The Host
The host of this podcast, The Critical Social Worker, is Christian Stettler, our professor. A professor at The University of Alaska Fairbanks in social work. This is the 40th episode of this series. Christian met the guest, Lesther Papa at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.
The Guest
The guest on this episode of The Critical Social Worker is Lesther Papa. For some background on Lesther, he is the child of Filipino immigrants and grew up in Kauai, Hawaii. He originally wanted to pursue psychology because he “understood a lot about human behavior and really understood and got people.” He had a relationship with some of his friends, and they would go to him for advice or talk about issues. He enjoyed doing it but wanted to do it where he was knowledgeable about the information he was sharing. He thought about going to medical school but later decided against it. He wanted to spread the word about psychology, so he got his doctorate in psychology. He now teaches at San José State University, researches, and is very involved in the community. Over the years, Lesther has experienced many cultural differences, going from Kauai, Hawaii, to Flagstaff, Arizona, to Logan, Utah, and now San Jose, California. He has experienced a lot throughout his life, which has brought him to where he is now.
Personal Experience Enhancing Professional Practice and Teaching Approach
While in Kauai, Hawaii, Lesther got his high school education and bachelor’s degree in psychology. Going through school in Hawaii, he was very driven and focused, with encouragement from his parents. Some classmates of his were less motivated to get into college; he assumed they were less motivated because “they were just under motivated… They just didn’t work hard enough.” He later found out in his final year of school, during a work-study as a literacy coach at Alawai Elementary, that maybe he was wrong. He was working with one of the elementary students who did not want to do his homework. He said he was “using all of the strategies… [chunking] it up… we’ll just do one, you’ll take a break, one, take a break, we’ll throw in some snacks in there too.” He still did not want to do his homework until his dad came. He realized later that the student had just missed his dad. This personal experience “gave [him]… insight to realize that the same classmates that [he] thought were lazy, maybe there was something more to that as well. Maybe contexts can explain something a little bit deeper than what [he] could see.” This experience helped with his professional practice and approach to teaching, helping him understand that there is a deeper context to people than what we can see on the surface. With the child who did not want to do his homework, on the surface, he did not want to do his homework because he is a kid. He just does not like homework, simple, but it is not. Deep down, he just wanted to see his dad; the deeper understanding was not what he initially thought about. However, after this experience, he realized the importance of understanding deep reasoning over assuming the surface reasoning. This helps his professional practice and teaching approach because everyone has deeper reasoning than the surface; this will help him in situations when he needs to look beyond the surface to see the deeper meaning behind the problem.
Storytelling and Personal Narrative
During Dr. Papa’s time at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, pursuing his master’s in psychology, he felt what it was like to be othered for the first time. People would say things like, “What are you? Are you some sort of Mexican? Or like, what are you maybe indigenous? Are you like Navajo?” Lesther then explained different situations where he was othered, making him “very anxious at times.” With the personal storytelling of real-life encounters that Lesther experienced, he can promote empathy for those with diverse cultural backgrounds through his transparency, sharing his story and experiences with others so that they can get a taste of what he experienced. Even if someone has never experienced a situation like this, it provides a clear understanding of what he went through and how it impacted him. This personal story that Dr. Papa shares can help bridge connections between diverse cultural backgrounds by allowing for the potential connection of shared experiences. Maybe someone of a different culture experienced the same situation; it helps build that connection in understanding that they went through a similar, if not the same, situation. This can help with the feeling of togetherness, understanding that they are not alone, and sharing their experiences, which helps bring awareness.
Microaggressions
After Lesther had continued the master’s program at Northern Arizona University, He then decided that “[He] wanted to be teaching psych. [He wanted] to go ahead and spread the word about psychology and how it can be so useful.” He decided he wanted to get his doctorate degree at Utah State University to become a teacher at the college level. He learned during this time what a microaggression was and realized that what happened during his time at Northern Arizona University was a microaggression. A cashier thought he was using an EBT just based on how he looked; she didn’t ask the people in front of him or the people behind him if they were using an EBT, just Lesther, because of how he looked. He, at first, did not know what that was but realized it was a microaggression. Lesther Papa describes microaggressions as “any type of either verbal or nonverbal it can be intentional or non intentional. But what it needs to do is communicate either some form of hostility, some way of insulting or demeaning or making you feel ashamed that you’re part of a group, or even dismissing your experiences because you are of a certain group.” Microaggressions can lead to people feeling like an other, like they are different, or maybe even like they do not belong. Some ways educational and professional settings could address their impact would be to change the delivery or maybe even their word choice. Dr. Papa says, “Having that cultural competence to be able to kind of shift your language to make it much more, inviting. And the key thing… is that what you want to be able to do is just connect with your heart.” Another thing he brings up is “being okay if someone doesn’t want [to connect].” By using these strategies Lesther brought up allows for more comfortable communication in general, allowing for the idea that it is okay if someone does not want to connect in that moment or understanding that maybe something just needs to be worded with more empathy or care. Something Professor Stettler brought up during the podcast was misunderstanding, something that may be regular in one person’s everyday speech may make another person feel uneasy or uncomfortable, but effective communication would allow for a conversation to occur when those feelings are expressed so the misunderstanding could be solved effectively and will not happen again. I think these are great strategies that could be very effective.
