The Colorado School of Public Health keeps the memory of Syd Staggs’ advocacy and inclusion alive with a namesake award. Liz Baylon Trejo, ’22, the inaugural recipient of the Syd Staggs Advocacy Award, received the distinction at the school’s annual awards banquet last spring.
“Before the banquet, I learned more about Syd and the work they had done, along with just being an incredible human being in general, and couldn’t believe what an honor it was to be nominated and chosen for this award,” said Baylon Trejo, a first-year Master’s in Public Health (MPH) student in the Community Health Education program at UNC.
Staggs’s parents and award overseers, Kelley and Mark Staggs, presented Baylon Trejo with the award.
“I actually got to meet Syd’s family at the award ceremony, which made it that much more special,” said Baylon Trejo. “They mentioned that they were part of the selection committee for this specific award, and they said if Syd had read my nomination, they would have chosen me as well. I almost started crying right there; there was so much emotion with meeting them and talking about Syd.”
Before their passing, Syd Staggs was a tireless public health advocate, leader, friend and ColoradoSPH graduate dedicated to helping other LGBTQ+ individuals gain the same sense of acceptance and affirmation that they had.
The ColoradoSPH community came together to honor Staggs and their work. With the help and generous support of Staggs’s parents, they established an advocacy award in Staggs’s name to recognize a current student who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to advocacy for underserved and disadvantaged populations in public health.
Students who apply for the scholarship submit their work on a significant project or achievement focused on improving the health and well-being of these populations or show a record of above and beyond effort and service towards this advocacy work.
One of Baylon Trejo’s nominators describes her as “exemplifying what it means to be a public health advocate, putting her heart and soul into her community on top of what it takes to excel in her MPH coursework.”
Baylon Trejo’s advocacy for public health began as an undergraduate student worker in the César Chávez Cultural Center and Undocumented Student Services at UNC before continuing her work there through a graduate assistantship.
“I’m an events and program specialist through the center,” Baylon Trejo said. “Essentially, I help plan and execute events for the well-being of students in general, with a focus on Latinx and undocumented students. A lot of it is making sure we create programs that holistically address student well-being in general and tap into different areas that students have shown interest in.”
Additionally, Baylon Trejo plays a fundamental role in coordinating the DREAMer Engagement Program, which serves first-year DACA students through mentoring, community events, support and resources and connections to faculty and staff. She also worked as a Spanish community navigator, facilitated testing for ESL classes and participated in numerous community engagement activities.
According to Baylon Trejo’s nominators, she never hesitates to share her voice and advocate loudly for immigrants, especially those without documentation. While she isn’t certain what the future holds for her, Baylon Trejo knows she wants to continue focusing on immigrant and undocumented populations throughout her time at ColoradoSPH and beyond.
“I definitely love working with the communities themselves, rather than being on the outskirts,” Baylon Trejo said. “I envision myself working face-to-face, being very hands-on in the communities. I’m excited to see what that looks like in the future and explore opportunities that are available.”
—Teryn Ferrell, Communications Student Assistant at the Colorado School of Public Health
