From the president
Christina Kim, a second-year student at the University of Michigan, embodies leadership within the Michigan Community Scholars Program (MCSP), an esteemed living-learning community committed to fostering community engagement, social justice, and dialogue. Christina actively collaborates with community partners, employing diverse avenues such as direct service, dialogues, reflective practices, and educational initiatives to facilitate meaningful community engagement. Moreover, she serves as a pivotal student leader within Community HealthEd, a student-driven non-profit organization dedicated to advancing community health and addressing specific HealthyPeople 2030 objectives through the creation and dissemination of evidence-based educational resources. Hailing from South Korea, Christina brings a global perspective to her advocacy. She has garnered recognition from the Ministry of Youth and Sports of South Sudan for her exceptional contributions in empowering the youth of Hope School through her founding of the Hope to the Future Association. Her initiatives span from organizing donations of school supplies to constructing solar lights, translating literature from Korean to English, and spearheading anti-child soldier campaigns. Driven by an unwavering passion for confronting health disparities and social inequities, Christina is deeply invested in understanding the mechanisms through which diverse groups can forge coalitions, transcending differences, and power dynamics, to address these pressing challenges collectively.
Personal Statement
I believe in the productive yet lovely discomfort that true difference brings – it allows us to engage in meaningful dialogues and disrupt power imbalances. My belief started when I joined the Michigan Community Scholars Program in my first year of college. Being able to engage with the community first-hand ignited in me a certainty that the most effective and authentic way to address inequalities is by empowering the voices of those who have been most disproportionately affected by them. To achieve this goal, I returned as a student leader and am currently developing and facilitating community engagement for 100+ students through direct service initiatives, community-led dialogues, and other pathways in hopes of fostering mutual growth and understanding. I am also interested in dismantling health inequalities, by serving as a scientific editor for Community Health Education, a student-led nonprofit that develops and distributes evidence-based educational newsletters to communities. I have also worked extensively for the youth of Hope School in order to support South Sudanese children in receiving quality education. All the work I have done and will continue to do is in hopes that one day, everyone can unapologetically be themselves and empower each other’s differences.