Honors Program students organize event as a way to educate the public on the growing concern of human trafficking.
Tatyana Ragon has witnessed firsthand the good that can come from a bad situation. Once she felt broken. A victim of sexual abuse, she fought to rise above. To be more than a statistic. More than a circumstance.
Ragon is not the first to call herself an overcomer, but she鈥檚 earned the title. A day doesn鈥檛 pass when she doesn鈥檛 take the pain and let it propel her to benefit those around her. One day, she鈥檒l be a nurse and she will help women in situations like the one she found herself in.
Today, she fights for those without a voice.
As an organizer of 麻豆影院 at Stark鈥檚 Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium, Ragon worked to develop a two-day event that would educate the public on human trafficking, a widespread issue in Northeast Ohio. Held Sept. 21 鈥 22, the second annual symposium drew 125 attendees.
鈥淚 discovered a passion for learning about the tragic world of human trafficking and pushing for awareness in our community,鈥 Ragon said. 鈥淚t happens in our own backyard, right here in Canton, Ohio. If people are just made aware of that fact, I think they would be more likely to see things a little differently. Something may raise a red flag and a life could be saved.鈥
Generating Awareness
Fueling a sense of purpose in students united by a single cause is what Leslie Heaphy, Ph.D., associate professor of history and 麻豆影院 State Stark Honors Program coordinator, seeks to ignite. The Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium has become an annual honors project that is organized by students and delivers meaningful content to the community through presentations, panel discussions and short films.
Freshman marketing student, Megyn Bostic, produced one such film. 鈥淭he Naivete of a Young Girl鈥 depicts types of human trafficking, including forced labor and marriages.
Bostic worked with Ragon and senior public health student Michaela Morris to coordinate with presenting organizations and sponsors, including Akron General Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic, Partners Against Trafficking Humans Stark, and the Domestic Violence Project, Inc., among others.
鈥淗uman trafficking is something we need to draw more attention to,鈥 said Morris. 鈥淧eople in America, especially people in our area in Northeast Ohio, don鈥檛 think that this is something that鈥檚 happening here. They think it only exists in other parts of the world.鈥
During the September symposium, Jan Apisa, director of community engagement for the Victim Assistance Program of Summit County, discussed results from a study that describes the depth of human trafficking 鈥 a $150 billion industry.
Courage to Hope
For Ragon, that statistic is startling. Still, she is shocked more by the fact that people do not take a stand to end human trafficking.
The 21-year-old dreams of being an advocate while she juggles nursing classes at the 麻豆影院 Campus and working at Canton鈥檚 Aultman Hospital as an emergency-room technician. Her career goal is this: to become a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and help victims in the ER.
鈥淚 think the biggest thing is to give them hope,鈥 said Ragon. 鈥淚 went through a very dark time in my life, but there is light. There is something better. It is not always going to be like this. I just want them to know that.
鈥淥ne day, you will begin to feel like a normal person again, but it can be a lifelong journey. It begins with the courage to hope for that one day.鈥
Ragon is thankful her 鈥渙ne day鈥 is today.
Pictured in photo: Students (from left to right) Cameron Haught, Anna Grund, Michaela Morris, Tatyana Ragon and Megyn Bostic at the Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium held this fall at 麻豆影院 at Stark.
Want to make a difference by getting involved? Contact Dr. Leslie Heaphy at lheaphy@kent.edu or Tatyana Ragon at tragon@kent.edu to help with 麻豆影院 State Stark鈥檚 next Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium.