Students of Color Alliance (SOCA)
Creating a supportive space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and allies
Mission and Vision
The mission of the Students of Color Alliance (SOCA) is to:
- Promote solidarity and fellowship by providing a safe, welcoming, and supportive space for the BIPOC community at GSPIA.
- Stengthen community and influence change by working with leadership to address concerns related to diversity, social justice, equity, and inclusiveness.
- Provide a safe environment to engage with our allies in honest dialogue about the daily challenges faced by BIPOC students in academic and professional settings.
The vision of SOCA is to create a decolonized school environment where all students feel respected, heard, and supported in school curriculum and programming.
SOCA Values
Collaboration
We seek to collaborate with Pitt student organizations, GSPIA staff, faculty, and school leadership to create programming that includes speakers, workshops, and events that helps enrich the campus by fostering multicultural perspectives.
Community
Our goal is to create a space where all GSPIA students of color are able to come together to support one another, have a sense of belonging and be their most authentic self.
Impact
We work to achieve measurable, and sustained impact in GSPIA school policy ensuring that BIPOC voices are amplified throughout the school system.
In 2021, SOCA received the inaugural Inclusion Award for Community Building from the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA). This inaugural award celebrates programs and efforts that deepen a sense of connection within the community, particularly those that bridged different groups.
Learn more
Connect with SOCA
Email: gspia.soca@gmail.com
Instagram: @soca_gspia
Facebook: SOCA: GSPIA Students of Color Alliance
Text/ call SOCA Secretary Natividad Zavala — 971-599-9238
Meet SOCA
Founding executive members of SOCA include: Caelan Hidalgo Schick (MPIA); Adriana Bowman (MPA); Rhea Henry (MPA); I Younan An (MID); and Yeraldyn Pacheco (MPIA).
Current Student of Color Alliance's Executive Leadership Board members are:
Becoming an Anti-racist Agent of Change Through Equitable Course Content
In this recording, GSPIA Students of Color Alliance (SOCA) and the Cross Policy Program Anti-Racism Coalition provide their perspectives on issues with and paths forward to equitable course content.
Educated policymakers have created and continue to create discriminatory policies that cause death and harm to marginalized communities. The curriculum that we study influences our behavior. During our workshop, participants will learn how to create a learning environment that supports diverse identities by examining how current classroom norms uphold systemic, institutionalized natures of oppression by not implementing the ideals of diversity and inclusivity in their classroom.
