Diving into “Unity” a little more, this week’s Campus C-U-T-I-E is Skukura Woods. Skukura has been involved with Juniata’s Unity House since she started here and tells us what unity means to her.
Name: Skukura Woods
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Year: 2014
POE: Creative Writing in Communication Arts
What does unity mean to you?
It’s more than tolerance. Tolerance means you’re able to put up with someone or something. Unity is being able to accept the reality of injustices or someone’s gender identity and being able to live harmoniously among each other.
Do you feel Unity is present at Juniata? If so, how?
I think Juniata has done a pretty good job at working toward unity because of the Beyond Tolerance series and P.E.A.C.E certificate, but we still have a long way to go. The beauty of Juniata is that we have people from all different ethnicities, regions, religions, socioeconomic class, etc., but there is always room for improvement. One thing that I love about Juniata, and most of the administrators, is that I feel we are starting to recognize what improvements we need to make, and are actively working towards creating true unity to the best of our abilities.
How did you get involved with the Unity house?
When I came for the Accepted Students Open House in April 2010, I barely saw any diversity on this campus, and it was really… it wasn’t that comforting, so I asked what resources there are for diverse and minority students and I was led to the Unity House. Upon the start of the Fall Semester, I applied and got a job in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and have worked my way up to Juniata Associate and fallen in love with diversity and inclusion work.
What other campus activities are you involved with?
I’m the President of the African American Student Alliance, a Student Government Domestic Minority representative, a Steward of Diversity, member of the Diversity Committee, columnist and marketing manager for the Juniatian, and Plexus Fellowship mentor.
What is your favorite memory of Juniata?
Giving the student welcome speech at the 2014 MLK Convocation. I spoke after President Troha and before the keynote speaker, Erica Huggins. They both commended me on my speech, which was such an honor to even share a platform with both of them at such an inspirational event.
The Unity House is just another unique aspect of Juniata, which encompasses all backgrounds. For more information about the Unity House check out http://www.juniata.edu/services/diversity/UnityHouse.html