This chapter on leading equitable and inclusive change in higher education takes the form of three letters the author writes to her 25-year-old self. The epistolary style lends itself to a narrative conversation that can transcend time and identity, reflecting nearly three decades of professional experience. The letters speak to not only the author's former and much younger self, but to a generation of emerging higher education professionals who can draw upon these experiences to further their own work in educational equity. The letters are a way to both convey lessons learned and to provide perspective on the importance of authentic and substantive engagement in social justice now and in the future. Topics discussed include finding voice, framing/reframing views on culturally conscious leadership, and reimagining leadership. The chapter concludes with recommendations for emerging leaders on how to make meaningful and sustained impact on social justice and equity.
People in the movement sustain each other. It’s because their spirit is so contagious. - Yuri Kochiyama
TopLetter 1 Finding Voice: Early Career Identity Development
Dear Tracy,
Remember that time you almost got fired because you wrote a scathing email to a vice president of the college where you worked, telling him he was rude and boorish? And while your boss (the dean of students) told the vice president he was indeed rude and boorish, that experience was jarring and has served as a reminder of things that “happen” and what it means to stand up for one’s self and for what is right. Sending an email was probably not the best way to do it. But let’s start from the beginning.
Like many young professionals in student affairs, you fell into this field. At age 25, you were starting your second director-level position in campus activities and would go on to serve as associate dean for the college’s first cultural center. While you don’t know it yet, you will be named dean of students by age 34, making you one of the youngest senior members of the administration at this liberal arts college.
At this time, there were many “knowns.” As a Chinese American woman from an immigrant family and as a first-generation college student, you are pretty much on your own to make this career work. No one in your family understands what it means to work in university student affairs, mentors are few and far between, and the only thing you know is to keep going. You work unreasonable hours, are enrolled in graduate school, and use all of your known assets - knowing you have to be more prepared, more organized, and more well-read than everyone else - just for the chance to be taken seriously or to be heard. And while this is not an uncommon experience for first-generation college graduates and leaders of color, this habit of “being ‘on’ all the time” will become a deeply ingrained habit and practice for the rest of your career. In fact, you should know that much of what you do in these early years of your career has implications for your future career and work habits - in ways both useful and harmful.
But there are also many things that you do not yet know. This letter is intended to offer some insight on things that are essential for early career success, including finding voice, finding your convoy, and knowing how to test the waters.