Introducing our Violence Prevention Educators!

Join Megan Price (she/her) and Cassandra Carmona-Wayman (she/ella) as they introduce themselves as full-time Violence Prevention Educators with the PCA! Learn more about what brought them to the PCA, their life experiences, and which fruit they would eliminate from the world.

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

Instagram @phoenixauraria

Transcript

Megan Price  0:00  
Hello and welcome to the Phoenix cast, welcome back to another episode of The Phoenix cast. My name is Megan. Y'all have all heard me before, but we have a very exciting switch up. I usually introduce myself as one of our Violence Prevention Education interns, but I graduated in December and was offered a temporary professional staff position at the Phoenix center. So now I'm introducing myself as Megan, one of the Violence Prevention Educators at the Phoenix Center. I'm very excited to be moving into this role with the PCA, and to be able to keep working with you all on campus. And I hope that y'all are excited to keep hearing my voice on this podcast. We have another bit of exciting news with my exciting news, and that is that there is not only one new Violence Prevention Educator, but two new Violence Prevention Educators. So joining me today is our other new Prevention Educator, Cassandra Carmona-Wayman, and I am going to hand things over to Cassandra now and give her a little bit of an opportunity to introduce herself.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  1:21  
Thanks, Megan, yes. So I'm so excited to be here on the Phoenix Cast today to talk a little bit more about who I am and my background and why I'm so excited to be a Prevention Educator with you all at the Phoenix Center. And like Megan said, my name is Cassandra and my pronouns are she/hers/ella, I have just started as a Prevention Educator in February for the University of Colorado, Denver, with the Phoenix center of Auraria, and my background includes Human Services, gender equity and community education work. So I really am excited to pull all that together for the work that I do within this role. And some other things that I am excited to share is that I am a first generation college student, and so I'm the first in my family to attend a four year university and graduate from college. So very proud of my journey so far. And I have a Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a mental health concentration from California State University in Fullerton. And I also do have two Associate of Arts degrees from Pasadena City College, one in Humanities and the other in Social and Behavioral Sciences. So that's a little bit about my college background. And Megan, I believe that you also are a first gen college student.

Megan Price  2:50  
Yes, I am a first gen college student. So very great for both of us being on the Auraris campus. There's lots of us here, but I am as well. Yes, the first person in my family to graduate with a bachelor's degree. It was really exciting in December, actually, my dad was so cute. My parents live in North Carolina, and I was like, I don't know if I'm even gonna walk. I was like, I'm gonna get the diploma. Like, I don't need to walk at this thing. And my dad was like, You're the first person in the family. Like, what do you mean? We're flying out there to come see this. Like, you have to walk we have to be there.

Megan Price  3:24  
It's really easy for me to downplay things. And so I was like, okay, yes, I got a college degree. Like, I did the thing that you're supposed to do, cool. And seeing my parents be like, No, this is actually a huge deal. Like, we didn't do this. No one in the family has done this. Like, this is huge. It was very exciting. Was it like that with your family as well?

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  3:42  
Yeah, I think that, you know, of course, there's always going to be like that excitement from like your family, your friends and your just like your support system, right? They're like your cheerleaders, and so you kind of go through these milestones, and it was really difficult for me to navigate, like college overall. And I think that happens a lot for first generation college students. As you know, we kind of both, like, have talked about it, and so, you know, I was really, like, adamant about going to college, but I wasn't really sure what that exactly was going to look like. And my mom took a couple of, like, community college classes and earned her associate's degree so that she could go into teaching. And that was, like, a long time ago, obviously. And then I had to sort of figure out how, you know, college works now, right, with so many changes, like they didn't have financial aid applications before, like, even when my older siblings were considering college. So I was just so overwhelmed with the different options. You know, I was considering, sort of like, going out of state, but financially, just because it was going to be difficult to, like, afford college out of pocket, so I was going to definitely rely on, like, financial aid grants, scholarship and so that was just why I kind of did decide to stay in California for the state tuition, and my family was very supportive. And I did initially go to a private university. I'm not gonna name names, because I just didn't enjoy my experience. But overall, you know, it was really hard just to be there, even though I wanted sort of to be again, like close to home, and overall, like, they were initially kind of offering a lot of financial aid for me, but I also had to rely on working as a work-study, like student, and doing that with classes was really difficult for me. Like, you know, mentally, it was just so exhausting. And then I kind of switched majors, and that switched my financial aid, and so then I had to, like, really, kind of consider, is this actually gonna work out? Like, do I really want to take out so many loans, you know, in undergrad? So I don't know. It was kind of, obviously, I was very young, and I was freaking out about it, and I was like, You know what? I don't even like this place that much, the climate, the environment, was just not it for me. I felt so uncomfortable going to school, and there were a lot of issues, and I was like, Oh no, you know, as a person of color, as a Mexican-American, I just did not feel safe. And again, like, you know, as a first-generation student, you're just trying to, like, figure it all out as you go. And I ended up choosing to just leave that private university that first semester of my undergrad, and then go for a different path with city college nearby me. So I ended up enrolling at Pasadena City College, and I think I was really hard on myself, and looking back now, you know, I wish I had even more of an open mind towards this sort of change in my college career, because it definitely was not a step back. It was just, you know, a different way of going through my college path and the way to earn my degree, right.

