ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2021
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In 2021, over 25,000 young leaders on 2,000+ campuses across 153 nations applied to join the Class of 2021. 136 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows. The Class of 2021 is bold, innovative, and inclusive.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT BIANKA VALENTIN, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2021.
Florida International University | Florida, United States | Advancing SDG 3 & UNAI 7
" Cultural humility and intercultural dialogue create a proactive environment to induce individuals to become empathetic leaders within their communities. I am excited to have the opportunity, creative outlet, network of peers, and tools necessary to pursue my educational objectives that translate to developing a sustainable way to induce change at a communal and global level. The Millennium Fellowship will cultivate my own authentic voice to advocate for social change, mainly as my sustainable development goal is good health and wellbeing to acknowledge and addressing specific barriers/perceptions that come with sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Global SHEEK – Sexual Health, Empowerment, and Education
My research-based project is named Global SHEEK which stands for – Sexual Health, Empowerment, and Education that is divided into two parts. First, it is about the Perceptions of Sex, Sex Education, and Sexual Empowerment needs among Hispanic college women focusing on gathering survey data from over 800 Hispanic college women attending a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the Southeastern region of the United States (U.S.). The data findings primarily are addressing gaps in knowledge and sexual health literacy from over 800 Hispanic college women involved within the study. This project seeks to identify the perceptions/attitudes and beliefs of how Hispanic college women view their sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States. The perceptions from the data collected will guide and develop culturally appropriate sexual health literacy interventions successfully.
Besides that, another part of the project is about the impact of genital knowledge on sexual behaviors, attitudes, and sexual health decision-making among Hispanic college women as well. This part of the study will discuss the impact of cultural messages on perceptions of genitals which can in turn aid in comprehending how it affects Hispanic college women's views on their sexuality, agency, knowledge, and sexual health/reproductive rights. Currently, this study is developing where a literature review and data cleaning are taking place to be able to present the findings of this study.
About the Millennium Fellow
Bianka Valentin is a senior that is majoring in Psychology at Florida International University. To further explore her passion for cross-cultural investigations and global health research topics, she is part of the Health Disparities and Cultural Identities (HDCI) laboratory as a research assistant and laboratory manager. There is a focus on translational research within the laboratory that concentrates on psychological and socio-cultural dynamics that affect health outcomes/inequities. Additionally, she is a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, where she researched perceptions of Sex, Sex Education, and Sexual Empowerment needs among Hispanic College Women. After graduating with her bachelor’s, Bianka wants to go to graduate school to receive a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (specializing in neuropsychology).
