Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Experiences
Ayanna Williams
In a forever evolving American society, I strongly believe that higher education should be
viewed as an honorable right for all opposed to an elite privilege limited to some. As history
shows, a high value has been placed on education because it has been viewed as a tool for social
mobility, a form of liberation, and the key to power and success for many Americans; especially
those from minority populations, such as Black people, that experienced oppression and
adversity (Allen & Jewell, 2002). With that being said, not all will take advantage of this
educational right. However, the pipeline to access higher education should be just as accessible
than a citizens right to vote in political elections. There are several issues facing colleges and
universities today that stem from institutional and systematic flaws rooted from the past. One of
the most pressing issues is the importance of increasing retention and graduation rates among
especially among various marginalized identity groups regarding race, ethnicity, gender,
socioeconomic status, ability status, religion, and sexual orientation. Establishing a certain
caliber for the campus environment creates a community where all identities are valued opposed
to a breeding ground for microaggressions and discrimination. The feeling of being valued as a
student is essential to that students coming of age and understanding of self. This feeling is also
vital in building a community and sense of belonging where the university can be considered a
safe space. A university that serves as a home away from home strongly contributes to sustained
retention rates, graduation rates, and the care for the student as a whole.
I will be focusing on how I believe student affairs is a key player in retaining students
from marginalized identity groups by fostering an inclusive and diverse campus community
through designating safe spaces for students, incorporating a diverse faculty and staff, and
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justice, inclusion and diversity, self-identity exploration, community, care for the whole student,
and high retention for underrepresented students in college. I will explore my philosophy that
reflects these values with theoretical framework and my personal experiences at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), also known as Inclusive Illinois for its diversity and
inclusion initiatives. Sustained and increased retention rates amongst minorities lead to
increased graduation rates which contribute to a progressive higher education system and a
Designated safe spaces create a home away from home for students and a place for
intercultural interactions that promote inclusivity. As a former high school student from the
Chicago Public Schools system, the transition to UIUC was a difficult one. I was the only Black
cellist in my music performance major, the only Black string instrumentalist in the entire School
of Music, and the only Black musician in the entire university orchestra. I would see maybe two
other Black musicians every now and then but there were no designated safe spaces for me to
actually formally meet them. Therefore, I felt ridiculously undervalued as the extremely
marginalized individual that I was. I did not get the support I needed academically, socially, and
emotionally to help with my transition to the university and the School of Music. I immediately
switched my major after the first semester, with little to no guidance. My academic performance
was on the brink of disaster. A faculty member even told me that I just would not succeed at
UIUC. As such a vulnerable and confused freshman, that experience scarred me emotionally and
academically. Socially, I felt like an outcast. Intellectually, I felt beyond inferior to my white
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counterparts, especially when I was placed on academic probation. It was not that I was less
intelligent than anyone else. My grades suffered from my lack of knowledge about useful
resources outside of the classroom, not having a sense of belonging to a community, and the
My story is similar to many other stories and the reason why some underrepresented
students do not stay in college. Luckily, I encountered the African American Cultural Center,
also lovingly known as the Black House, where my life drastically changed for the better. The
Director, Rory James, and Assistant Director, Ashley Davis, immediately took me under their
wings and helped me get back on track to the path of success and academic excellence. After
being heavily involved in the Black Houses retention program for Black students, I excelled
academically, socially, and became a prominent campus leader. Not only did I graduate from the
university like the faculty member from the School of Music claimed I was not capable of doing,
but I graduated with a double major in Economics and Environmental Sustainability, won several
awards for my contributions to the campus community, and left a legacy that I did not know I
was even capable of leaving. All of this was possible because I had a sense of belonging to the
African American community, and eventually larger campus community. I attribute my personal
college retention and graduation triumph to student affairs resources, such as the Black House.
retention includes,
Retention programs that offer tutoring, academic advising, and financial aid counseling;
cultural centers that serve as physical homes and central gathering places for students,
thus providing social anchors for those students most at risk of dropping out; and
identity development, cross-cultural learning, and peer support (Schuh, Jones, & Harper,
2011, p. 54).
