14 minute read
MSU WOMEN
Celebrating MSU Texas Women: Part One
JAMILAH KANGUDJA
Community engagement and leadership development graduate assistant
Kangudja has worn many hats at MSU Texas. From founding the choir group Echos of Gospel to being Black Student Union President, Kangudja took every opportunity given to her.
“I held all these different leadership positions I think mainly because people believed in me, even when I didn’t necessarily believe in myself,” Kangudja said,
As a leader, Kangudja prefers to work behind the scenes and takes a collaborative approach when working with others. Being organized is also a necessity for her to stay on track.
“I just go with the flow. I’m very organized, I like notes, I like having an agenda because I can talk and we will go everywhere around the world in 2.5 seconds if we don’t have an agenda....” Kangudja said. “I like to take a collaborative approach because I like to seek out the best in people just like people sought out the best in me.”
Kangudja has made statements that not everyone liked, but that didn’t stop her from sticking to her instincts. Her advice to young women is to stand their ground.
“Standing my ground, no matter what. My gut, my instinct, I have it for a reason. If I felt like things weren’t right, even if I felt like it was going to be just me, the only person who had my back, I had to make sure I was firm in that,” Kangduja said. “You have to reaffirm yourself, you have to let yourself know that ‘I wouldn’t be here if people didn’t like me.’ Just because one person or 10,000 people say [hateful things] people put you in that position. You ended up in that position for a reason.”
CLAUDIA MONTOYA
Professor of Spanish
Montoya grew up in Puebla, Mexico, and moved to the United States when she was 26-years-old to get her Ph.D. in Spanish and Spanish American literature with a second concentration in Portuguese at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Growing up in a traditional male-oriented culture gave Montoya the grit to have her voice heard.
“I was taught men make the important decisions and take care of the important things, so, it was always a battle to have my voice heard and counted. That gave me a lot of resilience and determination....” Montoya said.
The women in Montoya’s life have shown her the strength women can hold in groups. She is proud to be a woman and said that women’s culture is valuable to society.
“Women [have the ability] to organize as a group, to form strong bonds and help each other out. I come from a family of loud strong women, and it was very self-assuring to see them act as a group, not only in the gatherings cooking food for the entire extended family but for when there was, for example, a family emergency....” Montoya said. “I also think what makes women special is that they experience pain in more depth, the simple fact that they can give birth and endure the pains of labor tells you that they are designed to deal with pain, probably better than men.”
Montoya says valuing yourself is of upmost importance.
“The value you give to yourself is how other people will treat you. Be confident in your decisions, but willing to change course if you have to,” Montoya said
Ysasi received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and film studies. Upon entering the workforce, Ysasi got her foot in the door with admissions at MSU Texas as an evaluator.
“When the next opportunity that arose on campus opened up, it was in an immigration advising role, and so I applied for that, thinking I could utilize my philosophy skills in terms of the critical thinking that went into that degree,” Ysasi said.
From the assistant director of the Global Education Office, Ysasi has now moved back to the admissions office to grow further in her career.
“This is more of the role that has been working with the welcome center, campus tours, mustangs rally and some of those signature events for students. I’m really excited to bring that skillset and excitement of
7
Celebrating MSU Texas Women: Part One
ELIZABETH YSASI
serving students and giving information to prospective students and trying to get them to enroll here at MSU,” Ysasi said.
Ysasi’s advice for women in the workforce is to notice if their hard work is being taken advantage of.
“Being aware of a toxic work environment and learning the resources to speak up for that.... We may not always be aware of the signs that we’re being taken advantage of or that we’re being harassed because it might not be blatant. It’s not always in a sexual manner. It’s in workloads,” Ysasi said. “If you’re willing to take more things on because you want to shine as a star worker, sometimes people will see that and see what else they can push your limit on because maybe you just don’t know how to say no to things.”
SOON-MI CHOI
Associate professor and graduate coordinator for exercise physiology program
Choi grew up in South Korea and received her bachelor’s in education and a master’s in exercise biomechanics at Yonsei University. She then went on to secure her Ph.D. in exercise physiology at Kyung Hee University while raising her 6-month-old baby. Yearning for more education in her field, Choi packed herself up and moved to the United States.
“My life path was a little bit different from others. My whole education was from Korea. I came to the United States to do a post-doctoral fellowship at Texas A&M International University, Laredo and then spent a year at UT Austin,” Choi said.
Planning on only spending two years in the US, Choi began applying for faculty positions at universities just to see what she could get. Choi eventually landed the tenor track assistant professor position at MSU in 2014.
