Academic Archive

Acknowledgments, Press, and Recognitions

Commencement Speaker

The four years spent at California State University Monterey Bay had been an Ottertastic adventure. It was filled with struggle, but it was also filled with faith, hope, and love which are three pillars that have kept me determined throughout my studies. My actions and leadership brought many opportunities, one of the most proud moments was delivering the commencement speech for my school within the college. Featured in the link below.

CSUMB x My Graduation Speech
Article: Affinity Grad celebrations honor diversity of CSUMB graduates

CSUMB honors the accomplishments of its graduating students who come from historically marginalized and underrepresented communities.

CSUMB x Affinity Grad
Article: Students and staff recognized by NAACP for supporting POC

The partnership between the Monterey County chapter of the NAACP and CSUMB celebrated its 10th anniversary by honoring community leaders and social justice advocates. Three CSUMB students received awards in the Youth Black Excellence category, and two employees received African American Advocate and Champion awards.

CSUMB x NAACP Award Night

Collaborations, Extra-curriculars, and Positions

Otter Cross Cultural Center

Cultural Engagement(2019-2020) Signature Programs(2020-2021)
Student Coordinator
Mission: The Otter Cross Cultural Center (OC3) cultivates a collection vision towards critical consciousness by offering educational programs, holistic leadership development, academic resources, and experiential learning opportunities to bridge passion into practice so that students, staff, and faculty grow into leaders of change to eliminate social inequalities. By fostering meaningful dialogue and activism while also promoting empathy and social justice, the OC3 takes proactive approaches that respects people's evolving sense of self, perspectives, identities, and voices.
Vision: In partnership with campus and community members, the Otter Cross Cultural Center will be a dynamic and culturally empowering hub that serves as an advocate for social justice by building bridges across communities, identities, and intolerance. The OC3 empowers campus community members with the lifelong tools to advance dialogue, empathy, critical thinking, and self-reflection.
Ethnic Studies Working Committe: Served as student member from 2019-2021

Authority:
Serve as subcommittee of the URCC and chaired by ES Working Group Facilitator. If the Board of Trustees approves proposed Title V changes for GE Area F in November, the ES Working Group becomes a subcommittee of the GECC. The URCC would continue minus ES.
Charge:
Oversee the Ethnic Studies requirement including learning outcomes, criteria for certification, and certification of Ethnic Studies courses.

CSUMB x Ethnic Studies

Research

African Heritage Research Collaborative

The African Heritage Research Collaboration was created in the same year as the establishment of the Center for Black Student Success. They focus on black student needs on the CSU Monterey Bay campus by conducting research with a small group of Black Students, exposing them to different approaches and methods utilized in different fields.

CSUMB x AHRC
Koret Foundation

The Koret Scholars program offers CSUMB undergraduates an opportunity to be engaged in robust interdisciplinary social science research facilitated by CSUMB faculty mentors, with a goal to disseminate research regionally and nationally at conferences. Find out more about the Bay Area Koret Foundation mission and the gift to CSUMB.
The UROC Koret Scholars Program provides:
-funded undergraduate research opportunities in the social sciences.
-support systems for individually mentored undergraduate research.
-support for the development of students' written communication skills and graduate school preparedness, including writing support for nationally competitive scholarship and fellowships.
-a cohort model with shared interests and professional goals who progress through the Koret Program together.
the ability to be part of a Bay Area network and Koret Scholar community.

CSUMB x Koret
Article: CAHSS Students Sweep Fall UROC Research Competition

The results of the 6th Annual UROC Fall Undergraduate Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity Competitionare in and CAHSS Students sweep the awards! Our congratulations go out to:
Amelia Parker-First Place
Melissa-Ann Lagunas-Second Place
Jesus Sanchez-First Place
Darcelle Burnett-Third Place

CSUMB x UROC

Masters Collection

Some of the pieces from my Masters of Cultural Studies Program

Beauty in Texture

After visiting Project Black at the Henry Art Gallery, I was asked to contribute to a response publication. Below is the statement and the art that was presented. It was my first time presenting art to the public in this case. It was a quite vulnerable moment and had positive impact and feedback, inspiring me to continue to show my perspective and grow in my material and skill usage.
“Embracing beauty. Glorifying texture. Defining Black elegance. This is what I see in this art full of texture and color. My art features a woman looking back over her shoulder, catching one final glimpse of the creativity she just witnessed. Running through her mind is a single phrase, “beauty in texture.” The floral pieces are imperfect and beautiful, adding texture to her thoughts.” ~ Darchelle D. Burnett
Dancing in the Wake

When you see this image what do you see? Take a moment….. tilt your head to the left and guess again. Art is always up to interpretation, and most of us know the quote, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” And that couldn’t be more true for this piece.
Dancing in the Wake was inspired by reading Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs. During my performance studies course, we dove deeper(no pun intended) into understanding the connections that we have with marine life and bridging those thoughts with understanding movement, loss, grief, and the wake of life. Please see the button below to be directed to Gumbs’ website.
The acrylic art, in its 3D texture, shows a woman dancing and a marine mammal, which is often interpreted as a whale or dolphin. The back of the marine animal is one side of the woman's hips and takes the form of her shape.
Making the Switch

Created out of the thoughts of my final Capstone, the production of this piece is about the path towards “making the switch” to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Spaces outside of Higher Education after dedicating so much of my studies to developing those practices within academic institutions.
There were different phases that I personally had to pass to get to the final construction of my research. The milestones actually fall in line with the pieces that were major in my collegiate development going from “Beauty in Texture,” to “Dancing in the Wake,” to “Look at Me, Look at You,” and finishing with “Making the Switch.” Please read more about my academic journey during my master’s program below.