Cultural centers and resource centers, such as the Black House, serve as safe havens for
specific identity groups, as well as spaces for intercultural learning for allies and the larger
campus community. UIUC had amazing centers that focused on the needs of women,
international students, Black students, LGBTQ students, Native American students, Asian and
Asian American students, and Latinx students. These centers provided educational and social
programs by a diverse staff for students. Programming by staff is imperative to the development
and well-being of the whole student because it allows for intercultural interactions and dialogues
to take place. Students are able to bond and learn from each others experiences. Student affairs
programming is one of the best out-of-class learning experiences where students can explore the
various identities they hold. One of the most influential programs the Black House hosts is the
annual Black Congratulatory ceremony for all of the Black graduates during graduation
weekend. It is one of the most empowering events for the entire Black community because it is
the perfect picture of a sea of Black men and women in caps and gowns that have come together
and defied all negative statistics embodying the idea that they would not make it through college.
Programs like Black Congratulatory inspire the younger classes and generations, to keep pushing
until the end and success is achieved. It is a beautiful symbol of the impact a sense of
Cultural centers also tend to have targeted mentorship through mentoring programs,
retention programs, and retreats. For example, the Black House oversees the 100Strong
Retention program, which aims for a 100 percent retention and graduation rate for Black
students. This is a very direct and intentional method of how universities retain
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peer-to-peer mentorship, staff to student mentorship, and leadership opportunities to enhance the
student as a whole. Through mentorship and leadership opportunities, students are able to define
who they are in regards to their intersecting personal identities. The more they understand
themselves, the more they understand their short-term academic path and long-term potential
career path.
Similar to cultural centers, student organizations provide a safe space for students to
express their own cultural interests while teaching others as well. Whether it be a fraternity or
sorority, cultural student organization, or sports club, students are able to engage in intercultural
exchanges and cross cultural learning that contribute to a diverse and inclusive campus climate.
Because student organizations have programs that are coordinated by students for students, there
are leadership opportunities on the executive boards, planning committees, and within the
general member assembly. The concept of learning outside of the classroom is a prominent
theme in many students college experiences, especially my own. It caters to the whole students
development by stimulating the needs of the different identities one holds and to the different
methods of learning.
Higher education while at the forefront of educating the larger society about diversity,
still falls short of employing a staff that reflects the nations diversity (Wilkinson & Rund,
2000, pg. 586). It is imperative that a diverse staff is hired, valued, fostered and retained in order
to cater to the social, emotional, and academic needs of universities growing diverse student
populations. A staff that is reflective of the diverse student population contributes to retaining
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message to students from the university that a well-rounded experience for the care of the whole
student has been considerately invested in. It also sends a message that all student identities are
valued. These implied messages foster a sense of student belonging and set a tone and high level
It is important for students to see a diverse staff so they can have mentors they identify
with (Sandeen & Barr, 2009). Based on my personal experiences, my Black mentors have left
me with some of the most impressionable opportunities and eternal wisdom. However, it is just
as beneficial to have a mentor that I dont identify with at all but they understand and embrace
the importance of diversity. For example, one of my best mentors, Ross Wantland, is a white
male. He is the Director of Diversity & Social Justice Education in the Office of Inclusion and
ever had about white males. Because of his quality guidance in a time of academic confusion in
my collegiate career, he was a large factor of my college retention and graduation success,
his position of power would know about and had access to. That being said, it is so crucial for
students to have access to a diverse staff not only so they can interact with professionals and
mentors they identify with, but so they can be mentored by those that have a contrasting identity
but genuinely care just as much, if not more, than the next professional. These experiences
create quality interactions, which leads to retention, which leads to increased graduation rates,
which leads to students, like myself, wanting to be an agent for change. It all comes full circle
To the nave ears, some may take the word diverse as a quota that just simply needs to
be met by the university. Meeting a quota will not suffice for the demanding needs of the
growing student population. There are a number of underrepresented students in the STEM
fields that struggle finding a sense of community in their academic program because they are one
of the few minorities in their classes. In addition, it adds insult to injury when those students
simply cannot identify with their professors because there are barely any to identify with as well.
Thus, they can lack a sense of belonging in their classes and may feel intimidated to be
proactively vocal. These feelings negatively impact retention amongst minorities. There should
faculty and staff. This does not only mean adjunct faculty, staff employees, or waged workers.
It means a visible increase in tenured faculty with marginalized identities as well, in order to
represent equity among different identity groups reflective of the student population.
The level of quality of a diverse staff cannot be based off of meeting a quota because it
will be apparent in the work of the professional. For example, as a Black female student, I have
noticed a trend of how the Black staff employees represented in universities desperately needs to
be up to par, if not more so above par. If they are not, then students will primarily resort to the
staff members that seem more competent and organized, which are stereotypically white people.
