin.” I mean, it’s like we’re just sort of melting into each other. There are a lot of things, such as housing that has exploded within the last eight years, that are going to bring more questions about how we are going to work this freeway. Highway 290 absolutely has to grow.
There are other questions with transportation, too, that we talk about every day here. We have to support growth in a reasonable way as citizens, bringing more transportation and what we can for the students of Elgin. You see what I’m saying? I live in Elgin, and I have literally seen students walk from Manor to our campus because there is no viable transportation out here. And the students who live out here are in a demographic where they can’t always afford cars. Both parents are working, or they’re single moms or single dads, and they’re trying to raise a family. They’re using that car for transportation to and from work. And they’re just trying to make it.
If you’re part of the community that’s providing the college, then you’re forever tied to supporting initiatives that will bring students relief so that they can get that education. It’s not just here in these walls. It’s outside in the community, advocating for things constantly, so that your students are supported. Because whether they live in Elgin, Manor, or Bastrop, they’re the same here in this community. They need to get here and get out of here safely each day. And they need to have that sense of relief that it’s going to be provided for them. So, it’s a never-ending fight. It doesn’t end at 5:00 pm. It just keeps going.
CHRIS: You said something that really stuck with me. You mentioned the connection to citizenship and the idea of active participation in the overall citizenry, including the way we show up for each other and specifically for our students. How do you feel the rest of us in the community can show up for Elgin and its students to help with these very issues that you’re talking about?
SONYA: Well, even if you’re not a person that lives in any of these communities, there’s going to be some meetings held in our communities about extensions to the toll road. Is that a good idea for our students? Coming all the way from home. Have you ever been caught in Manor traffic? It’s horrible. Let’s talk about that. Let’s talk more about shuttles for Austin Community College students and employees at town talks. Let’s talk about the rural communities that are going to benefit from the city council meetings in Round Rock and Austin. Let’s get this topic on the agendas.
Another issue is more food places around campus. This is something I’ve been advocating. If you come to our campus, all the food places are further down the highway. It would be great to have food trucks come up here. We got a basic permit to have food trucks during Welcome Week, but that was a special occasion. Why not all the time? I have 832 students. They’re here from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. They have no place to eat. I have a great food pantry. Ms. Geneva is great at getting food donations for our student life lounge. But what if students want to buy something different? They can’t get a hot meal anywhere. So, the community needs to come together and collaborate on solutions.
I’m currently meeting with city officials. We’re going to work closely with the city. In our next meeting, I’m hoping to provide some kind of continuity plan to make hot meals available for students. Opponents step in and say, “You can just go to the Chick-Fil-A across the street.” Well, we don’t have that. Don’t put us in that bubble because we’re different out here. We love that we’re unique in that we have this opportunity. That’s how everyone can help. Just realize that every campus is unique and that we have unique needs.
CHRIS: You’re so right that oftentimes we think of our campuses as this sort of homogenized entity. We don’t always take that step back to ask what each campus needs in the larger narrative of ACC. I’ve been thinking of this exact concept in the context of Service-Learning and the projects we do on particular campuses. They might look similar, but they’re always going to be different based on the unique needs of the communities in each of those campus areas, faculty interests, student success measures, etc. That balance becomes leaning into those specificities, while at the same time having something that feels cohesive around you. And I admire you so much because, from a leadership perspective, you saw a need, you went for it, and you made it happen. Where does that come from for you?
SONYA: In answering that, I have to start with a story. My parents are very strong leaders. My mom is a strong Latina woman. And my dad is a double retiree from the U.S. Air Force and the SAPD [San Antonio Police Department]. So, there were no excuses for sticking our necks out and helping others. That’s just the way I was raised. I always wanted to do jobs that helped people and made a difference. As a whole, I love getting out there and making a difference. The more you do that, the easier it becomes – the humility that comes from knowing life can change at any given moment propels you to do good things. My mom is the type that will jump out of a plane to skydive without ever thinking twice. For most of my career, that’s how I’ve operated, especially when it comes to the opportunity to watch my students bloom.
CHRIS: So, it sounds like, from the very beginning of your work at ACC, you saw yourself and your office as woven into the student experience.
SONYA: It’s a privilege to see the students rise to completion, you know? It’s like, “Wow, I’m so excited that my office can be part of that experience.” They allowed us onto their pathway of success. That humbles me, the idea that students welcome me into their lives.
CHRIS: There’s a mindfulness in being able to see that privilege. We move so fast in life that we don’t take the time to see the circumstances of our privileges, but you and your team are pouring out so much love by being mindful and helping your students grow that it becomes a defining aspect of the Elgin community experience.
SONYA: And it’s our entire team at this campus. Our librarians, our dean of students, Ms. Geneva in Student Life, our early college high school program team – it’s a collaboration every single day.
CHRIS: You’re reminding me of yoga philosophy, specifically the idea that we are all equal parts in a cosmic machine. Every part is equal in value, and every part depends on the others so that the universe runs smoothly.
SONYA: It’s true. When someone is missing, we check up on each other to make sure everyone is okay. There’s always communication.
CHRIS: It sounds like you and your team are also very keen to protect one another.
