Tell Your Story

We just finished two orientation sessions today and a big theme that runs throughout orientation is to ‘tell your story’ so that we can see the rich diversity of our incoming students to the college. The second day of orientation, I have a moment to share my story. In my talking points I simply typed

TELL YOUR STORY

I don’t actually have any of the details that I talk about typed up because I’ve lived it. The story is only mine to tell. It is a story worth telling to the thousands of students about to embark on their college journey. It’s a story of disappointment, shame and guilt. It is also a story of adversity, persistence, and resilience. It is a story that is told to heed caution and to be an inspiration. See, there’s a light and a shadow to my story that seeks to dismantle a system that wasn’t built for us while lifting up the voices and experiences of people who look like me. The next generation of students can relate to a story like mine. They need to see someone who looks like them. To learn how to navigate this system. To know they have someone that understands their journey. To hear a story of overcoming failure and attainable success.