How One Student Transformed Challenges Into Change

How One Student Transformed Challenges Into Change

By Cyndi Cunningham

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When Sol Haro first attended Cal State San Marcos, he felt isolated. Not because of the school - Haro was an active student and involved in campus clubs - but because of a struggle with his identity.

As a Mexican American child of a single parent from a low-income household, he felt a level of pressure to find a place where he thought he belonged. This pressure was amplified by Haro's gender identity as a transgender man.

He felt alone on campus - othered - because he rarely saw his identity reflected around him.

"I didn't see myself in my peers or professors," Haro said. "I always tell people I'm a triple threat because I'm brown, I came from poverty, and I'm trans. A lot of things have happened in my life, so it's hard to find people who relate to me without disclosing all those things."

Haro graduated last spring with a degree in social sciences, and he now works on campus as a basic needs assistant for the Cougar Care Network. The impact of his work on campus earned him the President's Student Champion Award for Inclusive Excellence and Diversity this year, and he was honored as the winner at the All Peoples Luncheon on Oct. 23.

"Every human being has a right to basic needs, and we should not have to suffer to acquire them," Haro said during his acceptance speech.

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By his senior year at CSUSM, Haro realized that what was blocking him from connecting with others was the internal shame he carried as a transgender man. With that in mind, he not only began working on self-acceptance but also sought to be a representation of transgender people in higher education that he longed to see.

Last academic year, Haro learned about an opening for a civic engagement ambassador through Service Learning and Civic Engagement. He was drawn in by the office's advocacy and decided to apply. In his application, he stated that while he is committed to neutrality, his passion is in helping those from underrepresented communities.

Soon after becoming an ambassador, Haro began creating a comprehensive and easy-to-understand CalFresh guide for CSUSM students.

After going through the challenging and confusing process of applying for CalFresh as a transgender man, Haro used inspiration from his mother to help motivate him to push for a change.

"My mom was like, 'If you don't like something, then do something about it. No one's gonna do it for you,' " Haro said.

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The guide is a tool to help all students, but it also highlights issues that transgender students seeking basic needs might encounter, such as what to do when their preferred name doesn't match their legal name. This was not only a way for Haro to help other students on campus, but also a tool for self-empowerment.

"I wanted to create this guide for every student, because getting basic needs is what you deserve. It shouldn't be so difficult," Haro said.

While his guide focuses on the experiences of transgender, undocumented and mixed-status students, it is for everyone, and Haro encourages all students to apply for CalFresh.

"More than half of our students probably qualify for CalFresh, and they're not doing it because they either don't know what it is or they have some shame around it," Haro said. "But if you need that help, there's no shame in receiving it. You don't need to suffer for your basic needs."

Breaking the stigma around public assistance programs like CalFresh was also one of Haro's goals with the CalFresh guide. He saw the shame his mother felt in using programs like CalFresh, Section 8 and Medi-Cal. That shame was amplified by how people reacted when his mom pulled out her benefits card at the grocery store. He said he doesn't want to see other people struggle the way his mother did just to fulfill their basic needs.

"Your physical health, your mental health, food impacts both of those," he said. "Statistics show that when you have a lack of basic needs, you're not showing up to class and your grades are dropping. How are you supposed to thrive in school and get your degree if all you're thinking about is how hungry you are?"

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Haro has found that seeking assistance can be empowering rather than bringing shame.

Creating the guide wasn't easy. The CalFresh application contains technical language that can be hard for some to interpret. It required cross-referencing documents, taking notes while completing his own application and interviews, and spending hours on research. Every conversation Haro had with a CalFresh representative during this process became a valuable tool to help students.

"I wanted the guide to be empowering for people," Haro said. "Yes, the process is difficult, but once you get the benefits, it's totally worth it."

Along with the CalFresh guide, Haro has also collaborated with various university departments and student organizations to raise awareness about social justice, voting rights and public policy issues. In 2024, he won the Innovation Hub's Social Innovation Challenge for his proposal to redesign CSUSM's commuter hub into a lounge focused on students' comfort and basic needs. Last year, Haro also contributed artwork that centered on transgender joy and the normalization of transgender identities on campus.

The picture, which is on display in the University Student Union, features Haro shirtless, three months after his top surgery. Haro described being open about his transness as "so incredibly scary but so empowering" and "filled with self-love."

As Haro continues his work with the Cougar Care Network, he's thinking beyond the campus community. What began as a way to navigate his own challenges is now opening doors for others, a step toward lasting change built on lived experience and compassion.

"This is representation," Haro said. "I'm happy, I'm thriving and I'm filled with joy because of who I am."

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