Chris Young

Home is Orange County, California- However, now home is Eugene, Oregon. I have lived here for 9 years and both my children were born here..., so I'm from Eugene?

Community at the University of Oregon

I'm an Academic Advisor in the Jaqua Center. I primarily work with the Football team and Men's Basketball team. I also support different strategy groups and student groups on campus. Outside of athletics, I'm intentional about supporting our Pacific Islander students here on campus and in the community. Empowering PI students by connecting them to professionals on campus, support groups, and through building relationships with each other will promote retention amongst a group that has been historically underrepresented and underserved.

Experiences

I went to the U of O in the 90s when "equity and inclusion," wasn't a topic on my radar. As a student, I went to MECHA events, Black Student Union events, and even a few fraternity events to investigate spaces where I could find support. There wasn't a place where the few of us PI students could go on campus or in the community. So, I did what any other first generation PI student would do... and that was to keep to myself and push through ("man up").

My parents didn't really know what questions to ask me- so, I never told them of the struggles and challenges that I had while I was here. They wanted to know if classes were hard and if was it raining. Having parents that went to school on the islands made academics not a common topic at home. The push from my parents was to get me to college. However, once I made it to the U of O, I was already further along academically than anyone in my entire family.