Meet Nigh!

Join host Carolyne to welcome Violence Prevention and Education Intern Nigh! Learn more about what interests them, who inspires them, and their hot takes. We're glad to have them on the team!

If you are in crisis and need immediate support, please call our 24/7 interpersonal violence helpline at 303-556-2255.

Request an Appointment with an Advocate at
https://www.thepca.org/online-appointment-request

Request a Violence Prevention Presentation at
https://www.thepca.org/prevention-education

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Transcript

Meet Nigh!

Wed, Sep 28, 2022 10:25AM • 14:38

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

awesome, pca, talk, feel, cats, nigh, psychology, campus, learn, guess, dogs, michi, violence prevention, inspire, people, mentioned, great, older, presentations, front paws

SPEAKERS

Carolyne Lanyero, Nigh Kim

Carolyne Lanyero  00:00

Hi, this is Carolyne, and you're listening to, the Phoenix Cast. Hi, everyone. As I mentioned before, I'm your host, Carolyne for today, and joining me is intern Nigh. Nigh, can you introduce yourself?

Nigh Kim  00:29

Hi, I'm Nigh Kim. I'm a senior at CU Denver, and I'm an intern in violence prevention education.

Carolyne Lanyero  00:38

Awesome. And so you mentioned you were a senior. So that's exciting. Are you graduating in the spring semester? Fall?

Nigh Kim  00:45

Hopefully the spring. 

Carolyne Lanyero  00:46

Okay. Okay. And can you let the people know what your major is? Your minor? Area of study?

Nigh Kim  00:52

All right, I am majoring in psychology, medical psych to be exact. And then my minor is in creative writing. And I hope to go into just people wellness.

Carolyne Lanyero  01:07

Yeah, awesome. Like, so you talked about like people wellness, and doing psychology, what got you interested in all of that? You mentioned medical psychology specifically. Can you talk a little bit about that and what that entails?

Nigh Kim  01:19

What got me into medical psychology, and psychology in general was just, the human mind itself is such a weird place. And I really wanted to observe it in my own way. I really wanted to go into neurology at one point in time, but I don't think that side of the medical field was for me. I wanted to interact with other people.

Carolyne Lanyero  01:40

Yeah, for sure. And so now, you mentioned that you're one of the violence prevention educators at the PCA. Can you tell us a little bit of what that entails? Your day to day kind of what your role is?

Nigh Kim  01:55

All right. Being a VPE, or a violence prevention educator, my role is to educate others, I guess. And we do that through tabelings on campus, so if you ever see us, we're handing out pins. And we are educating people about our facility and what violence prevention is, and what violence in any type of relationship is, basically. We do it through social media. We make sure that we have places where people could reach out to us for and that we're active on a day to day basis. Along with we do presentations around campus as well for teachers and students. And those presentations go from anything from relationship violence, to family violence, to even violence in the working field. And we also collab with a bunch of the other facilities on campus. So the LGBTQ Center, and yeah. 

Carolyne Lanyero  02:48

Yeah, awesome. And you mentioned like the social media outreach and things like that. And you mentioned that you guys as VPEs do that. And so can you give us like an example of one of the posts that you might do or something you might put out there for people to look out for?

Nigh Kim  03:04

Most recently, we did a post about the Red Flag Campaign, and it's something that all colleges do. And what the Red Flag Campaign is, is to put awareness to how many people experience violence within relationships, and how many college students in general. We also do social media posts on where we're going to be at and where you can find us.

Carolyne Lanyero  03:27

Awesome. And then you also mentioned like some different events and like collaborations with different offices. Are there any events that people should put on their calendar that are coming up or anything like that?

Nigh Kim  03:36

Coming up here this October, I think it's Wednesday, the 19th, we are having a movie night or movie daytime. 

Carolyne Lanyero  03:45

Ooo

Nigh Kim  03:45

And we are going to be watching the movie Invisible Man. 

Carolyne Lanyero  03:50

Oh, fun.

Nigh Kim  03:51

So we'd like to see you there. 

Carolyne Lanyero  03:53

Yes, definitely. Please, everyone come. We'll have, is this right, we'll have like free food drinks, all that stuff. Halloween candy. So definitely a great event to come to. And then also like, what got you involved at the PCA? What kind of drew you to this position? How'd you learn about it?

Nigh Kim  04:11

So what got me interested in the PCA was Colorado Organization for Victims Assistance and or Advocacy. They are an organization for across Colorado, and they are a nonprofit. And they are one of the people who are funding me to work here and get me introduced to my community on the college campus.

