Newsflash: superheroes exist, and they are here at UCI. Student, immigrant, and activist Lydia Natoolo has an inspiring story of how she overcame hardship and is now crushing it here at UCI as the President of the Associated Students (ASUCI) and a fifth year Biological Sciences major, minoring in political science. She is also the founder of an amazing nonprofit organization, LoveACommunity, dedicated to improving quality of life in disadvantaged African communities.
That’s why Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning (OVPTL) sat down with Lydia Natoolo, to talk about how she embodies the #activatetalent spirit of success through diversity. For her many accomplishments, she was recently awarded the Dalai Lama scholarship for a business proposal based on empowering women. Lydia was excited and ‘honored’ at the idea of her story empowering other students. When asked her thoughts on #activatetalent, she said “I love the theme that talent knows no boundaries, and I love what you’re doing.”
Lydia grew up in Uganda during the height of the AIDS epidemic, to which she lost many people in her family and community. She remembers the heartbreak she felt as a little girl, when she was told that there was nothing that could be done to cure or even treat the disease. “I knew I had to step up and be present because I have to work hard, not just for me, for my family and for my country.”
This pain became the root of her passion to become a doctor. This passion pushed her to excel in school, and it brought her to America for college. “Of course it’s a story of being an immigrant. All I wanted was to go to school. That was my heart. Because I knew education is the only way out. Growing up in poverty, I didn’t want to go back to that and I didn’t want my family to continue living in poverty. And they knew I had an opportunity to make a better life out of this story, just coming to America.”
When she began her education in Boston, there was no financial aid available to international students on the east coast. To cover her tuition, Lydia was forced to balance two jobs in addition to her classes. In her pursuit of financial aid, Lydia moved to California and became a resident, only for her housing to fall through, leaving her homeless for three weeks.
“From the classroom, I could go to work and then end up sleeping in my car. But I know I had it better than so many people I know back in Africa or any developing country. There, if you are homeless, you are actually homeless. You don’t even have a car, you cannot even get a job, you’re pretty much sleeping on the street, and eating from the dumpsters. So I knew I had it better, just having my car.”
That was “one of the major stories I always look back to, which I believe would have broken my soul. The only thing that kept me waking up every day was knowing that I was going to a classroom. That gave me hope. It still hurts me, I even get emotional whenever I talk about it, whenever I remember.”
Talent certainly knows no boundaries for Lydia, who traveled from Uganda 19 years ago, and experienced many difficulties as an international student. However, she always made education her first priority, no matter the obstacles. “Education is power, and I’ll quote the great forefather, the late forefather of Africa, [Nelson Mandela] who mentioned in one of his quotes that, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world.’”
She had to forge her own path, the hard way. That’s why she’s dedicated herself to making life easier for students at UCI, and spread the news about a ton of resources available now. Lydia was excited to discuss ASUCI, which strives to be the go to place for students to get connected to the resources they need, such as:
- The Fresh Hub, a food pantry where students coming from low income, out-of-state, and immigrant families can come to get food
- The legal Clinic, where students can get the legal help they need especially those faced with the new executive order; the repeal of DACA
- The Women’s Hub, a safe space for womxn empowerment
- The Career Center, which has the resources to prepare students for their future
- The counseling Center
- The Disability Center
- The Transfer Center
- The International Student Center
- More research opportunities for undergraduate students
- Mentorship program
“So there’s a lot of resources for students to get all the support, but I think the struggle is students don’t know where to go, and they are also afraid to seek out these resources. I want to encourage every student not to be afraid to ask for help because until you recognize that you need help, until you recognize that you actually have to start seeking for help, the help will never come to you.”
In her capacity as UCI’s President of Associated Students Lydia said, “I think the key here with my position is to bridge the gap between the student body and the administration, and also to use my platform to continue being the voice of those diverse issues that are on our campus”
Throughout the interview, Lydia expressed a desire to serve others through leadership because “when you take leadership role it’s not about holding a title but rather to serve. Our campus is diverse, there are different issues of students from different walks of life. So first you have to know what those issues are, and then be a pioneer, an advocate on behalf of the students, who are struggling with the various different needs.”
When asked to give advice to high school students considering college, and current freshmen, she said, “nothing comes easy, nothing. Everything that is worth it, you have to work for it. But I want to encourage the students to know that maybe they are our hope, to create the change we are all desiring to see.”
“And it doesn’t matter where you come from. If I could make it, a little girl who was born in a little village, of a few thousand people. If Lydia can make it from across the ocean in a little village in Uganda, and come to America, with all the crazy journey and the hardships, that I could still be able to be a leader on one of the best universities in the world, how much more can a child born here do?”
“But again, I also speak to those who come to this country just like I am, with all the heaviness, with all the brokenness, with all the struggle — that no matter where you come from, that should not be your first identity. I know identities are vital, we shouldn’t forget where we come from, but your struggles are not your identity. This journey definitely will always have trials and tribulations. But keep showing up. Keep asking for help. Keep working hard. And above all, to keep serving others.”
Natoolo was excited to discuss her nonprofit organization LoveACommunity, whose “main mission is to alleviate poverty, build communities that will be able to alleviate poverty in the long run.” When asked about the inspiration behind LoveACommunity, she told us about an article she read about a hospital in Uganda which had no running water. So she used what little money she had on a flight back home to find out what was going on.
“When I got there, I realized that not only was there no water, but three to four children were sleeping on one bed, with different diseases. That means if a child got in with malaria, they’ll easily get out with measles. Older patients were sleeping on the floor because they didn’t have enough beds. The hospital serves a quarter million people, with 600 patients everyday. 600 patients. And by then, three years ago, there was only one doctor. One doctor.”
Since then, LoveACommunity has made a huge impact on this hospital by finding sustainable solutions for some of their biggest problems. A new water system has been built at the hospital and mortality rates dropped by 75% with access to water. For three or four days a week, the hospital had no electricity, so they are now in the process of completing the installation solar panels. Patients did not have access to food so they petitioned for a donation of land, received five acres, and began a farming project. Patients are eagerly anticipating the fruits of their first harvest this december 2017.
Her current mission is to lobby the government for medical equipment, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “There’s no medication, there’s no therapy, there’s no chemotherapy. The list goes on and on.” Now more than ever, we must remember that “we are not a divided continent any more. We are not a divided world any more. We are more connected than we believe.”
Diversity adds to UCI, but it’s important to remember our place in the global community. The third pillar of UCI’s strategic plan states that, “a core mission of UCI is service to the community. Effective service requires deeply inclusive community engagement – the exchange of information, ideas, and resources – to benefit both the university and the community.”
But UCI is committed to accomplishing so much more. Anteaters like Lydia Natoolo lift engagement up to a new level, and are why UCI serves as a model for the nation.
Learn about more inspirational UCI stories at weareuci.uci.edu, and search the hashtag #ActivateTalent on social media platorms to discover more stories from around the nation!