Megan Price  6:55  
You're touching on so many things that are, like, a huge part of, like, the culture on the Auraria Campus, right? Yes, like we pride ourselves on having so many non traditional students who took a route similar to you and also similar to me. I went to MSU right after high school, and then I was working full time and going to school full time, and that was not feasible, so I dropped out and then returned five years later, so students like you and I who are taking that non-traditional route to get their degrees like we make up a lot of this campus, and we certainly understand on this campus that just because we're not like a big name university doesn't mean that the quality of the education isn't as good, or that the services and resources that our campus has isn't as good, or that just the general culture of the campus is not like as fun and exciting and engaging to be around. So I'm super happy that you found your way.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  7:52  
Thank you.

Megan Price  7:52  
Both throughout your your academic journey, but that you found your way to a campus that really has some of those values that you learned throughout your time on your own path to your degrees.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  8:04  
Yeah, thank you. You know, I think again, it's like I appreciate the journey that I went on. And you know, it might not seem perfect to other people, but I think it was perfect for me because I learned so much about myself, and I learned about the different opportunities that there were, because I have so many peers that didn't even know about like, things like work-study right, or how to apply for financial aid. And then I spent the rest of, like, my academic career helping other students learn about these opportunities. And then I also got to work at Cal State Fullerton in California, and I got to be in a humanities administrative office and work with other students as a student. And, you know, again, like same thing, like spreading the word about resources, giving really helpful information. And I feel like all of that has really prepared me for the rest of my career, as I have really always looked for ways to engage with students and to prepare young folks. I think that's definitely one of my passions. Is just like, you know, where can we provide the most support to our young people? And so, like some of my career after college includes helping folks navigate resources and social service systems and creating different, engaging programming. So my last role was actually serving as a Field Representative for a California legislator, Assemblymember Mike Fong, down in Southern California, where I am from originally, and so a lot of my work there included, you know, event planning and case management, resource management and referrals, program facilitation, civic engagement, like all the fun things. And I think a lot of that ties into what we do here with the Phoenix Center. And so, you know, I'm really proud of what I've been able to do in my past career, and I'm excited to continue, you know, using those skills now and seeing where, you know, I can best provide resources from my lived experiences and the career that I've built.

Megan Price  10:11  
Yes, yeah. And you have so much like, educational and professional experience doing this work. And we really like, we could spend the whole podcast episode talking about that, and I'm sure you have so many interesting stories, but I do you just said, the last thing you said was combining that like with your lived experience, and wanting that to influence the way that you show up for this work. And I wanted to know if you wanted to get a little bit more personal, rather than professional, and tell us a little bit of like, outside of course, of what everything you've just shared about your college experience, what bringing that lived experience looks like to your work with the Phoenix Center.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  10:46  
Yeah, thank you, definitely. There's so many pieces of my identity that I feel are so important to talk about and why I was so drawn to this role with the Phoenix Center, I can definitely say that like growing up as a Mexican-American child of parents who immigrated from Mexico and then settled in Southern California, all of that has really influenced who I am and how I work and am also, you know, bringing in the lived experiences that I have as a survivor. So yeah, there was a lot of intimate partner violence that I witnessed between my parents and going to senior year of high school. Like, it's supposed to be very, like, upbeat and again, like, that's where it was hard to concentrate on, like, Okay, where am I going to college? When we weren't even sure if we were going to be able to stay in our home, right? So it's like, all these things are part of, like, my story, and I've also survived childhood sexual abuse, and I've also been through intimate partner violence myself. And I wish there was a Phoenix Center like office available in college, because at community college, I didn't see that, and I don't even believe I saw that operate in my alma mater at Cal State Fullerton. So it's like, we really need these services. We really need these tools, and I was really drawn to the role because of that.

