Becky’s Fund Welcomes Maya

My name is Maya Menon and I am originally from Seattle, Washington. I am a rising junior at Wake Forest University majoring in Studio Art with minors in Human and Health Services, Education and Sociology. In the next year, I will begin looking at Master’s programs in Social Work.

After watching those close to me suffer from sexual violence and experiencing it myself, I needed to do something to educate and aid those who are exposed it every day. In North Carolina, I work with Family Services as a victim’s advocate for domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition, I am a campus advocate with a group called TrailBlaze aiming to dismantle rape culture on campus as well as lead a blog called End the Silence WFU to give survivors a space to share their stories.

Last summer, I researched the obstacles that victims of sexual assault face when seeking medical attention. I am very fortunate that Wake Forest has awarded me another grant allowing me to intern at Becky’s Fund while creating a research paper to present in the fall about the presence of domestic violence on college campuses. When I was creating my project, I became very interested in the variety of work that Becky’s Fund is involved in, especially their outreach programs for young adults. I believe that ending sexual violence starts with us but first we need to end the stigmas of silence and shame surrounding the issue. By helping with the Men of Code and Becoming Your Own Heroine initiatives, I want to teach the importance of healthy relationships, consent and bystander intervention.

Through my work here, I hope to continue learning how to be a better advocate through prevention education and direct assistance. I will understand what goes into a non-profit and apply that knowledge with individuals I work with in my community. By the end of the summer, I want to have done what I can to help end sexual violence for those who receive services from this organization.