Carolyne Lanyero  04:34

Awesome. I've never heard of that organization before. So that's great to know. How long were you, so you're still technically a part of it,

Nigh Kim  04:40

Yeah

Carolyne Lanyero  04:41

as of right now? Okay. Awesome. And when did you get involved with that organization?

Nigh Kim  04:46

I got involved with that organization last spring actually.

Carolyne Lanyero  04:51

Okay, awesome. Awesome. And so, in terms of the position you now have here at the PCA, what are you excited for?

Nigh Kim  05:02

I'm excited, uh, well, what's exciting to me now is that I get to work in the community space, I guess. And it's just really nice to work among other people who have the same, the same mindset as you, I guess, or people who are in the same field as you that you are interested in. And they take pride in.

Carolyne Lanyero  05:24

Yeah, definitely. And do you have like, what do you hope to bring to this position and make it your own? Do you have like any plans that you want to execute? Or maybe something that you've seen, like, oh, this would be nice if we had this on this campus?

Nigh Kim  05:38

My plans, I feel like are I want to make a difference. And like, I want to be a part of just, whenever I give presentations, I want people to know my name and know that I'll be there, I guess. As just someone they can talk to, or someone who can point them into the right direction.

Carolyne Lanyero  05:55

Yeah, awesome. So just kind of to clarify, just like a figure on campus who people know that they can come to as a safe space 

Nigh Kim  06:02

Yeah. 

Carolyne Lanyero  06:02

sort of idea? Awesome. And so I guess, you kind of touched on this a little bit, what you're excited for, so what's your favorite part so far about being a VPE?

Nigh Kim  06:13

My favorite part so far is working with people with dogs. 

Carolyne Lanyero  06:18

Ooo

Nigh Kim  06:18

This office has like, two or three dogs in it once in a while and it's great. 

Carolyne Lanyero  06:23

Oh, yeah, that is very true. Do you have any dogs, any pets?

Nigh Kim  06:27

I have two cats, but I do not live with them at this current point in time. Sadly.

Carolyne Lanyero  06:32

Oh, unfortunate. But just a little sidetrack, can you tell us about your cats? What are their names?

Nigh Kim  06:37

I have an older cat who is 15 and her name is Shadow and she's a black cat. And I have a younger cat, she is just a year old and her name is Cookies and Cream.

Carolyne Lanyero  06:49

Awesome. And I know we were talking with Rachel on her episode. She was talking about like how her cats have these personalities and everything. Are your cats like really big characters? Like one's more chill one's more excited?

Nigh Kim  07:04

Shadow, she's a grumpy old lady. She's kind of like the older sister type I feel like, and Cookies is the younger sister who likes to bother shadow and she'll do stuff just to make her mad. You know?

Carolyne Lanyero  07:17

Talking about definitely that sibling dynamic, do you have any siblings? 

Nigh Kim  07:21

Yeah, I have two siblings. I have an older brother named Adrian. He's like 10 years older than me, wild. And then I have an older sibling named Carter and they are four years older than me.

Carolyne Lanyero  07:34

Okay, awesome. So yeah, are you like really close? I know, sometimes, like an age gap can change that a little bit.

Nigh Kim  07:41

As I got older, I think I've gotten way closer with them just because my mind set is different. And like, we kind of are on the same page and there's a mutual understanding of being an adult, I guess. And it's like, I don't want to call myself an adult just because I feel like there is so much I need to learn, but like, I'm an adult. Yeah, yeah, I'd say so. Definitely. And so also, is there anything else you want to talk about revolving your position, anything like that? With my position? I feel like there's still a lot to learn, but the stuff I have learned, I am very excited and nervous, I guess I'm just nervous that like, I don't know enough already. And there's so much to learn.

Carolyne Lanyero  08:31

Yeah, I definitely understand. I feel like there's always like we can ever know everything. There's always more to learn. So definitely. Well getting more into about you a little bit. What do you like to do? Tell us about yourself.

Nigh Kim  08:46

Oh, man, I'm nervous. I like to write. I like to read. I also like to make costumes and just do arts and crafts. That's one of the reasons why I am a Creative Writing Minor just because I want to publish a book someday. 

Carolyne Lanyero  09:04

Ooo yeah. And so with your book, do you like writing a specific genre or anything like that? Have a preference?

