A Change Will Come by Lauren

A Change Will Come by Lauren - July 2022 Scholarship Essay

“Are you black?”, my Spanish Professor asked the only bi-racial student in the course. She replied, “Yes, my mom is white and my dad is black”. Immediately, I became anxious and embarrassed. After class, I empathetically approached her to comfort her. Since I was the only other person of color in the room I felt like I should have spoken up for her but instead, I froze. She responded, “It’s okay Lauren, this happens all the time. I get asked that a lot here”. That incident in my Spanish class ignited me to continue implementing initiatives and legislation to create a culture of belonging at my institution. I was on a mission.
As a result, I joined the Intercultural Student Engagement Council. Our council created a seminar that required all freshmen to practice talking about race in a healthy way. The responses we received after attending this session were, “I learned so much from this form” and “This gave me a deeper insight into the realities of others”. I felt like I was finally seeing progress in various ways, this gave me the energy I needed to keep moving forward.
However, I was still hearing painful stories from marginalized individuals about their abrupt encounters that we're continuing to take place. I thought to myself, “Can I really make a difference here?” “Can I handle this?” I felt like I was the only one climbing this huge mountain many have avoided for decades. I continued to receive pushback from the administration because they didn’t want to address incidents while underrepresented undergrads were suffering in silence.
I felt so much pressure to be the spokesperson for my race when I knew different minorities would have different perspectives on these issues. I was predicted to bring the solutions while at the same time I was the victim or witness of indirect and harmful microaggressions. Those microaggressions subtly reminded me I was different from everyone else and that I need to stay in “my place”.

After a time of reflection, I made the personal decision to stay in my position and not give up. At the beginning of my senior year, I accepted a job offer and felt extremely grateful for the opportunity. After accepting the offer I felt like I didn’t have to stress about applying for positions anymore and could focus on my courses for the rest of the school year.
Soon after, I realized many peers were struggling to find job opportunities after graduation. After spending some time thinking of a solution, I had the idea to host a conference to connect underrepresented students and alumni of color. Creating the first-ever conference that was catered toward marginalized groups on campus was one of the hardest things I have ever done.
I coordinated weekly meetings with top leaders from the community, talked with local recruiters to set up career fair booths, and ran email campaigns to market the event. We raised over ten thousand dollars from university and corporate sponsors and had plenty of money left over for next year.
I remember lying in bed the night before the event thinking to myself, “Will people even show up?” “Was this all for nothing?” By the end of the next day, all of those questions I had the night before were shattered. We had so many comments from attendees stating, “It was refreshing to see successful minority professionals who looked like me”. “I felt welcomed and accepted”. All of the feedback tore down every lie I believed about us making a difference because of all of the setbacks we were experiencing.

The changes I hope to see in public and private institutions are to offer an accepting culture for all students. When students know they are seen and valued they are more inclined to engage with their peers and professors increasing the growth and stability of their personal and academic goals. This will in turn drive the performance of the university and the same can be said for the workplace. According to Deloitte Consulting, “A study by BetterUp found that workplace belonging can lead to an estimated 56 percent increase in job performance, a 50 percent reduction in turnover risk, and a 75 percent decrease in employee sick days”.

Even though the incident in my Spanish course was not a positive experience it propelled me to create and lead an event I would never have dreamed of. The most important lesson I learned from trying to rise above the obstacles is I can’t do it alone and I don’t need to do something big to make an impact. Because of the lack of D&I affairs, I experienced on campus I want to take what I have learned and positively influence my future team in the workplace. If I were to go back and tell myself one thing is that it’s okay not to know the entire plan at the beginning and you will learn how to move forward as you are doing it. I learned that perseverance can only grow in the face of adversity.