Soma Nwokolo became aware of the realities of racism after she moved to the U.S. from England when she was 10.
"It's not that I didn't know I was black," said Nwokolo, a 21-year-old Nigerian public relations senior. "It just didn't matter."
Despite learning about the history of slavery in the U.S. while in school, Nwokolo never fully realized the importance of race until she joined the UF Panhellenic Council, of which she is now executive vice president.
After she rushed for a Panhellenic sorority, her peers questioned her for not joining the traditionally black National Panhellenic Council.
Nwokolo spoke about not fitting into the cultural bounds placed upon students when they come to UF at Gatorship's "Out of the Box: Cultural Freedom and Limits" forum Tuesday night at the Graham Gallery.
Family, youth and community sciences junior Matt Davidson, and history senior Xavier Suarez, both 21, also shared their experiences.
Davidson, a white male, is an avid participant in Black Student Union events and was named BSU Homecoming Duke in 2010. He is also a member of SAVANT, a leadership honorary organization mostly composed of minority students.
He said he has realized that students feel their culture is heightened when they come to UF.
"A lot of my friends that came to college from high school say, ‘Well, I wasn't super black in high school, but now in college, I feel like I have to be,'" Davidson said.
Suarez, on the other hand, decided to "branch out" by joining the Interfraternity Council after being raised in a Hispanic culture.
However, he was drawn back to his roots, joining the Hispanic Student Association the Spring semester of his freshman year despite his fraternity brothers' jokes about "some Hispanic meeting," he said.
"I became president of HSA, and I won the respect of my [IFC] chapter," Suarez said. "They saw that I really did put passion in whatever I did."
Davidson said it's important to "not put diversity inside of a box."
"Diversity can be the experiences that make up who you are and your passions," he said, "and many have nothing to do with your skin tone, where you're from and your religion."
