Nyagoa Gony named to Big Ten Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition

As the daughter of South Sudan refugees, Nyagoa Gony has social justice in her blood. Her parents fled the war-torn country and resettled in South Dakota, where Gony was born, before relocating to Lincoln, Nebraska.

“I feel like I’ve always been an activist,” Gony says. “I saw my parents strive and fight for what they deserved because they were treated as second-class citizens. Growing up Black in America, you see how not everyone is granted the same opportunities. What I try to preach is that everyone can make a difference.”

This summer, Gony helped organize protests in her hometown to bring attention to issues of racial justice. She also participated in a virtual Purdue Athletics event organized by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee where Black athletes and other minorities had an opportunity to share their firsthand experiences with discrimination.

“A lot of the white athletes were completely unaware of the inequalities that Black student-athletes face on a regular basis,” Gony says. One microaggression Gony’s faced her entire life — an unwillingness for some to learn to correctly pronounce her name [Nyagoa sounds like Nah-gwa]. “A lot of people within my community would change the pronunciation of their names to accommodate people who could not pronounce them. Growing up I didn’t see it as degrading. But now that I am older and I recognize my worth, it’s something I’ve become aware of. My name is who I am.”

Gony’s activism made her a natural choice to represent Purdue on the Big Ten Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition announced in June. She is one of seven Boilermakers appointed to the task force, which seeks tangible ways to actively and constructively combat racism and hate around the world while also empowering student-athletes to express their rights to free speech and peaceful protest.

“We want to work within our universities to promote change,” Gony says. “We’re huge on voter registration, trying to get people on our team to register to vote. I believe that everyone’s voice has momentum. Everyone’s voice can bring about change.”