SONYA: We try to communicate before information becomes widely available. It’s like, “Hey, you’re going to hear this or that, but here’s the story. Don’t be concerned, just come over to my office, and we can talk. We’re here for you.”
CHRIS: How does that culture of caring translate into everyday practice?
SONYA: Earlier, I mentioned how Ms. Geneva does such great work in getting us donations for the food pantry. But it’s hard work. Ms. Geneva started going out to local businesses to ask if we could share the leftover food with the students. The first thing my team asked was, “How can we help Geneva? What works in helping local businesses see the value in donating? What foods will the students like? What is it that Geneva needs to be successful?” That illustrates how no one is alone when working on projects at the Elgin Campus.
CHRIS: I’m curious how that character you’re describing translates to the campus farm. What I mean is, in these trying times when we hear about food insecurity, tariffs, environmental crisis, and a host of issues impacting the future of farming, how does that culture of caring translate to the Agricultural Sciences program, which is such a huge part of Elgin?
SONYA: It’s a complicated topic. It starts with being welcoming. Our high school students have very strict schedules, for example. But we encourage them to walk around the farm during their breaks. We also encourage them to think about taking agricultural science classes. Matt [Olson], our farm manager, and Savannah [Rugg], our Agricultural Sciences Department Chair, do such a great job of welcoming everyone with an interest in the farm.
CHRIS: Have you seen development?
SONYA: One student in particular – a student with no farming experience and no initial interest in farming – decided to come here after their high school experience to study agriculture. I truly believe it’s because we planted those seeds with them. Matt sets up the farmer’s market every Tuesday, so students get to see what the farm produces. It’s exciting for them to stand in line, ask questions, and have the chance to buy fresh produce. Once, I even heard a student on the phone with their mom giving her a list of items they could bring home for dinner.
CHRIS: It all begins with an open heart and a conversation.
SONYA: Exactly. It’s similar to our Veterinary Technology program. Early college high school students see our Vet Tech faculty and students walking around in scrubs, then start asking questions. “Who are you? What do you do?”
CHRIS: How can the rest of ACC do a better job of helping spread the word about volunteering at the farm and about the animal adoption opportunities here at Elgin?
SONYA: First, by reaching out further to our community members off campus. Every Thursday evening from 4 to 7 pm, the city of Elgin holds a farmers’ market at Veterans’ Memorial Park. This one is much bigger than the market we hold here on campus that only showcases produce from our farm. Matt goes to the citywide market to represent Elgin Campus, but it’s in the context of making our campus an important part of the city as a whole. If faculty and staff live in the surrounding areas, they can spread the word about the Elgin Farmers’ Market, which also supports the campus. The campus and the city are one and the same. And word of mouth is huge.
CHRIS: It’s one of our only reliable ways of connecting as technology continues to transform the way we relate at such a rapid pace.
SONYA: Right. And we have to think about personal connection as we move into the future. But I don’t mean we should push technology away. Let’s look at TikTok and see what’s attracting younger generations of students. See what potentially harmful trends there are, but also see what potentially exciting trends there are.
CHRIS: Exactly. This is a dated example. Think of Wikipedia, though. When I first started teaching, I remember faculty members still saying never to use Wikipedia in the classroom. Prohibit it right away. It quickly became obvious that it was never going to work. The more strategic and educational approach was to think about how to use Wikipedia constructively and engage with it critically. We’re at a similar moment right now with social media and artificial intelligence.
SONYA: And those technologies can make us more human if we use them right. Life is life. You can never control how kids are. So why not try to meet teenagers in their space? See what attracts them and embrace it in strategic ways.
CHRIS: That’s a great segue into my final question. When you think about the future of Elgin Campus and Austin Community College as a whole, what advice will you give to the person who succeeds you?
SONYA: I’ve trained everyone I work with across the board. Each member of my team knows the procedures, the culture, and the community. My goal is that, whenever I leave, it’s a seamless transition. You can call any of my people. They’ll know the exact same information in collaboration with each other. No matter who comes into my job after me, I want them to be set up for success. That means having a secure support team. But the one piece of advice I would offer is to come in with the love that Elgin Campus deserves. Maintain that love through the good, the bad, and the ugly.
CHRIS: Sonya, thank you so much for your vulnerability and honesty. It’s been a privilege to share this time with you. I’m thrilled to share your story and passion with our community.
SONYA: Well, it’s not hard. Elgin Campus changed my life.
Student’s bee business reaps mental health benefits
photos and video reflection by Herber Garcia
Herber Garcia is a Radio-TV-Film student whose experiences with nature have motivated him as a student and as a beekeeper. In the short video below, Herber encourages viewers to explore and pursue their passions to improve their mental health.
Hello Everyone. Today, I am going to be talking about the importance of mental health and how finding a hobby or project can help you. I will be talking about my personal experience with my beekeeping journey and how that has influenced me with my mental health.
Pre-Beekeeping, I would struggle with my self-esteem, and I would constantly have voices in my head that aggressively talked down to me, convincing me that I was worth little to nothing. This was mentally unhealthy and is problematic for anyone who believes that they’re worthless because this will actively kill your motivation to improve yourself or your commitment to anything.
