Yvette Cho is a 2019 Brandeis University graduate who served the last three of her four years as captain of the Judges’ volleyball program. She earned All-Association honors in her junior season. Cho currently works as a project associate at a public health research and consulting organization where she primarily focuses on health equity and policy work.
The UAA “Conversations About Race and Racism” series seeks to lift the voices of people of color and recognize the challenges faced in both athletics and academics at the collegiate level. By sharing personal stories, we hope to elevate the conversation about race to raise awareness and bring about change.
Aware of Race Early
“Race has been at the forefront of my mind for as long as I can remember. I grew up as a first generation American in an immigrant family. My first neighborhood was low-income families of color with very few Asians. Most families were Black or LatinX. My dad was taken by the criminal justice system for substance abuse and my non-native English-speaking mother had to work so much, sometimes three jobs at a time,” Cho recorded. “We were mostly surrounded by Black women and families of color who had our backs and supported us.”
Although her high school was not nearly as diverse as her neighborhood, it was compared to her sport of choice. “Playing volleyball was another realm from what I was used to. Nearly all the girls and families were white. I noticed, but never asked why,” she pointed out. “I was used to playing on YMCA teams, but I learned that if I wanted to play in college, I need to play on club or travel teams. I could only afford it by working multiple days of the week year around. I was proud of that fact, but should any teenager be subjected to working that much just to be able to play?”
Before going to Brandeis, she never thought much about what it took to play. “It was part of my life that I just took as life. I never asked myself why things were the way they were,” she commented. “The ‘why?’ started happening when I was taking college classes in economics, and health science and policy. It helped me frame my thinking around why working hard was never enough for the hardest-working people around me.”
READ YVETTE'S STORY:
