Diversity

When I was 21 years old, I decided to go into the field of higher education and student affairs. My undergraduate years truly transformed my life because I was finally starting to understand who I was and what I wanted. Prior to college, I simply followed the rules and tried to achieve the things my parents wanted or expected from me. Becoming a student leader early in my college career was one of the best decisions I ever made because it led me to the career I have now.

There is a huge difference in having a career versus having a job. The year I spent working at Hallmark having angry customers yell at me because we didn't have the sacred holiday ornament they had been waiting for... that was a job. Today, I have a career in which I get to transform the lives of students. I get to help them become the person they always wanted to be. On top of that, I get to work in a Multicultural Center. Often times, we assist students who are the first in their family to go to college. They have two or three part time jobs and sometimes have children. They aren't upset because they didn't get into University of Texas or some other top tier school. They are just ecstatic they are attending college - a lifelong dream they and their families have had. I work with some amazing students.

When I was applying for my first job in Multicultural Affairs, a mentor said to me, "Be careful. People who work in Multicultural Centers tend to stay there and never leave". She definitely did not mean this is a good way. This piece of advice has stayed with me for years. However, I had the realization today that maybe those who do diversity work stay with it for years because there still is so much to be done. An excellent student affairs professional may leave a Multicultural Center to pursue a higher level administration position, but the lens in which they operate will always include diversity.

This past weekend, I had the honor and privilege of hosting the 11th Annual Equity and Diversity Conference. Our theme was Celebrating the Big I.D.E.A.: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access. Approximately 400 students, staff, faculty, and community leaders who are committed to equity and diversity in the work place and within education gathered to examine where we've come from and where we're going. The line up of speakers was phenomenal and even I - the event coordinator - could not have guessed what a major impact this would have on not only our participants, but on myself. Author and Actor Hill Harper discussed the need to dream big. His speech took me back to my late teens where I was struggling in college and hating my major. I took matters into my own hands and braced myself for the wrath of Momma Tran who would be so angry at me for changing my major to Health Education, a career she saw no future in. Hill said that sometimes our families can be our worst enemy... essentially dream killers. Their intentions ARE good. They love us and have tried to protect us our whole lives. However, it is up to me... the smart, fascinating, intelligent person they raised me to be...to take control of my life and utilize the gifts God has blessed me with to change the world - and sometimes that means going against what our families want. Here I stand 10 years after changing my major with a Bachelors of Science, Masters of Education, and Doctorate of Philosophy in my hands. Obviously, I made a good choice.

CNN News C0rrespondent Soledad O'Brien discussed the dynamics of her biracial upbringing and the challenges she faced on her path to becoming a journalist. She first learned about the importance of social justice through her parents. Biracial marriage was not allowed in their hometown of Baltimore and her parents had to marry in Washington D.C. instead. Biracial marriage did not become legal until after the O'Brien's had already had five of their six children. This really hit close to home because I am in a biracial marriage. I cannot imagine having Government tell me who I was allowed and not allowed to love and share a life with. Reminds me a lot of what's going on right now with the gay marriage debate. The one thing that stood out the most for me about Soledad O'Brien is her care for people. She said, "We don't deal with issues. We deal with people." Her recent specials on CNN have showcased the fascinating lives of minorities all across America. You can check out clips for her time at UNT here and read about her recent work on Ernest Withers here.

Tim Wise was, for me, the most influential speaker of the conference. Tim is the author of several books including White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son and Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama. Tim's speech rocked me at my core because he brought back so many memories of the injustices I witnessed growing up in a small Texas town. I remember teachers expecting me to be smart because I am Asian. I remember the loneliness I felt when I changed schools in 4th grade because no one else looked like me. I remember absolutely hating the way I looked and dying to be blond haired with blue eyes. There is one experience that haunts me... the day I was told I couldn't possibly be an angel in the Christmas Cantata because angels don't have black hair. I so wish I could go back and askthat gentleman to prove his statement.

I cannot do justice to everything that was shared in 50 minutes, but here's some more food for thought from the great Tim Wise:

• The lives and stories of red, yellow, black, and brown people have been ignored, changed and/or omitted for years. Why don't we question this? Don't we want our children to know about all different histories around the world? Why don't we (as Americans) react when the Texas Board of Education wants to erase the word "slavery" from our history books and instead call it the "Atlantic Triangular Trade"?
• Does having Black History Month do more harm than good? Why isn't black history simply American history?
• Why do we assume God is white? And why do schools and diocese punish children when they question that assumption?
• How do we teach our children to be media literate and not assume that what they hear on TV is correct?
• Don't take it personally if someone doesn't agree with your view. Just speak the truth.
• There is no repercussion for White people not knowing about Black, Asian, Native American, or any other minority history. Is that ok?

I am invigorated about my job and the general influence I have as just one person who is willing to speak out and/or ask questions about the injustices I see. Some may say that what I do is pointless because we now live in a post-racial society, but I don't believe that to be true. There are too many examples of inequity that I see in the lives of my students. I hope to see a true shift in equity within college culture before I retire.