Throughout my whole life, I’ve had a passion for nature. Honestly, the whole Animalia and plantae world is truly fascinating with their incredibly diverse creatures that are beautifully designed, roaming around amongst us. When I found out about beekeeping, it hooked my attention because I learned that I could do something I love, help the environment, and occasionally profit from the beekeeping sales or services. Beekeeping seemed perfect for me.
This new discovery of the potential beekeeping hobby gave me the drive and motivation to learn, improve, and sharpen my knowledge of beekeeping. With time, I became a beekeeper. Becoming a beekeeper was an accomplishment, a true achievement that suppressed my harmful thoughts and gave me a sense of fulfillment, knowing that I discovered a true piece of myself.
Which is why I strongly encourage everyone who comes across this to search and explore hobbies. Be able to learn about yourself, be able to discover a passion, and give yourself a want or a reason to push yourself to improve. Thus doing so will improve your mental health.
by LaKisha Barrett, PhD, Associate Professor & Associate Dean of Purpose & Belonging, Highland Campus
In its most basic form, hunger is an emphatic drive that compels us to seek sustenance for our physical well-being. This human need, deeply ingrained in our biology, ensures our survival and transformation. This transformation is at the cellular level, converting food to chemical energy to fuel our cells and growth. Our whole being (cells to organs) needs the nourishment.
Extending this concept to academia, we encounter a similar life-sustaining craving: academic hunger. This is an intense desire for educational success and personal growth to transform the future. This hunger is resounding and often untapped among students who are underserved, underprepared, underinspired, and overburdened by the strains of life. Academic hunger is about more than just the quest for grades or degrees. It is a deep yearning for empowerment and self-improvement, a drive to overcome obstacles and achieve personal goals. For students facing significant barriers, academic hunger becomes a manifestation of resilience, a determination to find inspiration amidst challenges, and a commitment to turning aspirations into reality- transforming generations to come.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that real hunger—physical, emotional, and psychological needs—must be addressed for academic hunger to be fully realized. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, basic physiological and safety needs must be met before pursuing higher-level goals such as esteem and self-actualization, which are vital for academic success. Students struggling with food insecurity, financial instability, or lack of emotional support may find it challenging to focus on their studies and fully engage in their academic pursuits.
Therefore, fostering a sense of community and providing access to resources is paramount for raising awareness of and nurturing academic hunger. When students feel connected to a supportive community and have their basic needs met, they are better equipped to focus on their academic and life goals. This includes access to food, safe housing, financial aid, mental health support, and a sense of belonging and identity within the academic community. Belonging is the foundation of success- when students don’t feel othered due to a lack of knowledge, resources, and opportunities, they begin to blossom. Belonging transforms and fuels academic hunger into a sense of purpose, leading to increased retention, persistence, and, ultimately, lifelong learning and success. The journey through academia, especially for those from marginalized backgrounds, often feels like navigating a vast, uncharted territory with few familiar faces, stories, educational norms and expectations, and career possibilities. The hunger for academic success is not just about acquiring knowledge; it’s about seeing ourselves reflected in that knowledge, feeling a sense of belonging in the discipline, and being affirmed to bring their authentic selves to their career.
Inclusive educational environments where students see themselves reflected in their course materials, hear diverse voices in their lectures, and encounter role models who mirror their own experiences strengthen their sense of belonging. This representation is not just about visibility; it’s about validating the aspirations and struggles of students from all walks of life.
For students battling against the odds, academic hunger manifests as a resilience to push through and past obstacles and a determination to find inspiration in unlikely places. It is about committing to the journey of transforming aspirations into tangible achievements. However, the path to nurturing this hunger is not a solitary one. It requires a supportive ecosystem that acknowledges each student’s unique strengths and struggles and provides the necessary resources, affirmation, and encouragement to keep their hunger for learning alive. This hunger continues to fuel my journey and transformation.
I Toil, by LaKisha Barrett, PhD
I speak in dreams, I speak of hopes, I speak of change, I speak because I can.
I toil because the seeds of change need tending, water, and positive intent.
I transfer energy because it was transferred to me.
I rejoice in other’s successes because I flourish when I feel the inspiration and manifestation of our collective dreams.
by Jessica Oest, Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Riverside Campus
Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get-go.
—Anthony Bourdain, n.d.
Food is often viewed as one of the most culture-defining aspects of people’s lives. As Anthony Bourdain suggested in the above quote, food is inseparable from everything that defines us as people. Everybody has stories about how their mother, grandmother, father, or other family members make the “best” dish. Food is a significant component of our cultural identity from Latin America to Europe, Asia, and America. “Food, like language, exists as a vehicle for expressing culture. One grows up eating the food of their culture and it becomes a part of who they are. It operates as an expression of cultural identity” (Lawrence & Tushman, 2020).
We all have our own life histories and cultures and come from different walks of life. Where we come from socially, culturally, economically, and more all influence our experiences and interactions. These factors can determine how we approach situations where we interact with others. Breaking bread, and listening to stories about everyone’s experiences can create a sense of community because none of those differences break the link we all share. We are all human. Society and the world have become increasingly divisive in recent years. Still, there are many ways we can bridge those divides and make room for conversations and experiences that bring about understanding and camaraderie. We can break barriers and share in each other’s differences and similarities in many ways.
One such way is by taking the time to break bread with one another. In doing so, we can provide an opportunity to learn from each other and about the cultures and family traditions that are different from our own. Breaking bread together allows us to transcend borders, create conversation, and further emphasizes the idea of transnationalism, which brings us closer together. Transnationalism is a way for people from different countries, cultures, and beliefs to find ways to connect.
Culture is Transnational
Culture, in a singular idea, is all of those things that come from past generations. The things that have been passed down to us from our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. It is the stories, the music, the folklore, the ideas, and beliefs that we carry forward for future generations. Szulc (2022) wrote in the International Journal of Cultural Studies that culture in the modern-day concept and idea is already fundamentally transnational for various reasons. “Culture is transnational. It is now more transnational than ever, in times of rapid digital developments, intensified cultural exchanges, and large migration flows” (Szulc, 2022). Despite the issues that create division in our society, today’s digital age makes it easier than ever to share in one’s culture, and the internet and social media allow you to exchange ideas, open the door for meaningful conversations, and find common ground between yourself and someone you may not realize shares your beliefs.
Transnationalism ties together ideas that are specific to a time and place in one’s culture. Transnationalism begins with “Connectedness across borders, the formality/informality of frequent cross-border activities and practices, and the high intensity and degree of cross-border exchanges are the main characteristics of transnationalism” (Tedeschi et al., 2022). So many aspects of our lives could be seen as inherent to our culture, beliefs, and country, when we cross these borders we are collecting ideas and thoughts. And most importantly exchanging this with each other comes across all borders both literal and figuratively. Transnationalism is, ultimately, a way to share those inherent characteristics with others outside of our culture or country. When we think of transnationalism, that perspective is the key that opens doors to share with others with confidence and pride in what we bring to the table.
It can be a way for us to show each other that no one way of doing things, no one country or culture, is better or worse than any other; they are just different. It is a way to embrace those differences and learn from them, and breaking bread is a fantastic way to create those opportunities to converse, exchange ideas and beliefs, and share in what makes every culture unique, valuable, and essential to the world.
Bringing it Together: Food and Culture as Transnational
If transnationalism is the cross-border interactions and sharing of beliefs, ideas, and social understanding, and food is one of the many aspects of daily life that both defines and strengthens culture, it becomes clearer how food can be one of many things that can transcend borders and can even influence our own culture if we open ourselves to such influence. “Cross-cultural food practices are often present in multicultural societies and as a result, culture is constantly evolving when different food practices come into contact with each other” (Reddy & Van Dam, 2020). Through the transnational act of breaking bread, we learn from each other what gives us pride in our respective cultures and often influences one another to help all cultures sustain in a time when division and border closures seek to separate us. Like history, music, traditional stories, and cultural beliefs, food is a cornerstone of every culture. “Developed beliefs and practices around food are essentially used to aid in the formation of cultural norms and ideas. In turn, these ideas are reinforced by passing the beliefs and practices down the generational line through oral traditions, keeping them preserved for future generations” (Sperry, 2021). Food is one of the many things that can help us sustain our cultural identity, but the sharing of food can help us expand our cultural identity and inspire new ways of being. So, if you ever have the opportunity, take time to break bread with your neighbor, your friend, your colleague, or anyone else. Take time to learn about their beliefs and their culture, and it won’t take long for you to realize your culture and theirs may not be so different after all. Breaking bread with each other can be just one of many ways we can break the barriers that are rising to keep us divided.
Works Cited
Anderson, L. & Ingram, R. (2020). Introduction. Transhispanic food culture studies: Defining the subfield. Bulletin of Spanish Studies, 97(4).
Anthony Bourdain. (n.d.). Inspiring Quotes.com. https://www.inspiringquotes.com/8-delicious-quotes-on-how-food-connects-us-all/Y6B-E8nflgAICOHo.
Boccagni, P., & Hondagneu-Sotelo, P. (2020). Integration and struggle to turn space into “our” place:
Homemaking as a way beyond the stalemate of assimilationism vs transnationalism. International Migration, 61(1).
Lawrence, B. & Tushman, M. (2020). Food traditions and its national identity. International Digital Organization for Scientific Research, 5(1).
Reddy, G., & Van Dam, R. M. (2020). Food, culture, and identity in multicultural societies: Insights from Singapore. Appetite, 149.
Sperry, A. J. (2021). Eating Jamaica: How food is used as a tool to create and reinforce cultural identity. World History Connected, 18(1).
Szulc, L. (2022). Culture is transnational. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 26(1).
Tedeschi, M., Vorobeva, E., & Jauhiainen. (2022). Transnationalism: Current debates and new perspectives. Geojournal, 87(1).
by Hamilton Stewart, Journalism, Distance Learning
The brain signals the body that it needs sustenance, and the state of hunger focuses the entire system on finding food in that environment. Human intelligence itself evolved because hunger made early hominids more effective hunters and gatherers. The old adage goes, empty stomachs are often wiser than empty heads. Hunger is wise.
