Carolyn Britsch

Carolyn Britsch (she/her) is a sophomore who recently joined our New Media department. Carolyn loves art and is in New Media to explore some of the many ways to use her art for activism and marketing. She was born and raised in North Carolina after her mom immigrated from the Philippines. She is an officer of UNCA's Asia Club and is an active member of the AAPI community on campus.

In terms of race/ethnicity:

Growing up, I never saw my skin color or ethnicity as a part of my identity. Being raised by a white father and Filipino mother I felt I wasn't as in touch with my mom's culture as I liked. I've visited my family in the Philippines at least five times now, and seeing all the cultural differences firsthand, motivated me to learn more about my culture. Throughout high school, I was made more aware that I was different or 'other' and it created a major internal conflict for me of being too white to fit in with my racially diverse friends or too Asian to fit in with my white friends. I think coming to UNCA and finding an AAPI group of people with experiences so similar to mine made me feel more comfortable and proud of embracing my culture. It also helped me recognize that I am not 'too' anything for anybody, I am myself, my culture is significant to me, and I should not feel ashamed of that.