“I tried 16 applications and only MSU contacted me. I got a phone interview first and then a campus visit. The faculty here impressed me so I got the job!”
Now tenured and promoted to associate professor, Choi is also the graduate coordinator of the exercise physiology program. She attributes much of her success to never giving up and urges everyone to keep going.
“I encourage my friends, students, colleagues not to give up! Society is not going to give you many chances, but don’t give up because I strongly believe how I became a professor was because I try really hard. I never give up. I’m not the really smart one, some have higher potential, but they give up because it’s too hard,” Choi said.
MITZI LEWIS
Associate professor of mass communication
Lewis worked in the corporate world and spent some time in the institutional research office at MSU Texas before becoming a professor.
“I always thought it would be really cool if I could teach. I just didn’t know that I would have the chance to,” Lewis said. “I really love Wichita Falls and I have family here so it’s not like I was willing to get up and go somewhere else. Then this perfect position came up. It ended up being perfect [and] I didn’t know it at the time.”
Lewis attributes her success to the mentors and advocates she has had along the way.
“Really the people we spend the most time with have an extraordinary impact on our lives. It can impact our mood, how we see the world [and] what we think of ourselves or expect of ourselves,” Lewis said.
If she could tell her younger self anything, Lewis would tell her not to be afraid to ask questions.
“It’s okay not to have all the answers. I used to feel like I needed to always have the answer and that’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself. Nobody has all the answers,” Lewis said. “I think I used to be nervous about asking questions because I thought I might look dumb or something… “Asking questions is a very smart thing to do, so don’t be afraid to ask questions.”
Grateful to be in her position, Lewis stressed that successes shouldn’t define someone’s worth.
“Remember that career is only a part of who we are....” Lewis said. “Always remember it’s only a part of who we are and it’s important to take care of ourselves.”
8 March 15, 2021 Campus Voices | News | MSU Texas Women | Artwalk | Media | Sports | Collegiate Health DOWNTOWN ARTWALK RELAUNCHED FOR 2021
After Hours Artwalk live music, March 4.
ABIGAIL JONES REPORTER
Downtown Wichita Falls Development’s After Hours Artwalk (AHA!) is back as of March 4. This was the first official AHA! since COVID-19 shut down large-group events.
“Due to COVID restrictions [the artwalk is] obviously a little bit different right now,” Becky Raeke, chair of AHA! and co-owner of 9th Street Studios, said. “I know that [the artwalk] benefits other businesses and businesses have been really hurting this last year, so it’s a labor of love.”
The artwalk brought foot traffic back to these hurting businesses. Businesses near and far from the hub of the artwalk, around 8th and Indiana streets, experienced this, such as Sandi Gant, an artist at Seventh Street Studio, who was delighted to see people going to the studio.
“We’ve had a lot of people coming through. Everyone has been so respectful, wearing masks and social distancing. We’re looking forward to a great year,” Sherri Lane, director of social media and marketing at the Wichita Falls Art Association said. “Everybody is ready to get out, even with a mask, and walk around.”
AHA! brought together the community despite COVID-19 and has its attendees following COIVD-19 guidelines. According to Raeke, the Farmer’s Market was at full COVID-restricted capacity. “People are glad to be out… So many people have been vaccinated that they’re feeling a little safer to get out in places… Maybe we’re getting back to normal, some form of normalcy,” Sharon Norton, artist at Seventh Street Studio, said.
This normalcy is dependent entirely on the community, according to Raeke. The artwalk being held during after-hours has also attracted many members of the community that are usually busy during the day.
“I like to build community… I feel that we have a family community downtown. It’s a huge area, but everybody kind of looks out for each other,” Raeke said. “It really provides an opportunity for people to come in after hours.”
When Raeke and her team first rebranded the artwalk to AHA! a big part of their job was contacting businesses directly about getting involved.
“Now that we’ve done a lot of work and the hand-holding, they’re starting to do it themselves and realize the benefit that it brings to their business and downtown as a whole,” Raeke said.
Citizens attending the artwalk said they could feel this benefit, building a sense of community through events celebrating the work of others within it.
“It’s really nice to have a sense of community. Wichita Falls is not known for having a lot to do, but this is one of the nice things that you could do here,” Cody Parish, Redwine Honors coordinator and artwalk attendee, said. “I’m really happy that they brought it back.”
This community includes local artists, students and non-students alike. Showcasing their art, not just paintings but ceramics, metals and other mediums.
“It’s good access for all artists in Wichita Falls, especially young artists, to just go set up a booth, sell some art and feel good about their art. That’s such a good thing to have in our community, especially downtown,” Skylar Thomson, psychology junior and artwalk attendee, said. “It adds something to downtown. It gives downtown more purpose.”
The AHA! Team is constantly looking for new ways to support young artists of any medium. Building support systems for students such as engineering freshman, Elizabeth Horn who wished for a similar event on campus and plans to attend future AHA! events.
“We’re always racking our brains on ways that we can build bridges for students to the downtown area, not just because we want them to stay in Wichita Falls but because, as a gallery owner, we want to provide a support system in the real world [and help them with] that transition,” Raeke said.
Raeke said her team decided to extend the artwalk from seven monthly recurring events to nine so to provide more opportunities for the town’s artists.
“We’re always up for new ideas and crazy out-of-the-box things. You’ll be seeing some performance art throughout the season. It is a longer season this year,” Raeke said. “It’s really exciting for me to dream up new ideas and ways that we can creatively use the talent that we have here in Wichita Falls [to] show people what we are.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTINA BRITT
9 ‘WandaVision’
STUDIES LOVE AND SPINS MYSTERIES
Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen in WandaVision (2021)
Marvel’s stab at creat- “WandaVison’’ drops viewers into the idyl- a new decade of television with its own sitcom ing Disney+ TV shows lic, suburban bliss of Westbrook, New Jersey trends and standards to spoof. A stand-out mois off to a strong start circa 1950-something. The square aspect ratio, ment is when color washes over the screen, with their new hit “WandaVi- black-and-white visuals, and jaunty theme all ringing in the 1970s and there’s a fun gag as sion,” proving that although mirror the wholesome antics of the classic Elizabeth Olsen, the sister of Mary Kate and their classic characters haven’t “Dick Van Dyke Show” as Wanda and Vision Ashley Olsen, parodies “Full House.” But as Brian Lang been on the big screens in over a year, they’ve still got what it (Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany) settle into married life in a new town, hiding their powers time passes, cracks begin to form in Wanda’s perfect world and the viewers at home aren’t takes to make a hit. “WandaVision’’ quickly from their neighbors and friends. The plots of the only ones with questions. It’s hard to disdrew widespread attention with its weekly the first few episodes are simple, involving mis- cuss the later episodes without spoiling anyinstallments of short, cliff-hanger-filled epi- communication between the couple that leads thing, so I won’t even try, but it’s safe to say sodes, quirky themes and mysteries for fans to to silliness or the couple using their secret pow- that Wanda’s perfect life starts catching the pick apart and speculate about. In a mere eight ers for a talent show performance. There are a eye of the outside world, and not in a good way. weeks, the show has snowballed into some- few hints of what’s to come, but it’s mostly just I enjoyed how “WandaVision” veers off thing even the biggest Marvel fans and experts fun. course from the normal style and themes of couldn’t predict. Each episode advances this super duo into Marvel, as it chooses to pause and explore the
PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB.COM psyche of one of its most interesting, but underdeveloped, heroes. There’s hardly any of the usual fights and the Thanos-inspired plot of the first two dozen films feels like a million miles away. The creators still manage to wrangle in some minor characters from the films and comics (Kat Dennings, Kathryn
Hahn and Teyonah Parris are outstanding), but this is definitely new territory for both the creators and fans.
I only have minor quibbles with “Wanda-
Vision” and they mostly come when looking at the show as a whole. I felt like the first few episodes promised a lot that went undelivered and I was hoping that the less than super plotlines like the dinner party and magic show in the first episodes would tie into the bigger picture in a more interesting way. I felt like the ending was rushed, as the writers chose to dump exposition into fight scenes and leave key characters underdeveloped as the final credits rolled. All in all, though, I’m a huge fan and enjoyed the ups and downs of a good, but not life-changing show.
One of my favorite parts about “Wanda-
Vision” though is its weekly episodes that generate shock waves across social media.
It’s fun to see the die-hard fans and casual viewers speculate and react to each new episode, churning out lofty theories that rarely pan out. This year has been off to a slow start in the pop culture sphere, so it’s nice to have something that everyone can enjoy collectively and come back to every week, and I’m excited that Disney is continuing this trend of releasing new episodes on Fridays for their upcoming Marvel projects.
So if you haven’t logged onto Disney+ once this year, this is your sign to go give “WandaVision” a shot. Its cheesiness and shockingly short episodes quickly grow on you, delivering a satisfying mystery and fascinating character study all in a brief six hours.
