In an era where many Americans still fight against limited opportunity, Filipina-American Kristen Joyce Lopez refuses to let stereotypes of minorities define her. Driven by cultural pride and a commitment to advocacy, Lopez has emerged as a leading voice for marginalized students at the College of DuPage.

“There are so many things that I want to be able to do that are bigger than myself, different initiatives that I want to help out with,” Lopez said. “I’ve always been an overachiever, and I don’t do this simply for the achievement…I wanted to make a change and advocate.”

Lopez is motivated to fight for the benefit of minority Americans. With her involvement across various organizations at the College of DuPage, Lopez actively works to be a leader. She is an officer for the Student Leadership Council (SLC), a Civic Engagement Advocate for COD Votes, and the current president of COD Cares. On top of her active student career, Lopez is also involved in a congressional internship. She is determined to inspire and stand up for what she sees as the many marginalized Americans who are looked down upon by society, and advocate for change in our flawed system.

Growing up in a predominantly white community, Lopez often felt disconnected from her peers. In turn, she became ashamed of her cultural background. She just wanted to fit in, a feeling she grew to regret as she got older.

“It makes me sad looking back on that as my older self because that’s my culture, and just because there’s people that were in a majority who were a different culture, that shouldn’t have made me feel discounted with that,” Lopez says.

Dealing with race consciousness was a difficult task Lopez had to learn to work past. As much as she longed for approval amongst those she surrounded herself with, it was more important for her to be proud of an identity not widely represented, let alone celebrated.

“I was very conscious of being Asian, and that has been something that I really had to learn how to be very proud of. Because when you’re growing up in that area, that’s something that’s been seen not to be proud of. And I don’t think that’s a good thing in general for people to be kind of popularizing because my culture is very important, and it’s not anything different than any other…but people didn’t see it as something that was something to be proud of. They saw it as something to make a joke of,” Lopez notes.

Lopez’s self-consciousness prevented her from building a sense of self-confidence. For much of her childhood, Lopez was often unsure of herself, fearing she may be saying or doing something wrong. Things began to change after an encounter she had with a teacher in eighth grade.

She recounts her teacher telling her, “…you sound so unsure of yourself. Be more confident.”

From there, she began to work on building her confidence. She joined her high school speech team and credits much of her growth to her experiences there. Having to deliver speeches to judges for competitions, Lopez learned to embrace the uncomfortable to allow herself to grow.

“The way I view things is you’re not really growing if you’re comfortable. If you’re very comfortable, it’s kind of hard to grow if you’re not pushing yourself to do other things.” Lopez said.

She wanted to prove she was more than just the “Asian” label dubbed by her peers. Understanding her worth, Lopez refused to let people define her as anything less.

“A lot of people would kind of regard me as, ‘Oh, there’s the Asian girl!’ Rather than saying, ‘There’s Kristen!’ And that stuck with me a lot when I was growing up, because, yes, I’m Asian, but that’s not who I am entirely,” Lopez said. “I’m so much more than just an Asian person, and just being left as ‘Asian girl,’ I think that kind of provoked it.”

Taking the initiative is a lot easier said than done. Being a capable leader requires a strenuous level of work and competency. Despite this, Lopez persists in her efforts to bring about change for the betterment of society. She dedicates much of her time to researching and understanding nuanced perspectives on topics out of the genuine passion she carries for her work.

“These are things that I genuinely do care about,” Lopez comments. “I really love learning. I love learning a lot of different things, and that really motivates me to be better at different things that are going on and maybe help people as well.”

Shaped by her own experiences, Lopez aims to be a role model inspiring others to build the confidence to stand up for themselves. She acknowledges the power a person’s voice can carry, and encourages people to exercise their freedom of expression to help invoke change and better society.

“I want to help people feel that they have a voice. Or help them speak up when they want to speak up, but they feel a little too scared to do so. Then, give them that push. Because that’s the push I needed as a kid,” Lopez shares.

Contrary to an eventful professional and student career, Lopez prefers living a quieter, modest lifestyle. Avoiding streaming services dominating modern culture, Lopez generally consumes content outside of these now-standard platforms. She enjoys a wide selection of cable ranging from the knowledge-based “Jeopardy!” to the quirkier “The Big Bang Theory.” Lopez has also built a library of books in her home. In her eyes, even the smallest-seeming elements of life can be the most valuable.

In addition, Lopez aims to spare time for the people she loves in her life. The relationships she’s built over the years have been deeply valuable to her, and she always looks to share her appreciation and care for them.

“Something I always try to – always try to prioritize within my week – is making sure that I spend time with my loved ones and especially my really good friends. I really like spending time and going to restaurants with them, or just going to Target… I don’t have a ton of free time, but when I do have free time, that’s typically what I am doing.”

Lopez believes in the power we carry to take initiative and make an impact.

“Just trust yourself. It’s important to be able to trust yourself when it comes to things because you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room to make an influence. It’s important to trust that you are in specific places for a reason, and even if you don’t know everything, that’s OK. There’s a lot to learn, and learning is fun… Do something and do it bad rather than wishing you did something.”