Dr. Don Ryujin began college as a first generation, low-income student whose experiences in a diverse but poor neighborhood ill-prepared him for higher education at a private, middle-/upper middle-class university.

Don went on to become a teacher with the hope that what he had to say to students about diversity and inequality would make a positive difference, however slight, in our world. In teaching about psychology, he started to realize that the academic institution itself had certain biases, that the intellectual/occupational viability of the individual was valued over his or her happiness and well-being.

Dr. Don Ryujin began college as a first-generation, low-income student whose experiences in a diverse but poor neighborhood ill-prepared him for higher education at a private, middle-/upper middle-class university. The disparities in advantages between the socio-economic classes experienced at the university drew him to study psychology and specialize in issues related to ethnic and gender equality.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx