Nicole Oshima (she/her)

Bio

Nicole Oshima is a fourth/fifth generation Japanese American born and raised in Pasadena, California. In 2020, she graduated from UCLA with a degree in Communications and a minor in Asian American Studies. She is passionate about community building, dyeing hair, and pop culture, and can typically be found running around Little Tokyo or making balloon garlands in Pasadena.

Solidarity Arts Fellowship reflection

Through the Solidarity Arts Fellowship, I learned from the curriculum as well as my fellow cohort members. I learned more about the history of the Japanese American and Muslim American communities, and how we can better show up for each other. I learned more about mindfulness, vulnerability, and building community (even digitally!). I have grown so much from the conversations and insights of my cohort, and the guidance from our amazing facilitators and guest speakers—I cannot thank them enough. The SAF gave me a supportive space to grow, and to say it was impactful would be an understatement.

Object of resilience

My object of resilience is my Class of 2020 graduation stole. Higher education has always been a goal of mine, and UCLA was my dream school since I was three. After working my whole life just to get to UCLA, and looking forward to finally graduating in 2020, the pandemic hit. My last year was cut short and the thing I worked towards my whole life was quickly taken away. My stole is more than just a symbol of graduation; it resembles a year of global pain and community care. It resembles hard work, late nights, forever friendships, and heartbreak in so many forms. To me, the embroidered “Class of 2020” will always remind me of something bigger than my time at school: getting back up again after being knocked down endless times—resilience.