I’m not sure my students really realize how difficult it was for me to leave my job as the Aquatics Coordinator at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), a small, commuter Hispanic Serving Institution set in urban Chicago. I had a completely different experience, an experience at the time I would have labeled ideal. I went to the University of Michigan (UM), a large, public, residential, research institution in a college town. I loved Michigan. I loved my courses, the campus, Ann Arbor, the football games, my friends, and the celebration of diversity. I started working at NEIU as a short stop along my career path, a place to get some experience so I could move on to a top tier university. I had no idea that I would stay six years and that my experiences at NEIU would inspire me to return to school to learn how to better serve the actually diverse student population on a campus like NEIU’s. UM celebrates and encourages diversity. The university was even involved in the Supreme Court case that determined how diversity is allowed to be considered in admissions. However, while I attended cultural events and had friends of various races and religions, I did not fully understand the concepts of privilege and social justice until I worked at NEIU.
NEIU is a Hispanic Serving Institution and the student population is just over forty percent white, with Hispanic students next with over thirty percent, then followed by black students, Asian students, and “other.” These statistics are NEIU’s most shared and are impressive in terms of ethnic diversity but they also miss some of the other diverse populations, such as grouping Middle Eastern individuals with white students; not distinguishing between Asian, Pacific Islander, Indian, etc.; and completely missing aspects of the diversity in age, traditional versus nontraditional students, first- and second-generation Americans, first-generation students, religion, and so on.
It was not until I had this comparison that I realized my privilege of being a white, middle-class American, with two parents who had master’s degrees. I learned about my privilege when my students would simply tell me, “Megan, that’s such a white person thing to say.” At first, I didn’t know how to respond. Soon, I knew exactly how to respond: “Tell me what you mean.” I went from embarrassment of the subject of race to genuine curiosity.
I learned even more when traveling with my students to conferences and events. I took a road trip with a recent alum who is Palestinian. The first day, he was pulled over by a police officer in Nebraska. I couldn’t find my registration or proof of insurance. He panicked when the officer went back to his vehicle. I shrugged and explained that I just didn’t have it. The next day we were approached by police in Colorado on a college campus for socializing with a group using trees for slacklining, apparently against the law in that town. The third day he was pulled over again. This time in Arizona. Again, I was unphased. He couldn’t figure out why I was so calm. We simultaneously realized it because I was a white female from the midwest with no negative driving record. Because of my privilege I could stay calm. No officer was going to hurt, arrest, or harass me. My friend, on the other hand, could easily be mistaken for Mexican, and in Arizona, that meant he could be asked for his “papers” and questioned, and when the officer found out he was Middle Eastern, that could be worse.
I soon realized my own arrogance in wanting to be at a tier-one institution, a place with a prestigious name and reputation. I wanted to be known for being smart, an academic, someone who deserved to be at such a place. My experience at NEIU taught me that there is so much more to learn about the world than what is visible at prestigious universities. I wanted to give myself and my abilities to a prestigious universities. I neglected to think about what the university could give me in return.
I now wish to only be at small universities with a high percentage of first-generation college students. While I already talked about how NEIU had more dimensions of diversity than that, this one seems to carry many of the other dimensions with it. Students like those at NEIU taught me so much that they deserve thoughtful, “educated,” professional faculty and staff who want them to succeed in and after their college careers.
I want to be one of those faculty (or staff) members.
I started my doctoral degree in hopes of becoming more informed on how to serve these students. In particular I want to find ways to increase collaboration in out-of-the-classroom learning for faculty and staff, instead of competitiveness; to find ways to encourage mental health awareness, acceptance, concern, and care, instead of fear and shame; to find ways to increase retention and student success during and after college, preparing students personally and professionally for the worlds they are about to enter. I want to do all of this in the context of a diverse campus.
Specifically, I may return to my home office of Campus Recreation. I find that recreation is a healthy and social way to encourage all of these professional goals. In addition, my Campus Recreation colleagues tend to keep a genuine network of professionals who value their jobs and continue to grow their offices, their field, and themselves.
I may decide to go into another area of Student Affairs or perhaps the office of the vice president. I may want to spread both my research and studies as well as the wonderfully contagious, energetic attitude of Campus Recreation.
I may decide I want to become a faculty member. I love to have direct contact with students. As I move up in administrative roles, my direct contact may decrease and I may want to become faculty, where I can keep those relationships.
From my actions as a faculty or staff member, my students learn how to be people and professionals after college. They then go on to further impact their communities, the nation, and the world.
Golden Eagles, you inspire me.
Now go inspire yourselves.
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