UNLV’s Common Read program strives to bring each incoming class together through a shared experience around one novel. This summer, students started reading Tell Me Who You Are by Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo and had the opportunity to hear the authors speak at Creates.
Here, four students share how this book has impacted them each in different ways — from being motivated to create deeper connections to finding more ways to have conversations about important topics. Tell Me Who You Are is certainly leaving its footprint on the path of these incoming students’ collegiate journeys.
English Major
Why is this book important to you?
I think a lot of people can only ignore race, gender, or sexuality-based discrimination because they do not personally experience it or have never seen someone else experience it and understood what it was. This book, Tell Me Who You Are, has so many stories from so many people across the country that those who read it cannot ignore the facts of prejudice and injustice laid out for them. Hopefully, from there, this book will create more conversations regarding these hugely important issues, which is a great starting point on the journey to becoming better people.
Why did you want to share your story?
My story stripped down to its barest simplicity, is not uncommon. The high-achiever from high school going to their local college, being a commuter student, not having an exact plan for the future, etc. — these are things that many of my peers might be able to relate to. At the very least, my story can show people that they are not alone in their struggles.
How does this book tie into what it means to be a Rebel?
UNLV is tied as the most ethnically diverse campus in the nation, and as such, it is so incredibly important to acknowledge that we all come from different backgrounds. This book gives a personal look into some diverse backgrounds, which may help people realize the vast spectrum of diversity and help them to develop compassion and empathy toward those who do not share many, or any, of the same experiences they have.
Graphic Design and Media Major
Why is this book important to you?
It speaks to me because it shares the experiences of others in order to connect with countless people across the globe.
Why did you want to share your story?
This book inspired me to tell my own story to the world because someone out there could be sharing a similar story with me.
How does this book tie into what it means to be a Rebel?
This book ties into what it means to be a rebel in that you are allowing yourself to be who you truly are, in a way you are rejecting the notion of conforming to what society wants you to be, and embracing the real you and finding people who share that view.
Couple and Family Therapy graduate student at UNLV Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine
Why is this book important to you?
Getting to read each individual story with an image to each name allowed me to learn about how much we remain on the surface when we interact with each other. These surface-level conversations may not include anything regarding race, culture, or intersectionality; however, the authors were able to share these topics by capturing them in the stories that were told by the individuals.
Within the book, there were stories I related to, could not relate to, and ones that didn’t cross my mind. The way that the images of each person had surface-level information made me reflect on those who I have met in life, and what stories do I know about them. This book challenged me to be vulnerable with others, and to engage in conversations that would continue to reframe the way that I think.
Why did you want to share your story?
When I entered UNLV as a college freshman, I remember listening to other students and alumni who would share their stories. Coming in as a first generation latina student, I turned to their stories to remind myself that I wasn’t alone with what I was feeling on a college campus for the first time or the experiences I’ve had.
I wanted to share my story because I hope that someone who is coming into UNLV or is already at UNLV feels represented and has something that reminds them of themselves. I wanted others who heard my story to also think about where they come from, where they are now, and the potential that they have.
In addition, I wanted to encourage those who are coming into UNLV or already a student to start sharing their own stories with others. We hear this all the time, but there is truly no person who is the same, so no story will be the same.
What do you hope other students will get out of this book?
When viewing social media, there are constantly heavy topics. The book shared the racial literacy lens, and how we should become self-activating in order to be effective activists. The authors provided “the three Cs,” (“Be Conscious, Be Critical, and Be a Contributor”), and how we can start here when working on being effective activists.
As students, we can reflect on how we can make it a habit to use racial literacy lens in the different spaces that we find ourselves on campus. How as students can we reframe the way that we think? In addition, I hope other students will learn how to share their own stories, and what questions to think about when sharing their stories. I hope other students will continue challenging themselves on how they better understand and communicate with others who are different from them.
Psychology graduate student
What do you hope other students will get out of this book?
I hope other students can make shared connections with others, especially others with different backgrounds from them. In my opinion, feeling like you have something in common with your neighbor or community members is a vital building block for empathy. And we need more empathy in our world, now more than ever.
Why did you want to share your story?
I wanted to share my story because I haven't had many spaces to share stories of personal identity. I am a biracial person who grew up in the late ’80s and ’90s, when conversations around race were not had as frequently and widely as they are now. I grew up primarily with the side of my family that looked nothing like me and I went to very homogeneous schools as a child; I never had a teacher that looked like me. I feel that the perspectives of mixed-race individuals are unique and frequently not given a platform of their own, so when I get the chance to share a piece of my story, I typically do.
How does this book tie into what it means to be a Rebel?
Though these conversations are happening more and more, I feel many people are still hesitant to engage in conversations around race and cultural identity. And the people in this country who should be the most well-versed in racial literacy — our police officers, judges, politicians, lawmakers, teachers, etc — are still, as a whole, not there yet.
A UNLV Rebel is "independent, resilient, and at times unconventional"; we dare to be different. And our programs have equity and inclusion at their core. No matter what profession Rebel graduates end up in, I feel they will be confident and ready to be an advocate, have those critical conversations, and truly change the world.