Megan Price  12:12  
Well, first, before I get into that, I do want to just like, thank you for your vulnerability and sharing all of that. And these stories are so hard to share, and they're also so powerful for us to be able to be able to like, say out loud the things that we experienced and the impacts that it's had. And I know that for me also, as a survivor, like hearing other people's stories, just like the sense of like camaraderie that you have with people, and that those like feelings of like love and compassion that just feel so natural listening to another person's story. It's so, so beautiful, so impactful. We can share them with each other. And this is one of the first things actually, that you and I bonded over, very lightly when you started, and I was like, Oh, we will get into this in the podcast episode. Is that so much of the passion for both of us in doing this work is rooted in our own lived experience of knowing, like, I needed someone who did this type of work when I was a young person. Like, I needed an advocate. I needed violence prevention education, because, as you're naming like you were, like, I was about to start my senior year of high school, like, it was hard for me to even think about what college to go to when I didn't know if I could be in my home exactly like having because so many young people experience violence like this, whether they're the one experiencing it or they're witnessing it,

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  13:30  
Yes.

Megan Price  13:30  
and it's like you're supposed to be a kid still, like you're supposed to be having a good time, like, Yeah, going to homecoming and going to football games, or like, being in band, or like, doing any of the extracurriculars and carrying the weight of such profoundly like harmful experiences by yourself when you're that little is just incomprehensible and truly like, one of the most like, powerful ways that I have, like, found healing from the experiences that I've had is knowing, like, I cannot change the things that happened to me in the past, but I can like be the person now who changes things in the future so that less people experience this and that when they do like, they have the support that they need.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  14:12  
Yeah, exactly. I think that there are many of us, unfortunately out there that have these experiences that are really difficult in our lives, and I'm grateful to know you, and like to hear a little bit about, you know, you and what you've been through as well.

Megan Price  14:30  
Thank you. Yeah, wow. I love this. Cassandra and I listeners, you cannot see this right now, but Cassandra and I are actually doing this over Zoom right now. So I'm sitting, and we're sitting in our separate spaces, right? Because Cassandra's working from home, I'm in the office, and I can still feel like the heart connection exactly from more than many miles away, and just being able to listen to each other's experiences and and it often right, like it's not like the happiest thing to bond over, right? But I do often say I'm like, if bad things must happen, like, at least we can relate to one another, at least we can be there in each other's experiences.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  15:09  
Yeah, yeah. 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  15:10  
Exactly, exactly.

Megan Price  15:11  
Which is a huge part of the work that we do at the Phoenix Center, right? 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  15:14  
Yeah. 

Megan Price  15:14  
Is being with people and their experiences. Speaking of which, let's bring it back to the Phoenix Center a little bit. 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  15:22  
Yeah.

Megan Price  15:22  
And there's so much we could talk about, about the work that we do, about the Phoenix Center. But I'm wondering if there's anything that you are, like, particularly excited to do. You've been here for it's been six weeks now, 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  15:34  
Yeah. 

Megan Price  15:35  
and yeah, I'm wondering, like, as you've gotten familiar with things like, what is feeling like most energizing for you?

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  15:43  
I've loved like getting to know each person that's a part of the team and also our campus partners. So I feel really lucky to be a part of the team, and very, very happy that I get to do the prevention and education work. Because again, I wish I would have known what was normal and not normal about my relationships with everyone, not just the intimate ones, but also friends. So, you know, I think that that's a really important piece, and I'm excited to dig in deep for that, because it's something that has really empowered me and like, it's, like, very healing, right? Again, to give back. But also I just really, I'm so happy that the PCA is so student centered, because sometimes prevention work can feel a little bit more like patronizing, depending on the way that you go about it, right? Like, oh, this is what you should do, and this is what you should not do. But my approach, and what I can see from the team is very collaborative. We want to meet the students where they are. We want to, you know, understand what they want to see out of the services and, you know, workshops that we provide. And I really want to recognize that the students are cared for. They care about each other, and they want safer spaces. So how can we at the PCA do that, and I'm proud to be part of the team that gets to think about, you know, how to put programming and events together to empower survivors and non-survivors. We're definitely such a diverse campus, and I have not seen that before, and I'm so glad that I get to be here, and I really admire just all the work that everyone does, because, unfortunately, interpersonal violence continues to be very present in our society and affects all of our lives. And you know, again, I just I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through, although I know that it will happen, right? So we're here to really help with the day to day issues that so many students, faculty, staff and community members encounter. So I really feel like what I can provide specifically with the PCA are these sort of toolkits, right? 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  17:55  
So I really want every one of our listeners to imagine that you have a little tool belt, and what you're going to do is, when you come to one of our workshops, our programming events, you're going to whip out your tool belt, and you're going to stock it. You're going to stock it with all the resources and information that we have, and you're going to be able to pull out these tools to help navigate, you know, the different situations that you have encountered or will encounter to the best of your ability. And I really love this work, because we are also trauma-informed and culturally competent. So you know, that's something that I feel like is really important to me.

