For many NC State students, the political and civic struggles of a country like Venezuela might seem like an abstract concept, thousands of miles from their day-to-day work and activities.
For one graduate student, they’re a driving force behind everything she does. Miroslava Colan, pursuing her master’s degree in international studies at NC State’s School of International and Public Affairs, draws on her experiences in her home country as she advocates for voting rights and voter registration on NC State’s campus.
As a graduate assistant with Student Leadership and Engagement, Colan leads the Pack the Polls initiative, which has been hard at work all semester preparing NC State students for the upcoming general election.
“I found my passion in immigrants’ political rights,” Colan said. “So that’s what I’m doing here. I’m doing research about immigrants’ access to political and voting rights, and their integration. This is how I advocate for what I believe in and my principles.”
A History of Advocacy
Colan grew up under an authoritarian government in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Before she attended college at the Universidad Central De Venezuela, she advocated for voting rights.
As a student earning a bachelor’s degree in political science, she continued and expanded this work, getting involved with the opposition parliament and working as a chief consultant for the Venezuelan government. She participated in an international tour denouncing human rights violations in Venezuela.
After graduating, Colan got into nonprofit work advocating for political rights.
This work came at a cost, however.
“That put me in a difficult spot,” Colan said. “I was threatened. My freedom was not a real freedom. Back home, advocating for voting rights is really dangerous. I was persecuted by the military police as well. They used to come to my home to threaten me and make me feel unsafe. I was clear of my convictions and principles all the time. I knew that what I was doing was right. However, when I felt unsafe to an extreme level, I knew I couldn’t go back.”
Colan found an opportunity to work as the campaign chief for a binational candidate in Colombia.
Shortly after, Colan found an opportunity to pursue graduate programs in the United States through an international scholarship. She first completed a Cultural Intensive English Program with a focus on research at the University of Northern Iowa, before coming to NC State at the start of 2023.
While she couldn’t continue her work in Venezuela, Colan knew it had to continue wherever she went. “I said to myself, ‘I cannot quit this. I cannot quit advocating for what I believe in.’”
In 2023, Colan completed a summer internship with Democracy North Carolina before starting her role as a graduate assistant with Student Leadership and Engagement (SLE) in the fall semester.
She began working with SLE’s Civic and Community Engagement team, learning about the potential for student leadership on campus to promote voting rights, as well as voter registration and participation under the tutelage of Brian Mathis, SLE’s former associate director, and Carly May, the program’s assistant director.
“I learned about how the university is a real factor in promoting those voting rights, how youth is a targeted population that we need to encourage people to vote,” Colan said. “SLE promotes voting as a habit not only through the election season, but before and after the election season, and during the entire year. I am incredibly grateful that this office taught me this, and also that they accepted me as an international student. They boosted my potential and believed in my leadership.”
Colan leads Pack the Polls and the Active Citizenry Series in her role with the Civic and Community Engagement team.
Pack the Polls promotes civic engagement on campus through a variety of events. This spring, a student team led by Colan and Mathis spoke to the Wake County Board of Elections to secure the return of Talley Student Union as an early voting site for the upcoming general election.
A group of 21 student ambassadors, led by Colan and student co-leads Will Cowan and Millie Walkenhorst, has spent the semester hosting several events and engaging with the Wolfpack community to promote voter registration and participation in the election.
“I’ve loved working with Miroslava,” Cowan said. “Especially getting that very different perspective of her being from Venezuela, working with Democracy NC and all the work that she did back home, it’s been a nice perspective of ways we can engage students that I’ve never really thought about.”
As an international student and a non-United States citizen, Colan cannot vote in North Carolina.
But, for her, drawing on her personal experiences in Venezuela to promote voting rights, registration and participation is still of immense importance, and a way to make a difference.
“I think that having my voice heard and encouraging young people to go to the polls, to exercise their right, to advocate for what they are interested in is more valuable than having the right to vote,” Colan said.
Future Advocacy
In addition to her work with SLE, Colan is involved with NC State’s Office of International Students and works to promote and support Latinx community programs and events on campus.
“I care a lot about the international community on campus because I think that our integration into campus needs to go beyond the international students’ community,” Colan said. “I envision getting the campus community to unite with domestic and international students interacting with each other and creating a community interested in sharing cultural differences and common ground.”
Colan enjoys exercising, traveling, watching movies and television shows and attending cultural events around Raleigh.
After she completes her master’s program in December, Colan hopes to work in either nonprofits or the federal government, and eventually pursue a Ph.D. in public policy specializing in migration policy and immigration so her work promoting voting rights can expand and continue.
“My goal is to advocate, research and promote immigrants’ political rights across the nation, and promote integration programs for them, whether that’s in the nonprofits, public or private sector, that’s not a barrier that I see,” Colan said. “I see myself in different fields and sectors, but I want to work towards promoting immigrants’ integration through their political and civic rights.”
Early voting is now open at Talley Student Union through Nov. 2. For more information, visit packthepolls.dasa.ncsu.edu/2024-voting-at-talley-student-union.
This post was originally published in DASA.
