Leading with Cause: Christina Canalizo

Christina Canalizo '16
Christina Canalizo ’16, one of Stetson’s graduating seniors.

Blending passion with purpose can lead to great outcomes and Stetson University senior Christina Canalizo certainly knows a thing or two about leading with conviction of heart.

As founder and president of SASA (Students Against Sexual Assault) on campus, she’s helped victims find their voice and regain their confidence.

“Since I founded the organization my junior year, we’ve hosted nationally-renowned guest speakers, we’ve helped organize the ‘Take Back the Night’ protest march, we’ve held various events on campus educating students about campus resources, the definition of consent, the prevalence of rape culture and how to be more supportive of survivors,” Canalizo explained. “And, most importantly, we’ve started a conversation,” she said. “One thing I keep hearing from people who’ve experienced sexual assault, or have friends or family who have experienced it, say that SASA helped them feel like they weren’t alone.”

Canalizo, who is a member of the National Organization for Women and the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity, has proven herself in academia at Stetson as well.

The history major from Ormond Beach, Fla., has been accepted into several honors programs including Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta. She’s also won the June Brooks Memorial Award for student activism from the Gender Studies program at Stetson.

Canalizo received a full-tuition scholarship to attend American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., this fall with plans to pursue a legal career in women’s rights and to study in their Women in the Law program.

“I’m excited to be heading to D.C., I know there will be plenty of opportunities for me to find internships and work experiences in various fields of women’s rights work,” explained Canalizo. “I haven’t decided yet if I want to focus on women’s rights internationally or here in the U.S., but I’m sure after all the experiences I will have during law school I’ll figure out which path is the best for me, where I can do the most to help women achieve equality.”

Much has happened during her time as an efficacious undergraduate at Stetson (including a recent wedding proposal from fellow Hatter Christian Decker) and she credits her success to her invaluable support system.

“I have had so much support here from my professors and my peers,” she said. “Particularly in the world of student activism, the students at Stetson are very supportive of one another, whether you’re involved in advocating for disability rights or women’s rights or environmental sustainability, we all want to see each other succeed.”

Canalizo added that the classes at Stetson challenged her to think critically about what’s happening in her community and the country at large.

“Every time I pick up the newspaper and see another piece of legislation attacking women’s reproductive rights, revealing the difficulties that survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence – both male and female – face to receive care, or the struggles of working parents trying to provide for their families, I’m reaffirmed that I’m making the right decision,” Canalizo explained. “Our society can’t progress if half of our population is held back from achieving their full potential because of biased laws and policies.”

By: Trish Wieland