Hunger is a noun, defined as “a feeling of discomfort or weakness, coupled with the desire to eat (“Hunger,” 2024). It is a sensation caused by insufficient consumption of dietary energy. It is a basic need that must be addressed. The body must consume nutrients to grow and sustain life. Hunger is suffering.
Hunger is also a verb, defined as “having a strong desire or craving for” (“Hunger,” 2024). There is no hunger pang. There is no feeling of discomfort or weakness. There is no physiological need. It is a feeling, but it is one of yearning and longing for something. More than an involuntary stimulation to nourish the body, there is an existential need to nourish the mind and soul. Hunger is a struggle.
Abraham Maslow first introduced the concept of a hierarchy of needs in a 1943 paper, titled “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Presented as a pyramid, there are five different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, starting at the lowest level known as physiological needs. Basic requirements are shelter, clothing, temperature regulation, sex, air, and nutrition (Maslow, 1943). Hunger is human.
Malnourishment, famine, and food insecurity are types of hunger that belong on the basic level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Much like an individual, a society cannot move on to the other levels of more advanced needs until the basic needs are met. Food insecurity has reached unprecedented levels globally. In recent years, the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, recurrent droughts, and severe weather events like flooding have driven the increase in global hunger. These factors often compound and contribute to the worsening of food insecurity worldwide (Omer, 2024). Hunger is thriving.
Progressing through Maslow’s pyramid, the second level, known as security and safety needs, refers to financial security, health, wellness, and protection from accidents or injuries. Finding a job, living in a safe neighborhood, contributing to a savings account, and obtaining health insurance are all examples of actions motivated by security and safety needs. The safety and physiological levels combined make up what are considered basic needs. These basic needs are vital to survival and Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a major role in motivating behavior. The hierarchy theorizes that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. Hunger is a catalyst.
Social, esteem, and self-actualization needs make up the remaining levels of the pyramid consisting of advanced needs. Socially, we need love, acceptance, and belonging. For our self-esteem we need appreciation and respect. Self-actualizing people are concerned with personal growth and achieving their potential. Hunger is transcendent.
Perhaps conflict theory best explains food insecurity (Coser, 1956). Conflict is the main driver of hunger in most of the world’s food crises. Conflict breeds hunger. Conflicts in Syria, Gaza, and Ukraine can disrupt markets, driving up prices, and damaging livelihoods. It can displace farmers and destroy agricultural assets and food stocks. Displacement is both a driver and a consequence of food insecurity. When people are displaced, they can lose access to essential resources like food, clean water, and healthcare and become more vulnerable to malnutrition and hunger. Hunger is well-traveled.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 is to end hunger by 2030. Ongoing conflict, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and extreme weather events have intensified existing inequalities globally, making this goal even more challenging. Today, more people are hungry than at any other point in human history. They are concentrated in the developing world, and their hunger has been exacerbated by several factors related to conflict theory. Over 800 million people, or 10% of the world’s population, go to bed hungry (FAO, et al. 2023.) Hunger never sleeps.
In the United States, however, what strikes us is not hunger, but obesity. According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) study, more than 1.6 billion people globally are overweight or obese. This epidemic is not limited to America and Western Europe. It is visible in Central and South America, South Africa, and East Asia. In China, the prevalence of childhood obesity rose from 1.5% to 12.6% in eight years. In South Africa, 30.5% of black women are obese (FAO, et al., 2023). Hunger is confusing.
Escalating global hunger and obesity levels might seem like a contradiction, but it is part of a single global food crisis, with environmental, economic, and geopolitical factors. It is perhaps the most glaring way in which global inequality is evident. For most of history, humans hunted or grew food for their own consumption and traveled only short distances from source to stomach. Today, production is concentrated in parts of the world where transportation, refrigeration, and fertilization escalated and became more globally connected and energy-intensive than ever before. Well before the 1970s oil crisis and current biofuel controversy, food and energy systems have been inseparable. This system created a sustained caloric rift dividing western Europe and North America from much of the rest of the world. The combination of energy-intense agriculture and distribution with globalized asymmetry of consumption patterns made food crises on a global scale possible. Hunger is calculated.
Perhaps the old axiom holds that society is a mass of people who get hungry at the same time. The question is, hungry for what? On the developed side of the caloric rift, fat is accumulating at a startling rate. On the developing side, huge populations are increasingly vulnerable to famine and hunger. In 2024, we live in a world divided into fat and hungry zones. People who live in the hungry zones are hungry in the most fundamental sense of the word. Those fortunate enough to live in the fat zones are hungry for the advanced levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. These are fat zone problems. Hunger is biased.
Once the needs at the bottom three levels of Maslow’s hierarchy have been satisfied, the esteem needs begin to play a more prominent role in motivating our behavior to acquire the respect and appreciation of our peers. This is about needing to accomplish things, having our efforts recognized, and contributing to the world. Together, the social and esteem levels make up what is known as the psychological needs of the hierarchy. Hunger is mental.
