Faith in the Vaccine and Communities of Strength: An Asset-Based Framework for Social Change

10:30am-12pm

Presenter: Tara Segal, Assistant Director, University Ministry

Session Type: Panel Discussion

Topic: Human rights, social justice, advocacy, and activism

Description

In collaboration with the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), Dominican University students participated in an initiative called “Faith in the Vaccine”. Twelve students were placed in seven community partner sites and found innovative ways of addressing vaccine accessibility and hesitancy within communities hardest hit by the pandemic – the majority of which were Latinx. The students were invited to approach their work from an asset-based framework in which they considered the strengths that exist within themselves and the communities where they were serving. The students’ collective work resulted in more than 300 individuals being vaccinated in a three-month span of time. Dominican University is continuing this work through its Ministry en lo Cotidano program. Panelists will discuss their experience in the program, their struggles and successes with culturally-sensitive communication, how an asset-based framework impacted their success, and how such a framework might foster transformative relationships in Latinx communities.

Facilitators

Tara Segal

Assistant Director, University Ministry

Dominican University

tsegal@dom.edu

Tara Segal serves as Assistant Director for University Ministry at Dominican University. Tara is currently pursuing an Ecumenical Doctor of Ministry degree with a focus in Intercultural Studies and Ministry as a Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Scholar at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL. She has a MA in theology from Catholic Theological Union. Growing up in an interfaith home instilled in her a passion for interreligious dialogue. Her study and ministry have focused on accompanying others as they delve more deeply into their relationships with God and learning from others through retreats, prayer, service, and the experiences of daily life.

Atzel Albino

Atzel is a senior neuroscience major at Dominican and plans to become a physician. He comes to Faith in the Vaccine with valuable experience his first year at DU in Ministry en lo Cotidiano where he served as an intern at Latino Union Chicago. He has also engaged justice and healthcare as an interpreter at a community clinic. Atzel feels strongly that all people have a right to healthcare regardless of their race, income, or citizenship status. As a Faith in the Vaccine ambassador, Atzel is serving onsite at Dominican University where he is working to make sure all students, their families and our community have access to the vaccine and address any issues of hesitancy they might have.

Brenda Rodriguez

Brenda graduated Dominican University with a BA in Psychology and minors in Spanish and Criminology. Brenda is continuing her education as she pursues her doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Roosevelt University. She is committed to this path as her success will mean greater diversity and representation within the healthcare field so more clients have access to clinicians who better understand their cultural perspectives. She served as a Faith in the Vaccine ambassador at Taller de José.

Nathaly Valdivia

Nathaly is a senior majoring in Bio-Chemistry at Dominican with the dream of obtaining her Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology. She is confident that the role of community is central to bringing justice to the field of public health and its underlying systems and hopes to work directly with underserved communities in order to address these issues. Nathaly’s partner site for Faith in the Vaccine is the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL).