Homeland: Pohnpei, FSM High School: Harker Heights High School, TX College: Purdue University Major: Interdisciplinary Ecological Science and Engineering Pursuing: Ph.D Expected Graduation: 2028
Biography
Jayvaughn went to the University of Texas at Austin to get his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering. He spent most of his undergraduate free time in student organizations; mainly through the minority engineering organizations that welcomed him into their communities. He would serve in multiple leadership positions in the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Pi Sigma Pi: Minority Academic Engineering Society (PSP), and the Engineering LGBQTies. The most integral point of his time at UT was as Treasurer of NSBE when he co-authored the NSBE Demands for Change in the Cockrell School. It was through this experience that Jayvaughn would help execute tremendous progressive changes for the college as well as become a mentee to the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Under her guidance, Jayvaughn would create and lead outreach initiatives to diversify and expand the outreach pipeline to UT Engineering, targeting Black and Brown students of lower-income backgrounds all around Texas.
By the time Jayvaughn graduated from UT, he had left his mark on the University through his leadership, being the first documented Pacific Islander to receive the Engineering Student Leadership Award. As a first-generation student who underwent these experiences with outreach and community, he decided to pursue graduate school to become an engineering professor to create environments for students like him to thrive and continue to fight inequities in academia.
Jayvaughn is now a first-year Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Ecological Science and Engineering at Purdue University. His research is focused on giving back to his community abroad through the investigation of alternative energy diversification and implementation for Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) with the goal of energy independence in the region.
Inspiration
The most inspiring trait that Dr. Joakim Peter portrays consistently throughout his life is his nature of giving back through advocacy for our community. At no point in his academic career did he turn his back on the community, rather he centered his work on it and used his platform and influence to continue to support it.
In Western ideology, this idea of “giving back” to the communities that raised us to the pedestals we find ourselves on is often seen in the form of monetary donations. While not entirely unhelpful, there is a certain coldness to these philanthropic transactions that degrades the connection between those on the pedestal and their community. Generating the success and funds to make meaningful donations often takes a lot of time – time in which the community continues to be unsupported.
In contrast, through his constant advocacy and mentorship, Dr. Peter brought his community with him through his successes. The act of advocacy alone for smaller communities like our COFA community creates opportunities for many who would have been left behind. It shows he never forgot where he came from. There is also an immeasurable amount of work and courage to being a community leader; an invaluable sacrifice that money alone cannot buy. Even after his passing, this net of support he spent his life weaving remains. Similar to his grandfather, he served as a protector to many in the region.
Legacy Project
A problem I see as a diasporic COFA youth is the lack of access to higher education. We come from a culture that is so deeply entrenched with both the arts and sciences and yet we often find ourselves embracing it in our careers or academia. I view this as a huge loss of potential, not only individually, but for the preservation of our cultures in society. Higher education is becoming more and more vital to thrive in the diaspora. It aids in creating generational wealth, which would allow for better establishment of families both at home and abroad. It serves us to represent ourselves in a scope outside of our community as well. Historically, academics have also been at the forefront of intellectual and social advocacy movements. With many of our languages near extinction and many of our islands in jeopardy due to climate change ignorance, a long-term solution to gaining seats at these decision-making tables would be to get more COFA youth into academia.
Within my community alone, there were dozens of youths in my cohort full of potential, but I could only count on one hand how many went to college. While we can attribute this to a lack of resources — I believe it is more accurate to say that we lack the knowledge of available resources. Many parents in my community did not know how to really help their kids even prepare for college, including my own. Additionally, since many COFA youth are low-income, college seems to be out of reach compared to a more tempting arrangement through enlistment, which is often backed by many of the first-generation COFA migrant parents who enlisted to get here.
For my legacy project, I would like to develop a comprehensive information hub for those interested in college. One that is accessible to COFA people everywhere, with translations for the major COFA languages – for us, by us. The main function of this hub would be to educate and inform any interested individuals, especially COFA parents, on the ins and outs of the U.S. college admissions process. With both parents and youth informed and prepped, I envision a proper pipeline for future academics and higher positions of power in all industries for our people.
Jayvaughn Peter
Meet the Scholars
Sponsor a Scholar
Homeland: Pohnpei, FSM
High School: Harker Heights High School, TX
College: Purdue University
Major: Interdisciplinary Ecological Science and Engineering
Pursuing: Ph.D
Expected Graduation: 2028
Biography
Jayvaughn went to the University of Texas at Austin to get his bachelor’s degree in
petroleum engineering. He spent most of his undergraduate free time in student organizations;
mainly through the minority engineering organizations that welcomed him into their
communities. He would serve in multiple leadership positions in the National Society of Black
Engineers (NSBE), Pi Sigma Pi: Minority Academic Engineering Society (PSP), and the
Engineering LGBQTies. The most integral point of his time at UT was as Treasurer of NSBE
when he co-authored the NSBE Demands for Change in the Cockrell School. It was through this
experience that Jayvaughn would help execute tremendous progressive changes for the college as
well as become a mentee to the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Under her
guidance, Jayvaughn would create and lead outreach initiatives to diversify and expand the
outreach pipeline to UT Engineering, targeting Black and Brown students of lower-income backgrounds all around Texas.
By the time Jayvaughn graduated from UT, he had left his mark on the University
through his leadership, being the first documented Pacific Islander to receive the Engineering
Student Leadership Award. As a first-generation student who underwent these experiences with
outreach and community, he decided to pursue graduate school to become an engineering
professor to create environments for students like him to thrive and continue to fight inequities in
academia.
Jayvaughn is now a first-year Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Ecological Science and
Engineering at Purdue University. His research is focused on giving back to his community
abroad through the investigation of alternative energy diversification and implementation for
Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) with the goal of energy independence in the
region.
Inspiration
The most inspiring trait that Dr. Joakim Peter portrays consistently throughout his life is
his nature of giving back through advocacy for our community. At no point in his academic
career did he turn his back on the community, rather he centered his work on it and used his
platform and influence to continue to support it.
In Western ideology, this idea of “giving back” to the communities that raised us to the
pedestals we find ourselves on is often seen in the form of monetary donations. While not
entirely unhelpful, there is a certain coldness to these philanthropic transactions that degrades the
connection between those on the pedestal and their community. Generating the success and funds
to make meaningful donations often takes a lot of time – time in which the community continues
to be unsupported.
In contrast, through his constant advocacy and mentorship, Dr. Peter brought his community with him through his successes. The act of advocacy alone for smaller communities like our COFA community creates opportunities for many who would have been left behind. It shows he never forgot where he came from. There is also an immeasurable amount of work and courage to being a community leader; an invaluable sacrifice that money alone cannot buy. Even after his passing, this net of support he spent his life weaving remains. Similar to his grandfather, he served as a protector to many in the region.
Legacy Project
A problem I see as a diasporic COFA youth is the lack of access to higher education. We
come from a culture that is so deeply entrenched with both the arts and sciences and yet we often
find ourselves embracing it in our careers or academia. I view this as a huge loss of potential, not
only individually, but for the preservation of our cultures in society. Higher education is
becoming more and more vital to thrive in the diaspora. It aids in creating generational wealth,
which would allow for better establishment of families both at home and abroad. It serves us to
represent ourselves in a scope outside of our community as well. Historically, academics have
also been at the forefront of intellectual and social advocacy movements. With many of our
languages near extinction and many of our islands in jeopardy due to climate change ignorance, a
long-term solution to gaining seats at these decision-making tables would be to get more COFA
youth into academia.
Within my community alone, there were dozens of youths in my cohort full of potential,
but I could only count on one hand how many went to college. While we can attribute this to a
lack of resources — I believe it is more accurate to say that we lack the knowledge of available
resources. Many parents in my community did not know how to really help their kids even
prepare for college, including my own. Additionally, since many COFA youth are low-income,
college seems to be out of reach compared to a more tempting arrangement through enlistment,
which is often backed by many of the first-generation COFA migrant parents who enlisted to get
here.
For my legacy project, I would like to develop a comprehensive information hub for
those interested in college. One that is accessible to COFA people everywhere, with translations
for the major COFA languages – for us, by us. The main function of this hub would be to
educate and inform any interested individuals, especially COFA parents, on the ins and outs of
the U.S. college admissions process. With both parents and youth informed and prepped, I
envision a proper pipeline for future academics and higher positions of power in all industries for
our people.