Although whites can be adequate resources, that defeats the purpose of having a diverse staff if
students only utilize a certain type of staff member and cannot use those who they identify with
as a resource. Mentorship within similar identity groups and intercultural mentorship results in
well-rounded guidance based on the different viewpoints, experiences, and resources offered by
of the whole student because of the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom and blossom
Diversity Education
I believe that there are two main aspects to diversity education that are vital to increased
retention and graduation rates. The first aspect is educating the larger student population on
diversity and inclusion. This can be done in the form of mandatory workshops or a general
education requirement. Requiring this would theoretically increase the campuss ethical
and T. Williamss (2001) FLEX model (Adams, Blumenfeld, Castaeda, Hackman, Peters,
Ziga, 2013). It is also a visible commitment from the university to students saying that a
cohesive community is strongly valued. The second aspect is taking different learning styles into
account when educating different populations of students. As universities reflect the greater
At UIUC, I have experienced much racism, many microagressions, and been made to feel
like I am just a quota from my nonblack peers and even some professors and staff. Much of this
stems from their ignorance on being a racial minority. I, along with a few other Black student
leaders, peacefully protested the unwelcoming racial climate at Inclusive Illinois and
was just a peaceful protest and a chance for students to voice their stories of oppression on social
media through the hashtag, turned into a working relationship with Black leaders and university
administration to improve the racial climate on campus. Some of our demands were met or are
in the process of being met. For example, having improved proactive recruitment methods for
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prospective Black students, providing adequate funds and resources for Black retention
programs, and building a new Black House to meet the growing needs of the Black student
population. Two of our demands that seemed to be more of a long-term process were an increase
in Black faculty and staff representation and having a diversity education requirement in the
community in the classroom and build a new generation of competent and inclusive-minded
students. There are many classes focused on diversity education that have gotten outstanding
reviews and shown to be effective, however they are not required. Because often times those
from contrasting backgrounds do not fully understand other identities, a diversity education
requirement would equip students with the necessary tools and knowledge to be agents for
inclusion. Based on the behavioral climate dimension identified by Hurtado et al. (1998, 1999)
in the campus climate framework, the absence of contact across difference does affect students
views toward others, their support for campus diversity initiatives, and their development of key
educational outcomes (Hurtado et al., 1998, 1999). A diversity education course establishes
expectations from the university to the students, embraces positive attitudes towards cultural
differences, and asserts the universitys intolerance towards discrimination. It provides a life
students identity formation. The FLEX model illustrates the possible development of
Secondly, there are different ways of learning and processing different information
amongst different groups of students. Therefore, a multicultural based pedagogy and curriculum
would be more inclusive of all students instead of just the stereotypical traditional student. The
traditional pedagogy forces students to assimilate to one certain type of educational culture
opposed to embracing a multicultural education that explores a global perspective and cultural
pluralism (Amney-Dixon, 2003). Not only does that make higher education institutions
competitive in the global higher education market, it stimulates equity and respect towards
Conclusion
Whether people take advantage of the opportunity, I truly believe that higher education
should be viewed as a civil right. Therefore, the access to higher education should resemble that
of equity instead of a restricted privilege. I have focused on how student affairs is a key player in
encouraging this educational right by retaining students from underrepresented identity groups
by cultivating a diverse and inclusive campus community through establishing safe spaces for
students, incorporating a quality diverse faculty and staff, and exploring different aspects of
diversity education. This concept stems from the values I place on social justice, inclusion and
diversity, self-identity exploration, community, care for the whole student, and high retention for
minorities in college. While exploring my philosophy and values with theoretical framework and
my personal experiences at UIUC, I truly believe that student affairs contributes to a progressive
higher education system by aiding in increased retention rates amongst minorities, which leads to
References
Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Castaeda, R., Hackman, H. W., Peters, M. L., & Ziga,
X. (Eds.). (2013). Readings for diversity and social justice (3rd ed.). New York:
Routledge.
Allen, W., & Jewell, J. (2002). A Backward Glance Forward: Past, Present and Future
education now than ever: A global perspective. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Ameny-
Dixon,%20Gloria%20M.%20Why%20Multicultural%20Education%20is%20More%20I
mportant%20in%20Higher%20Education%20Now%20than%20Ever.pdf.
Manning, K., Kinzie, J. & Schuh, J. (2014). One size does not fit all: Traditional and
innovative models of student affairs practice (2nd ed.) New York: Routledge.
Sandeen, A., & Barr, M.J. (2006). Critical Issues for Student Affairs: Challenges and
Schuh. J. Jones, S. Harper., & Harper., & Associates (Eds.) (2011). Student services: A
Handbook for the profession (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.