{"id":15503,"date":"2019-07-24T15:01:53","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T15:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=15503"},"modified":"2023-06-08T18:55:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T18:55:40","slug":"seattle-pride-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/24\/seattle-pride-award","title":{"rendered":"UW Bothell alumnus receives Seattle Pride Award"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Jenny Durkan and Ray Corona<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By N.L. Sweeney
While attending the University of Washington Bothell \u2014 and holding down a full-time job \u2014 Ray Corona spent the little free time he had advocating for immigrants\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a gay, Latinx immigrant, he says one of his proudest achievements was when, at 17 years old, he came out about his undocumented status and testified for the REAL (Raising Educational Access, Changing Lives) Hope Act in front of the Washington State Legislature. The act extends consideration for the State Need Grant Program to undocumented students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That effort is also one of the reasons Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan presented Corona with the 2019 Emerging Leader Pride Award last month. The city\u2019s Pride Awards recognize leaders for their work in advancing the rights and dignities of the LGBTQ+ community. Five other local leaders were honored, including Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, professor in UW\u2019s School of Social Work, who received the Outstanding Leadership Pride Award. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am incredibly grateful to have been awarded the Emerging Leader Award, especially in the same year as we commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots,\u201d Corona said. \u201cGiven the current administration\u2019s impact on many marginalized groups, our Stonewall moment is now. I look forward to honoring that memory moving forward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making connections <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Corona\u2019s family came to Seattle from Mexico City when he was 9 years old. He attended public schools, but as he grew older, he didn\u2019t think college in the United States was an option for him. His family couldn\u2019t afford the tuition and, at the time, the only financial resources available to undocumented immigrants were a limited number of private scholarships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That changed in the 10th grade when he learned about the College Success Foundation (CSF), which provides scholarships and support to low-income and underserved students \u2014 including undocumented immigrants \u2014 to help them finish high school and graduate from college. \u201cOnce I knew college was open to me,\u201d said Corona, \u201cI knew I could have a different future.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he was still uncertain what that future might look like due to his immigration status, Corona was sure he would use his degree upon graduation. Using the resources from CSF, Corona was able to pay for most of his college education with scholarship funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the CSF program, Corona was connected to former academic adviser, Linda Bale. \u201cLinda did so much more than just help me complete my degree,\u201d he said. \u201cShe provided me both the emotional and the career planning support I needed to come out of two closets, being an undocumented citizen and being gay.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through his studies, he was also connected to Alan Leong, then a lecturer in UW Bothell\u2019s School of Business<\/a> whom Corona credits with teaching him how to network. \u201cI still use the skills I learned in his class to this day,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on his time at UW Bothell, Corona feels blessed. \u201cI found the resources \u2014 both financial aid and personal \u2014 to succeed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding passion <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A 2013 graduate with a bachelor\u2019s degree in Society, Ethics & Human Behavior, Corona also credits his major in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences<\/a> with teaching him to examine social institutions through a systemic lens \u2014 a critical perspective he still values today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my classes, beyond learning the subject matter, I learned how to synthesize complex topics, make them understandable and take action on the findings,\u201d Corona said. \u201cWorking in the community and in advocacy, it is really important to be able to take information and make it understandable for other people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recalling his experience of coming out to his parents, he noticed similarities between living as undocumented and growing up queer. While his experience was a positive one, he knows not everyone is lucky enough for things to turn out as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor safety reasons, there are topics you can talk about or not based on who is in the room,\u201d said Corona. \u201cI began to envision a safe space for open conversations, a place where people could get the kind of emotional support I received from my family and the people around me when I came out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know many others who didn\u2019t have the same support for a college education, for a variety of reasons,\u201d he said, noting that this can include financial opportunities, familial support and even the ability to celebrate Latinx culture in a queer-friendly space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen people ask me why I became an activist,\u201d he said, \u201cI point to the lack of access for my intersectional community as my motivation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing people together <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, Corona combined his passion to serve his community and the skills he honed at UW Bothell to establish Somos Seattle, a space where members of the Latinx LGBTQ+ community can gather. As founder and executive director of Somos, his goal is to \u201cbuild an active community, share resources and foster opportunities for learning and growth.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to being recognized for his work with Somos, Corona received the mayor\u2019s award for serving on the Seattle LGBTQ Commission and being one of the main organizers of the city\u2019s inaugural Latinx Pride celebration in 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corona offers this advice for students who share his background: \u201cWhen you enter a space, make sure to bring all of yourself \u2014 your intersections and various identities \u2014 to the conversation. That\u2019s how we can start to make an environment that can include everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ray Corona (Society, Ethics & Human Behavior ’13) received a 2019 Emerging Leader Pride Award from Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. He says he’s still using skills he learned at the University of Washington Bothell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[209,202,211],"tags":[],"school":[],"class_list":["post-15503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-news","category-honors-and-awards"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":null,"link_2":null,"link_3":null,"link_4":null,"link_5":null},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":null,"button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nUW Bothell alumnus receives Seattle Pride Award - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/24\/seattle-pride-award\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UW Bothell alumnus receives Seattle Pride Award - News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ray Corona (Society, Ethics & Human Behavior ’13) received a 2019 Emerging Leader Pride Award from Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. 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