Nigh Kim  09:12

I very much like non fiction and fiction. So like, if I were to do like, some of the books I'm doing are like fantastical fiction. So it's a real world setting, but it has some type of weird anomalies in it. 

Carolyne Lanyero  09:29

Ooo. And then what about nonfiction, like autobiographies or just, I don't know, self help books?

Nigh Kim  09:39

With nonfiction, I think I'd go more towards making textbooks. I feel like writing stuff like that is very organized, and it's easier to, I guess, read.

Carolyne Lanyero  09:50

Oh, that's very interesting. That's awesome. So would you maybe like lean towards psychology textbooks, or? 

Nigh Kim  09:57

Yeah. 

Carolyne Lanyero  09:58

Okay. Dang, that's really cool. Awesome. And so just another like fun fact, do you have any personal mantras that you like to tell yourself? 

Nigh Kim  10:08

A mantra like what? 

Carolyne Lanyero  10:10

Just like a saying, like keep on swimming. Just something you tell yourself maybe to motivate yourself or just something you like to remember and keep in mind.

Nigh Kim  10:17

Something I like to keep in mind, that you're not perfect and you'll mess up, but it's one of those things where it's like, you should learn from your mistakes instead of dread on them.

Carolyne Lanyero  10:30

Snaps for that. Okay, and then also, this is just a random little question, so bear with me. But do you have any hot takes? Any unpopular opinions? Anything you'd like, die on a hill for?

Nigh Kim  10:43

Hmm. I feel like I have a few hot takes, but I feel...umm...

Carolyne Lanyero  10:52

That's okay. If the world's not ready for it, the world's not ready for it.

Nigh Kim  10:56

Pineapple on pizza is great.

Carolyne Lanyero  10:58

Ooo. Okay, okay.

Nigh Kim  11:01

Both Edward and Jacob in the Twilight series are awful partners for Bella, and Bella should have ended up with Alice. 

Carolyne Lanyero  11:09

Ooo, okay. Keep going, keep going.

Nigh Kim  11:15

Um, I find that, I can't keep this serious. I feel like going to college is mildly a waste of time whenever it comes to money, but it's nice because you find a community out of it. 

Carolyne Lanyero  11:32

Yeah, I definitely get that. That makes a lot of sense. Awesome. And so I guess a little bit more on the serious side now, what are some of the things that motivates you?

Nigh Kim  11:43

Things that motivate me? I feel like what motivates me is my own well being. One of the things that kind of brought me into college and going into the idea of psychology was like, I was not in a healthy mental state when I was younger. And I found learning about the brain and learning about how people act the same, and we all kind of have the same functions. And like, we're not alone. You know, there's something comforting about that. Where it's like, just because I am depressed right now, I'm not going to be alone in that.

Carolyne Lanyero  12:24

Yeah. That's awesome. And so I guess, who are some of the people like around you, that inspire you?

Nigh Kim  12:33

Some of the people in my life that inspire me? My grandma, her name is Michi. She inspires me every day. She came here as an immigrant, and it's been about like, 40 years now. 

Carolyne Lanyero  12:49

Yeah, wow. 

Nigh Kim  12:50

It's amazing. She kind of came here with nothing and she made a life for herself. And she kind of raised me for a long time, so she's one of the people who inspire me. 

Carolyne Lanyero  13:03

Awesome. Well, shout out to Michi, hope she's doing well. And then also, this is just the very last question and then we'll wrap up here. But I feel like this, I like to do the questions that could really tell you a lot about a person deep down. Maybe if you did, like some psychological analysis, I'm not sure. But this is very important. If dogs wore pants, would they wear them on all four legs or just the back legs? 

Nigh Kim  13:28

Oh, that's a good one. In my opinion, I feel like dogs should be wearing pants just on the back legs, just because that's where the bottom is, you know, just because they walk on all four legs doesn't mean that all four legs are kind of legs, you know? The structure of the front paws are different than the back paws.

Carolyne Lanyero  13:49

Hmm. I like the analysis that's being brought into this. Well awesome Nigh. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Nigh Kim  13:56

Thanks for having me.

Carolyne Lanyero  13:57

And for letting us know a little bit about you. And so everyone out there, thank you for listening and make sure to follow us on Instagram to keep up to date with the different things we're doing. And look out for that event that Nigh mentioned that's going to be happening October 19th. And you can also go to our Instagram for more information on that as well. And so yes, thank you and everyone have a great day.