Overall Take on This Podcast
Lesther Papa had a great story to tell with so much experience and knowledge that he shared. I could relate to the beginning of Lesther Papa’s story. Like his parents, my parents wanted me to do well in school to get the opportunity to get into college and get the education they did not. I had a similar experience with having stress being turned into motivation; it was great to see someone who had a similar experience and where he ended up. It is so inspirational; I hope to become established in a career that I am passionate about and never give up on it. After reviewing the podcast a couple of times to write this blog, I think Dr. Papa answered all of the questions in great detail and was very descriptive and informative, going through the events in his life that brought him to where he is today. Watching the podcast taught me the importance of saving indigenous communities from tourism. Lesther talked about a situation in Hawaii where Native Hawaiians needed to leave their home and move because of tourism. This brought awareness and brought the issue to my attention; I never realized this was an issue in Hawaii. This podcast episode connects with the importance of social work by demonstrating the need for it. In the example I used above, the indigenous communities need all the help and resources they can get. Social workers are there for the communities, and they are definitely needed in that situation. This aligns with the assistance that indigenous communities need. Even in Alaska, when I took my Alaskan Native class, we learned about how indigenous cultural aspects were slowly becoming extinct due to lack of knowledge, and this could end up resulting in the same situation; we need to stand up for these indigenous communities and support them when they need us, this shows why social work is so important in situations like these in providing resources, information, and helping them when they need it the most. Overall, this podcast was very insightful and impactful.
Resources:
All of the information in this podcast was taken from “Episode 40 of The Critical Social Worker,” with Christian Stettler as the host and Lesther Papa as the guest.
The original podcast photo and description images were taken from canvas “Week 4: February 5th” (I captioned them as well; however, the featured image is also one taken from canvas, but I could not caption it). All other images were taken from Google.
Links to This Podcast:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKGhDFbAM8
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-critical-social-worker-a-revolutionary/id1707774608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1YjFnG5CZbxmCysQ3wnnQ0?si=NoIFOdEDQp-S94MtPXj99A
Deandra Nicholai
Hi Trinity! Lesther Papa sure did tell an impactful story. He told a story that I will remember for a while about wanting to eat rice for breakfast at a hotel. I enjoyed listening to his story and it brought me hope that many people tell their personal experiences and cultural background to those who grow close to them. Understanding and connection is an important part of our lives and our work.
I enjoyed reading your blog!
Neveah Reese
Great blog Trinity, I really liked how to blocked the sections you wanted to talk on and made it all look very aesthetically pleasing. I too enjoyed listening to this podcast and learning through Lesther’s personal experiences. I have heard the term “microaggressions” before, but I feel like the definition was never explained. Now I have a clear understanding of the term and can begin being aware of my own. It was very interesting hearing them discuss how the Utah community is kind and helpful, but for a lack of better words, at times ignorant. I felt this was similar to the Fairbanks community in regard to the indigenous population. We live, work, and play on their land, yet many of us don’t know their values, practices, languages, etc. In addition, there is stereotypes and/or microaggressions (used intentionally or unintentionally) that heavily impact indigenous peoples negatively. It fascinates me how race, identity, and another other personal characteristics are experienced so differently based on person and geography.
Trinity Greer
I feel the same way about the indigenous population of Alaska. I do not live in Alaska, and I am not from Alaska, but I took an Alaskan culture class here at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which was very insightful. I also visited Fairbanks over Thanksgiving break to see my husband, so I got to see a little bit of Fairbanks while I was there. While I was in Alaska, I was super interested in seeing the museum on campus; if you have not been there yet, I highly recommend it; it was so insightful, and I was so excited to go and see some of the history. I got to see a little bit of the history of Alaska in other places in the Fairbanks area as well while I was there. However, taking my Alaskan Native class, I learned about the indigenous communities being more modernized. It was also presented in Grandmother Rita’s video from last week, where it was said, “Yupik people struggle with U.S. policies… outlawing tribal language and tradition.” I feel like the microaggression and stereotypes are the way they are because of a lack of knowledge overall. Many indigenous languages end up going almost extinct because they become forgotten about. For the example with, Lester and people asking him, “What are you? Are you some sort of Mexican?” When he said Filipino, he said he needed to explain what Filipino was and where the Philippians were, that it was in Asia and not Mexico. As Lester said, those people are ignorant; they do not know, and they are not knowledgeable about it. However, like Lester said and I pointed out in my blog, people need to change how they say things or even their word choice. As you said, “There are stereotypes and/or microaggressions (used intentionally or unintentionally) that heavily impact indigenous peoples negatively.” I agree; the people who are doing it intentionally are just wrong for that, but the people who are doing it unintentionally, I feel, need to be more educated and more knowledgeable. If more people knew the effect stereotyping and microaggression had on people, I think it could really make a more significant difference.