Megan Price  18:35  
Yeah, and my own personal values that I've found is, like, very aligned with the work that we do with the PCA over the last year and a half that I've been here, is really rooting our work in the idea of, in order to like, best serve this community, like, we need to be involved with the community. And we need to be asking the community, like, what it is

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  18:59  
Yes.

Megan Price  18:59  
that they need and that they want.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  19:01  
Yes, abs

Megan Price  19:02  
And so I love, I also love how student centered and how survivor centered we are. Actually one of my most exciting things that I've done in the last year and a half here is supporting getting our survivor nights started. 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  19:15  
Yeah.

Megan Price  19:15  
So for anyone who hasn't heard of our survivor nights, once a month we have a social activity, oftentimes it's craft based. We also have game nights and movie nights, and we do it and call it survivor nights, with the intention of having a space that survivors can come to and know that the people who are facilitating the activities and who are like curating that space are aware that like there are survivors in the room, and so that we can adjust the things that we do in a way that's like comfortable for people who have experienced interpersonal violence and are living like with the effects of that. And this, my favorite thing about survivor nights, is the survivor nights happened because of the survivors who we see in our office. One of our advocates is the one who brought the idea to us because they were saying that they had been getting feedback from their clients, and that, it's, it's hard to be social 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  20:07  
Yeah.

Megan Price  20:07  
after you've survived IPV and that's something that's very common, right? Trying to reintegrate back into a world like, where you are, like a social person, and you go to these, these events, like, 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  20:18  
Yeah.

Megan Price  20:18  
that's a huge challenge for some folks. And so getting that feedback, like, from our clients, and then being able to create that space for them, like, that's that's so beautiful, right? Like being able to, because it can be challenging, right?

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  20:18  
Very. 

Megan Price  20:21  
to meet people's needs and to give them the support that would be best for them. And so the fact that we were able to do that, that we could hear people express this need and this desire. And we were like, okay, like, let's make it happen, like, the collaboration between the advocacy side and the violence prevention side of our office in order to create these events that can help people feel so supported. And that's another thing I'm excited about, like you and I both starting because for those of y'all who don't know, Racheal has been like a one person Violence Prevention Education Program team for the past few years. So now that me and Cassandra are here, 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  21:06  
Yes!

Megan Price  21:08  
Hopefully I will be able to move into a permanent position. Fingers crossed, we'll see. 

Megan Price  21:12  
Oh yeah, manifest!

Megan Price  21:12  
But at least for the time that I am here, having the three of us, we're going to have bigger capacity to do more of that, like student outreach, of being able to interact with the students on campus, with everyone on campus, and find out, like, what is it that the community needs, and not just the community at large, but like specific communities, like within the campus.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  21:27  
Exactly.

Megan Price  21:30  
Because we know, although some of the needs do overlap with one another, right, there's 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  21:39  
Yeah.

Megan Price  21:40  
Always something to consider, 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  21:41  
Absolutely.

Megan Price  21:42  
whether it's identity or culture based

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  21:44  
Absolutely.

Megan Price  21:45  
that would make our programming better for some folks and more accessible for some folks. So I'm excited that our VPE team is getting larger, so that we can go out into the campus community more and meet with all of you and find out what it is that y'all want to see out of our violence prevention programming. So keep an eye out for me and Cassandra and Racheal.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  22:04  
Oh yeah. 

Megan Price  22:04  
Everywhere campus, come say hi to us. Be like, Hey, we heard Megan say on the podcast, y'all are taking suggestions. We are taking suggestions, and we would love to hear yours. And Cassandra and I have this list of questions that we came up with for this podcast. We can't we. It was probably unrealistic for us to think we could get through all of them and have it be less than two hours.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  22:27  
Because we're yappers.

