My extracurricular involvement at McGill stemmed from my interest in harnessing my capacities and lived experiences as a Tibetan to enact meaningful change in my communities; communities that extend beyond the Tibetan community and encompasses fellow land-dispossessed and marginalized peoples. As such, I have a strong desire to build community across communities and create networks of mutual care and accountability. It helps me imagine the world otherwise.
One of the most formative experiences I had at McGill was the process of completing an honours thesis in anthropology. My thesis focused on Tibetan Sign Language and explored tensions around language, disability, identity, sound and purity. It was a deeply personal project given my identity as both Tibetan and hard of hearing. It allowed me to connect two parts of myself I had until then considered distinct, as well as complicate my own understandings of Tibetanness.
Given that there were no other Tibetans at McGill during most of my degree, I sought to creatively channel my own lived experiences into different spaces. In doing so, I derived a sense of place and community from my involvement with different groups. So much of the joy I experienced while at McGill stemmed from organizing alongside people who sought meaningful change through seemingly small actions.
One of my greatest achievements and fondest memories is organizing a presentation for Social Justice Days which critically engaged with how Tibetan and Palestinian struggles overlap in terms of issues ranging from child prisoners to cultural appropriation. This event was the culmination of many thoughtful conversations with friends and energized the discussion around solidarity and reciprocity in activist circles.