The top level of Maslow’s hierarchy is the self-actualization needs. In short, it is about achieving one’s full potential. Once we fat zoners are comfortable enough that our survival is assured and we can focus our bandwidth on existential crises, we pursue the need to self-actualize. As Maslow put it, “What a man can be, he must be.” Hunger is subjective.
People today living in hungry zones around the world know true hunger. The physical kind. The kind that hurts. The kind that is ever present develops its personality and shapes the way a person makes decisions by conditioning them to operate from a mindset of scarcity. The hungry zoners have what Maslow (1943) calls deficiency needs which arise from deprivation. Satisfying these lower-level needs is important to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences. Hunger is denial.
Fat zoners have growth needs. A mindset of abundance allows for these so-called needs. These are the advanced needs at the top of Maslow’s pyramid. These needs don’t stem from a lack of something, but a desire to grow as a person. Hunger is desire.
As Europeans colonized the world and built food systems that underpinned their industrialization and development, they embedded dietary inequality within these systems. The global food crisis is a product of these past practices. One of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century, then, is to find a way of overcoming this history and producing a more equitable global food system, one in which the fat zoners lose some weight and the hungry zoners gain some. Hunger is balance. Hunger is equity. Hunger is a hierarchy.
Works Cited
Coser, L. A. (1956). The Functions of Social Conflict. New York Free Press.
FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. (2023). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023. Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural-urban continuum. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc3017en
“Hunger.” Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, Retrieved March 10, 2024. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/hunger_n?tab=factsheet#1153877.
Maslow, A.H. (1943). “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review.
Omer, S. (2024). Global Hunger: 7 Facts You Need to Know.” World Vision. https://www.worldvision.org/hunger-news-stories/world-hunger-facts.
by Christopher Rzigalinski, Managing Editor, Riverside Campus
April 29, 2024 marks the 64th anniversary of Austin’s first large-scale lunch counter sit-ins to protest segregated restaurants. The actions were Austin’s entry into a progressive civil rights strategy of passive resistance that began in earnest on February 1 of that year, after a group of African American students sat-in at a Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth’s counter (History.com Editors, 2022).
Similar demonstrations were staged across the country, resulting in protesters being arrested for trespassing, beaten, and, in some cases, murdered. Their sacrifices led to the re-examination of segregationist service policies and, by extension, a critique of institutional racism in the United States. Hunger served as a pivotal symbol by both mirroring the biological sameness of all human beings and acting as an alarm to signal social inequities.
Food is central to understanding the African diasporic experience in the United States. Culinary historian and James Beard Lifetime Award Winner Jessica B. Harris argues that Texas occupied a complex space for enslaved people in the 19th Century as both a gateway to freedom and as a multicultural intersection. In High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America, Harris notes that enslaved people from Africa were forced into the territory of New Spain by Europeans as early as 1528, cross-culturally shaping the region by synthesizing their traditional recipes with those of Spanish and Native American cuisines (Harris, 2011). These practices continued for nearly three hundred years until enslaved peoples were freed under Mexican independence in 1821. This mélange inspired those who felt marginalized on the East Coast.
The third annual Convention for the Improvement of the Free People of Color (“News from Texas”) was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1833. Debate about how to escape from racist oppression led to a vote for mass immigration to Texas (Harris, 2011). From afar, Texas appeared to be a refuge. However, tensions between Tejanos and the Mexican government were on the eve of erupting into another revolution. When Texas became an independent republic in 1836, its government reinstated slavery laws. By 1845 it was annexed to the United States as a slave state. The Civil War broke out shortly thereafter in 1861, leading to a Texan alignment with the Confederacy.
When Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army ordered the final enslaved Texans freed on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, African American cuisine took on a new importance. Jessica Harris reflects:
[T]he backbone of Juneteenth celebrations had always been the table. In the early years, those who had toiled in sorrow’s kitchen commemorated their liberty with some serious eating. Picnics and barbecues were the hallmarks of the early celebrations, and groaning boards covered with bright cloths offered specialities like barbecued ribs and fried chicken and myriad variations on summer produce like black-eyed peas, peaches, and watermelon (Harris, 2011).
In a society of oppression, sharing food was a subversive act that expressed hard-won freedom.
Laws enforcing segregation at the state and local levels took hold following the Civil War. Reconstruction, the Federal Government’s attempt to rebuild Southern states by creating employment, land cultivation, and political office opportunities for those who were formerly enslaved, fizzled by 1877. President Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln’s successor, and other conservative Southern Democrats stymied progress by calling for the return of land to its original owners and arguing that state governments should be in charge of their own rebuilding (Manevitz, 2020). The resulting “Jim Crow” laws enforced segregationist policies through the division of public spaces like water fountains, movie theaters, and restaurants.
Almost one hundred years later, the Greensboro Four challenged the separation of public spaces in 1960. Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil, young Black men studying at North Carolina’s Agriculture and Technical College, took seats at their local Woolworth’s lunch counter and asked to be served. The request sent shock waves through America and reinvigorated the civil rights movement. Moreover, it illustrated the power of student voices to challenge a broken system. Protests sprang up across the South, including Texas. San Antonio became the first major Southern city to integrate its lunch counters on March 16, 1960 (“San Antonio Woolworth’s Building,” 2020).
To get ahead of any conflicts in the state’s capitol, a conference was arranged by the Austin Commission on Human Relations and held in a meeting room at the Austin National Bank. African American community leaders from East Austin and a delegation of students met with operators of downtown cafeterias, cafes, and lunch counters. Reverend Brandoch Lovely of the Austin Unitarian Church served as the spokesperson for the community and student leaders. He was quoted in the Austin Statesman on April 20, 1960, saying he hoped for a “‘peaceable adjustment’” (Weddell, Jr., 1960). Lovely went on to say, “‘There is a necessity for both sides to act with responsibility,…Negro students have shown a willingness to negotiate, and I hope the restaurant operators will adopt the same attitude’” (Weddell, Jr., 1960).
Austin Bureau of the News journalist Richard Morehead reported an update on April 29. “Congress Avenue, the capital’s main business district, was picketed Wednesday by students urging integration of lunch counters,” (Morehead, 1960) he noted. “The demonstrators indicated they plan to stage sitdowns by Saturday unless segregation is dropped in downtown eating places” (Morehead, 1960). The threat prompted businesses in major areas like those on the corner of Sixth and Congress to close their soda fountains, fixtures of mid-century drug stores and eateries. Other establishments put chains on their doors and only let in white customers.
Moorehead’s article also revealed that the protesters were multiracial and of mixed genders. “White and Negro students–both male and female–participated in the picketing on both sides of Congress Avenue from Sixth Street to Eleventh, [the] edge of the State Capitol Grounds” (Morehead, 1960). In total, over 200 picketing students came from the University of Texas-Austin, St. Edward’s University, Huston-Tillotson University, and local theological seminaries. Without resolution that day, approximately 100 students occupied seven lunch counters across the aforementioned area, peacefully requesting that Black patrons be served the same as white ones.
Surprisingly, little information exists about the sit-ins in city archives like those of the Briscoe Center for American History at UT-Austin and the Austin History Center. However, a wealth of coverage was devoted to their aftermaths. State legislatures took aim. On March 10, 1961, the Austin Statesman reported on HB 797, a bill making it “unlawful ‘for any person or group of persons’ to enter a privately owned commercial enterprise and remain there after being requested to leave, ‘or after it appears unequivocally that the presence of such person or group of persons is undesirable and unwanted by the owner or management of such enterprise’” (Capitol Staff, 1961). Ironically, the article also specified that the bill’s text noted that “provisions are to be applied ‘without regard whatsoever to race, color, or creed…’” (Capitol Staff, 1961).
Christopher W. Schmidt argues that the nationwide sit-in movement made such an impact because of its innovation. “[Students] were not simply joining a battle that the older generation of civil rights activists were already waging,” (Schmidt, 2017) he writes. “They were striking out on their own, finding new points of vulnerability in the edifice of Jim Crow and locating new targets that resonated with their particular concerns and that aligned with their particular sources of strength” (Schmidt, 2017). Sit-in protesters altered the direction of the movement by putting their bodies on the line to expose the inhumane gesture of denying any person sustenance.
Diorama of student protesters staging a sit-in for lunch counter integration in the early 1960s, part of the “Standing Up for Sitting Down” installation at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN. Source: Wikimedia Commons Fair Use
As the sixties wore on, passive resistance faded into more pronounced demonstrations like large-scale marches, Black Power militarism advocated by Stokely Carmichael, and the community service-based activism of the Black Panther Party. Arguably, the Panthers’ greatest interventions were the Free Breakfast for School Children and Free Food Program initiatives started in 1969 (Magoon, 2023).
The former’s aim was to satiate starving children in impoverished neighborhoods so they could concentrate on learning. The latter aimed to serve families and communities that otherwise would go hungry. Black Panther Party activity was relatively quiet in Austin during the group’s original tenure, instead being more concentrated in Texas cities like Houston (Smith, 2016). That changed when the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense, founded in 2001, continued the legacy of food activism. Its Austin chapter made news over that year’s Thanksgiving holiday by distributing turkeys and food baskets to families in need (Apple, 2001).
One recognizable manifestation of the 1960 lunch counter sit-ins in contemporary Austin is the fact that low-income Black and Brown neighborhoods in East Austin are still classified as “food insecure” or “food deserts” (Contreras, 2022). Formal segregation was dismantled, though its residual currents still divide the city.
This April, when eating out in any Austin public space, let’s offer a non-denominational prayer of gratitude for those who made it possible for us to share those meals together. Let’s also keep an open seat at our tables for the next leaders who will feed this hungry legacy.
Works Cited
Jones, A. (2012). Diorama of Lunch Counter Sit-Down Protests – National Civil Rights Museum – Downtown Memphis – Tennessee – USA – 01 [Photograph]. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diorama_of_Lunch_Counter_Sit-Down_Protests_-_National_Civil_Rights_Museum_-_Downtown_Memphis_-_Tennessee_-_USA_-_01.jpg.
Standing up by sitting down: Student Sit-Ins 1960. (n.d.). https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/standing-up-by-sitting-down.
[Greensboro Four photograph]. (1960). Public Domain. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
[Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-In photograph]. 1960. African American Odyssey – Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/odyssey/educate/lunch.html.
