ACTIVIST SPOTLIGHT: ARI JUAREZ

My name is Ari and I am a junior at NYU Gallatin’s School of Individualized Study. My concentration in Gallatin is “Latin American Discard Studies.” My interests surround land use, indigenous rights and sovereignty, and waste systems with a geographic focus in Latin America. I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and went to school in a rural area where activism was never really embraced. I always had to travel to the city center to organize, volunteer, and work for nonprofits. When I first moved to New York City for school, I was hoping to find similar opportunities.

I met the College Network of the Workers Circle after a member messaged the Sunrise Movement NYU Chapter with an opportunity to go to Washington, DC to protest voter suppression. While I was not versed in the subject and had normally focused on environmental activism, I decided to give it a shot to connect with people. On the DC trip, I met many college students with similar passions for activism and desires to be the change we want to see in the world around us. I still talk to these people to this day, three years later, and always feel supported by the College Network. I have been able to attend amazing online and in-person events, learn some Yiddish and try delicious Challah bread for the first time on a College Network Lower East Side tour. 

While I am not Jewish, I have been embraced by the Workers Circle and feel my values are reflected in the multiracial and multi-generational democracy that the organization strives for. My interests and future are represented in this community and can only hope that others across all backgrounds and histories find this activist space as a way to connect with others, especially because activism can be so isolating. There is no better feeling than completing a protest, phone banking session, or even a Lower East Side tour with genuine and kind-hearted activists by your side.

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Ari (left) in front of Albert Gallatin statue in Washington, D.C.