Utah Valley University announced the Champions of Inclusion Awards this week to honor students, faculty, staff, and community partners who advance inclusivity — one of the three core pillars of the institution — within the campus community. The Champions were nominated by their colleagues and peers and will be recognized at the Champions of Inclusion Awards banquet, where several prominent campus and community members will be in attendance.

Noemy Medina, assistant director for First-Year Experience and Student Retention, won the Staff Champion Award. According to her colleagues, Medina “works tirelessly to create equitable opportunities for all students and helps students feel more welcome and safe.” Medina initiated conversations that contributed to developing an organizational proposal that influenced promising practices toward transforming the experiences of a large community of students with varying documentation statuses at UVU.

Medina’s focused efforts involved examining best practices in parallel local and national institutions; outlining implications of college access, policies, and support; and advocating for more careful considerations and attention to stronger processes, partnerships, and privacy at UVU.

The Student Champion Award was given to Cristell Marcial, who works as a student success specialist. Marcial, a first-generation Latina student and graduate of UVU’s social work program, has served approximately 200 students a week while leveraging promising practices to enhance student success among UVU’s most vulnerable populations. Using her fluency in Spanish and English, Marcial assists minority students in achieving their goals and shares her knowledge of resources and opportunities available at the university.

Marcial uses her experience as a student leader and employee to strengthen the confidence of other students at UVU, helping them complete their degrees and feel included throughout the experience. Her colleagues said that Cristell “is a strong role model for students, and she is the perfect Student Champion of Inclusion at UVU.”

Dr. Leandra Hernandez, assistant professor in the communication studies program, was awarded the Faculty Champion Award. She is the immediate past chair of the National Communication Association La Raza Caucus and the Latina/o Communication Studies Division, and the vice-chair elect of the Feminist and Gender Studies division.

Dr. Hernandez is dedicated to innovating inclusive learning opportunities and connecting with students on an individual level. Her courses are designed so that students foster meaningful connections that include female mentorship (“femtorship”), critical service-learning opportunities, and critical consciousness-raising that (re)awakens the imagination.

She encourages her students from diverse backgrounds to affirm their voices. Dr. Hernandez structures her service-learning courses to provoke radical possibilities and promote increased collaborations between students and healthcare organizations that lead to more culturally competent and relevant understandings and practices.

University College was awarded the Department Champion Award in response to faculty and staff’s efforts to promise a “place and a path for every student.” The division serves a high rate of students with more difficult educational histories, students of color, and first-gen and non-traditional students. University College is dedicated to careful hiring practices, and 30% of its full-time faculty are faculty of color. In 2020, 90% of the department’s scholarships were given to students who self-identified as having financial need, and 60% were given to students who self-identified as single parents, non-traditional, or first-generation students.

A total of 2,273 students collectively saved $246,934.65 in textbook costs due to University College’s Strategic Plan. The division has implemented inclusion throughout its areas and constantly increases equity across the board at the university.

Noemy Medina

Cristell Marcial

Dr. Leandra Hernández