Apple, L. (2001). Lone Star Panthers. Austin Chronicle, https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2001-12-07/83919/.
Capitol Staff. (1960). House Bill Is Aimed at Curtailing Sit-Ins. Austin Statesman.
Contreras, N. E. (2022). Austin Approves Resolution Aimed at Combating Food Insecurity in Food-Insecure Areas. Austin-American Statesman. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2022/04/21/austin-city-council-resolution-food-insecurity-bus-routes-grocery-stores/7381822001/.
Harris, J. (2011). High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey From Africa to America. Bloomsbury.
Manevitz, A. (2020). Failures of Reconstruction Have Never Been More Evident or Relevant Than Today. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/11/failures- reconstruction-have-never-been-more-evident-or-relevant-than-today/. Magoon, K. (2023). Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to The People. Candlewick Press.
Morehead, R. M. (1960). “Student Pickets in Austin Ask for Integration.” Austin Bureau of the News.
News From Texas. From the Austin Citizen. Colored Conventions Project. Retrieved March 10, 2024. https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/1616.
San Antonio Woolworth’s Building 2020. World Monuments Fund. https://www.wmf.org/ project/san-antonio-woolworth-building.
Schmidt, C. W. (2017). Why the 1960 Lunch Counter Sit-Ins Worked: A Case Study of Law and Social Movement Mobilization. Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1065&context=ijlse.
Smith. C. H. (2016). Remembering Houston’s Black Panthers. Houston Chronicle. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/The-Black-Panthers-The-original-Black-Lives-6833943.php.
Wray, W. Jr. (1960). Talks Called Here Today to Avert Possible Sit-Ins. Austin Statesman.
Compiled by Angelica Diaz-Miranda De La Rosa, Co-Editor-in-Chief, RVS Campus
Food is a comfort that brings us together at a table. These suggestions are for those who want to have access to food that is receptive to different cultures despite changes in dietary needs (i.e.: vegetarianism, vegan, gluten-free for health concerns, personal choice). Here are 9 local eateries that have multiple options.
Disclaimer: Please check with restaurant staff in each establishment to make sure you are safe.
by Dr. Khayree Williams, Truth, Community Healing, and Transformation (TCHT) Center Director, Highland Campus
I have been shepherding Purpose and Belonging work for nearly 20 years, all the while learning and growing along my journey!
However, I am constantly reminded that, as I help to lead in the work and provide courageous spaces for students, faculty/staff, and the community to do the transformative understanding, unlearning, and progressively becoming skilled leaders at making spaces more loving, caring, and courageous. I am still human, flawed, imperfect, and make missteps. I Do it Too!
Let me tell you a brief story.
About 10 years ago I started a new role as a Diversity Trainer and School Diversity Program Coordinator for a small non-profit in a small, mostly Caucasian city. At the time I was commuting about 40 minutes daily both ways to serve in this role. My ultimate goal was to find an apartment closer to my new role within the first month.
I began the tedious task of apartment/townhome hunting in a brand-new city based largely on some referrals from my new colleagues. I remember this particular enlightening moment like it was yesterday. Picture a 75-degree sunny day in the state of Michigan if you can. One Friday after work I made the short 5-minute drive to a town home complex that came highly recommended. My goal was to visit the office, hopefully see a unit, and walk the community to get a feel for the vibe of the area.
Unfortunately for me, the office had closed early. But being a glass-half-full guy, my consolation prize was I could at least walk the area, hopefully, bump into some residents, learn what I could, and ascertain if I could potentially see myself living there.
As I was walking away from the office I walked towards the first apartment building I saw and turned the corner. Imagine a large brick building that houses connected townhomes with individual cement back porch patios that are open. My intent was to walk the length of the back side of the building. However, I spotted towards the end of the path a group of 5 African American men likely in their early to mid-20s. In a split second, I had without consciously realizing why I did, turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction.
Now let me pause for a moment. What you likely know about me is that I am also African American. I was also born and proudly raised in Flint, MI so this is neither a new scene nor one that should ever cause me any angst. If anything, this should have been viewed as an ode to my childhood. However, the other side of this conversation is that even though they look just like me, I do and am committed to equity work including recognizing stereotypes and biases. I too have also received messages throughout my life regarding what it could potentially mean for my safety in a situation where there’s a group of young black men. As I continued to walk in the opposite direction, I began to have an internal dialogue with myself about why I just made that decision and almost automatically spotted that my biases had kicked in.
Long story short, I did a course correction, went and had a great conversation with the gentlemen, got a great review of the community, and stayed there for two amazing years. The realization that occurred to me in that moment was. Being committed to this work is a marathon that we never complete regardless of our race, color, creed, or belief system. Which is why I am so proud of the work our Purpose and Belonging Department, Truth and Racial Healing Campus Center, ACC Cultural Centers and so many other ACC Riverbats do to provide opportunities for continuous learning!
Continue to be invested and intentional about doing your own work, seeking out ways you can grow, and utilizing the resources we have here at ACC. We all need transformation because we ALL Do It Too!
For more information about the TCHT Center visit their website.