Megan Price  22:25  
Yes, but one that I thought was really cute was because I, I don't know how many of y'all are longtime listeners, but when I did my intern introduction podcast that was with one of our former VPE interns Brooklyn, and she asked me a question I had never been asked before, that was like, that is absolutely wild. And so I wanted to honor Brooklyn's legacy. We miss Brooklyn. Brooklyn, if you're listening for some reason, like, Girl, we are grateful for the time you spent here. So I will forever ask this question in your honor. And that question is, if you had to pick one fruit that you would get rid of, like, completely eliminate this fruit's existence? 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  22:53  
Yeah. 

Megan Price  23:00  
What fruit would that be?

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  23:05  
It would be a papaya I instantly knew. I just I have always hated papaya growing  up. My mom loves papaya, and she would try to feed it to me. And I'd be like, oh, like, like, why are all those seeds, like, in the middle? Why are they brown? Like, why does it taste like this? No, papaya is chopped. 

Megan Price  23:28  
Chopped. And listen when Cassandra says she immediately knew her answer, like she's serious. Y'all like, I was proposing questions, and I was like, oh, Brooklyn, did this cute one. Like, I don't think it even took you half a second to say

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  23:40  
No, I.

Megan Price  23:41  
Like, you knew immediately,

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  23:43  
Oh yeah.

Megan Price  23:43  
And I laughed so hard, and I was like, Cassandra. I was like, let me tell you. I was like, I over thought myself, and had like, a moral crisis when Brooklyn asked me this question, because I couldn't think of a fruit immediately. And then I started pondering, like, I was like, Well, I don't want to, like, destroy, like, an ecosystem, yes, or, like, remove some like, important cultural food, because, like, my personal preference. And Brooklyn said the same thing. She was like, Girl, it is not that deep. Like we are not actually removing this fruit. She was like, maybe think of it as, which one would you never eat again? And I was like, I cannot be responsible for eliminating the existence of an entire fruit like that is too much power for me to have. 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  24:31  
Oh gosh.

Megan Price  24:31  
And I think what I said eventually was dragonfruit.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  24:34  
Oh yeah.

Megan Price  24:35  
'Cause I don't, and I don't even really feel that way, because I think dragonfruit is beautiful. That's just the one fruit that I don't like the taste and texture of every other fruit I love, but it's dragonfruit so.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  24:48  
Oh wow, even papaya, Megan?

Megan Price  24:51  
And you know what? It's been years since I've had a papaya, so maybe I should try it again, just to this can be like a bonding activity for you and me. You can watch me, like, eat the papaya, and then either, like, judge me for, like,

Megan Price  25:04  
I would probably cry, yeah, imagining the flavor. And I'll like, Oh my gosh, like what is, what is she doing?

Megan Price  25:04  
Like, why would you do this to yourself? 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  25:07  
Why?! Oh gosh.

Megan Price  25:16  
That is so real. Okay, well, maybe stay tuned, listeners, perhaps you'll get like a fun little five minute papaya tasting episode from us in the future. 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  25:25  
Yeup, eating papaya.

Megan Price  25:26  
But more realistically, stay tuned as we continue season seven of the Phoenix Cast. We have a couple more exciting podcasts coming up. I don't remember what they are exactly off the top of my head, but keep your eyes out. Of course, we always post them on our Instagram, so you'll see them there. And once again, Cassandra, thank you for joining me on the podcast today. I'm so happy that our listeners can learn more about you and that I got to learn more about you. 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  25:54  
Yeah.

Megan Price  25:54  
The fun part of having new co workers, right? 

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  25:56  
Exactly.

Megan Price  25:57  
Because you're like, Oh, cool. Like, let's find out little facts about each other as time goes on.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  26:01  
Yeah, let's get out the good stuff and the not so good stuff. 

Megan Price  26:04  
Exactly.

Cassandra Carmona-Wayman  26:04  
So I'm always happy to chat. I know that there was a lot we touched on, but if anyone ever wants to come in and just have like, some coffee or tea and we can sit together, we can cry together, or we can also laugh together and talk about silly things. Please feel free to come on into the PCA.

Megan Price  26:21  
Love that.  

Megan Price  26:22  
If you are someone you know is experiencing interpersonal violence, please feel free to visit us at the Phoenix Center in Tivoli two-two-seven. Call our free and confidential 24/7 Helpline at 303-556-2255, or schedule an appointment with one of our advocates at the pca.org dot org.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai