Song of Equality
Written by Karl Hennen
With several years of understanding how voluntary work directly benefits communities, sophomore Danielle Marrufo’s passion for helping others has been felt before and during her current role as volunteer and Safe Zone Student Coordinator in the Women’s Center at UH Hilo. Born in Los Angeles, California, the nineteen-year-old daughter of two police officers expects to graduate with a Baccalaureate Psychology degree within May 2017. Her academic journey, meanwhile, has spanned contributions equal to her number of musical notes over open-mic nights.
Marrufo began her volunteering experiences following an inspiring presentation from Hannah Wu, Women’s Center Director, given during her initial year at UH Hilo. Corresponding with the Center, Marrufo posted flyers when not tabling to promote outreach-motivated activities. Eventually, she participated within the campus’ Safe Zone guidance events to become a qualified trainer, a steppingstone in assuming her current position as Safe Zone Coordinator. She describes its preparatory involvement as significant.
“[UH Hilo’s] Safe Zone is a two-hour training that is done two times a semester,” Marrufo describes. “It gives faculty, staff, students, and community members [opportunities] to become educated and aware of the LGBT community. It also helps people to understand the ‘coming out’ process and how to be a better ally to the LGBT community.”
The Women’s Center, and Marrufo by extension, has, in various supportive efforts, collaborated with campus organizations as diverse as the Board of Student Publications (BOSP), Board of Media Broadcasting (BOMB), Student Activities Council (SAC), and Minority Access and Achievement Program (MAAP). UH Hilo’s Counseling Center, the Pacific Island Student Center, Pride Hilo, and University Housing have been additional partners making Marrufo’s and her colleague’s visions a reality. Marrufo also cites the UH Hilo library, the Anthropology Club, and its Psychology, Sociology, and Women’s Studies department as further groups she has worked next to.
Reflecting the Women’s Center’s mission of providing assistance through a lens of social justice, Marrufo aims to view women in all respects.
“Women can be mothers, daughters, transgender women, people of color, abused, educated— there are many cross-sections within our identity,” she explains. “The Women’s Center hopes to empower all of a [woman], not just parts of her, through the help of allies.” She stresses the Center is, nevertheless, welcoming to everyone, not solely those who identify as female. The multifaceted nature of women includes other people they interact with. The Women’s Center, therefore, aims to be all-encompassing.
Among her colleagues, Marrufo particularly acknowledges Wu for being the most influential with shaping her path at the Women’s Center. She respects Wu’s help in molding her leadership positions and allowing her free rein to plan programs— whether or not they succeed. They have, however, and Marrufo considers herself guided creatively and realistically by Wu as one among many key individuals forming her second family at the Center.
“I can say that I’m really impressed with Danielle because she came in as freshman during orientation week”, recounts an enthusiastic Wu. “I give her a lot of credit for coming in as a freshman and stepping up for the Student Safe Zone Program. She really put her heart and soul into [the Program]. I think it takes a lot of bravery and courage to go in front of faculty, staff, and your peers and talk about human rights on campus. She’s been a leader and that’s a great thing. Danielle, along with Destiny Rodrigues, is (also) going to start a Hispanic RISO and that’s something we really need on campus. I’m proud of her.”
Together with her older sister, Bianca, a Muy Thai boxer, Marrufo was exposed to volunteering at a young age thanks to her parents’ encouragement. She credits them, both L.A.P.D. law enforcement officers, for instilling in her values concerning her community. Having an early understanding of her responsibility to those less fortunate, Marrufo saw the difference compassion made in such gestures as giving food to the homeless or a hand to elderly citizens. Her firsthand knowledge of how volunteering has impacted lives offers her continued inspiration.
“In L.A. I saw children dressed in school uniforms on a Saturday because it was the only thing that their parents could afford to buy,” Marrufo recounts of her experiences before UH Hilo. “Giving one of those kids a shirt or a pair of shoes [changed] their mindset and [gave] them hope that one day they [could] get out of the ghetto.”
This semester Marrufo will be planning UH Hilo’s Safe Zone trainings, which she hopes will bring in over 100 people. The interactive trainings, intended to support the LGBT community on campus, are most successful, she believes, when faculty, pupils, and campus staff members participate together. Apart from presenting at Safe Zone events and reviewing training assessments, Marrufo regularly involves herself with other Women’s Center projects, office work, and tabling. She is also Vice President for Pride Hilo, ensuring meetings reach their intended goals.
“I think [Marrufo’s] contributions [at the Women’s Center] is an excellent example of how student volunteers at UH Hilo connect with local organizations via a UHH venue,” expresses UH Hilo Professor Kirsten Møllegaard. “The Women’s Center is in touch with many local organizations that help community members (and students) deal with the effects of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and discrimination on all levels. The Women’s Center also reaches out to our local GBLTQ community. Danielle is trained to conduct workshops to facilitate dialogue and outreach work. I highly recommend her to be featured as a role model for student volunteers.”
From her experiences, Marrufo believes she has discerned how to best organize events and gatherings to accomplish objectives, communicate with diverse audiences, and manage her schedule toward causes much larger than herself. Additionally, she has enriched her presentation speaking abilities. Marrufo considers networking with campus faculty, pupils, and staff, and inspiring them to make a difference in others’ lives, as Hannah Wu had done, to be among the most visible rewards of her service towards improving the Hilo community.
“I learned how to be better at working with people,” she admits. “I thought I had great people skills before, but then you have to add that professionalism aspect. “I think … that working here has also helped me to understand my identity more and what it means to be me … and how that differs for everybody, and what people grow through and how that shapes them.”
In time, Marrufo aspires to initiate a non-profit endeavor focusing on providing relief for children via music therapy. A guitarist and singer-songwriter, she recognizes how cathartic expression from sound can be— on either side of the microphone.
“Music is a huge part of my life and I hope to one day share what I know with others,” Marrufo reveals. “Music gives a time for more internal thought and a different outlet [for people]. Through music therapy, what I want to do is show at-risk teens or children that are dealing with illness or issues of poverty that outlet, so they can find a way to cope with any situation in a way that would be different from how they would normally react. Besides that, [music is] just fun. Just simply hanging out with people doing the things you love is always a great outlet in itself.”
Behind a desk at the Women’s Center or a guitar, Danielle Marrufo is sure to give others a strong voice while sharing hers. With years of service under her belt, including contributions helping facilitate equality at the UH Hilo campus, Marrufo is one student volunteer worthy of many cheering ovations from an inspired community.