Neveah Reese
I couldn’t agree more. I am also taking my cultures in AK course at the moment and have been learning so much! I grew up in Fairbanks and also attended an Elementary school that is very in touch with indigenous cultures, yet thinking back I can think on times where I was unintentionally using microaggressions. Taught perhaps by my community, family, or even friends. This is why I love that UAF has all their students take Alaska Native themed courses so we can become more educated on where and who we reside with.
Alex Beaudouin
Hi Trinity,
Thank you for sharing DR Lesther Papa’s story. Living in Arizona, and having traveled and spent some time in Flagstaff, near Northern Arizona University, I can recall a very different demographic than Phoenix. Flagstaff has a strong indigenous population with 11.7% Native American and around 18% Latino. I am sorry to hear that Lesther Papa had to experience microaggression. It is very demeaning to self-esteem and the feeling of not belonging. When Lesther Papa says “any type of either verbal or nonverbal it can be intentional or nonintentional. But what it needs to do is communicate either some form of hostility, some way of insulting or demeaning or making you feel ashamed that you’re part of a group, or even dismissing your experiences because you are of a certain group”, I can relate to that since I am originally form France, and even though I am white caucasian, I stand out due to my accent. I experienced microagression without realizing it or putting a name on it, but thanks to your blog I know now how to call it. Unfortunately, some people sometimes relate an accent with a lack of education or intelligence. Bias based on accent is a form of discrimination or microagression. Addressing microagression requires education, awareness, and a commitment to creating inclusiveness.
Christine Ryan
Great job Trinity! Enjoyed your take on the blog. I just listened to it and then hit up your blog, and already forgot about Lester talking about preserving the land. Thanks for bringing this back to the forefront of my mind, very important.
The Arizona incident in the Safeway with Lester would be a perfect example of microaggression. I am from Arizona and have lived in Prescott, which is not too far from Flagstaff, there is a huge stereotype against Native Americans. Mostly categorized as drunks, lazy, and waiting for their checks. My family is native American, and our tribe is from Oklahoma. I did not grow up on the reservation, but I have visited it and it made me respect my heritage and all the struggles my family has had. I felt for Lester in that moment and honestly, any native American who also had to feel singled out.
The taxicab conversation about asking the driver from where he was from. I never once considered that a microaggression and I am guilty of asking that question. Again, being from Arizona I am used to everyone being a transplant and I am curious about people’s history. My husband is in the Air Force, and we are moving around, and I am looking for common ground and conversation about home. After listening to Lester’s point of view I will be more intentional on how I bring it up, making it more personable and inviting.
Thanks again for your blog an experience shared.
Ben Woods
Hi there Trinity, great blog post! I think I’ll listen to this one after I’m done with homework today. What I thought was interesting was that he experienced microaggression in Arizona going to college. For some reason (I haven’t figured out why yet) people lose their manners somewhere in the transition from high school and into adult college life. Now, I know this isn’t everyone nor does everyone go to college. I’ve noticed this at work, in classes, and simply out in public. I thought it was interesting how he connected how the child didn’t want to do his homework not because he was lazy but because he missed his father. I often think about how many events we go into feeling that something is missing or inhibiting us from experiencing certain events simply because we want a family member there or a special someone to experience it with. I believe life is meant to be shared but we have to be careful who we share it with because we only have one shot at it! (Just my personal beliefs.) Good detail on your post Trininty!
Maren Chaffee
Hi Trinity, great work on your blog! A few things stuck with me listening to the blog, but Papa’s awareness of microaggressions, acquired during his time at Northern Arizona University, underscores the impact of seemingly innocuous behaviors on individuals. His insights emphasize the profound importance of language and implications, highlighting how unintentional implications can cause harm and fostering a greater awareness and sensitivity to the impact of words and actions on diverse cultural backgrounds. I could listen and ask questions when this was recorded, and I loved how he stayed connected with his culture, being away from Hawaii with food and sharing with people. Again, great work!