“’Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.”

-- Alice Walker

We have a saying in our office, "Attitude of Gratitude" while we don't know who said it originally, it’s catchy and we like it, so we say it, all the time. Now is a good time to reflect on it since we said grace remotely around different thanksgiving tables last week, a first for many of us. As usual, we went around and expressed what we were thankful for this year.  While the answers were all appropriately grateful, the tone felt just a little bit different.  Whether you were acknowledging colonizer good fortune or celebrating pilgrim fortitude, our hope is that undergirding the feast and floats and football you found an attitude of gratitude.  We say it when we’re feeling thankful, we also say it when we’re not. 2020 has leaned more towards the latter for us and for many of you. This has been a different kind of year. There is some solace in the fact that none of us has ever experienced anything like this before, though that provides little comfort really.  Just like there is some solace in the notion that it could be worse, but that may be difficult to imagine.  We are all navigating a new reality. That is okay. You are okay, even though it may not feel or seem like it. What we're hearing from students are variations on a theme.

"I'm just trying to get through this semester..."

"I'm burnt out..."

"I just feel blah..."

"I 'm so tired of Zoom or Collaborate, or Meet, or looking at my screen..."

”I don’t like online classes…”

"I'm over it..."

When we ask what "IT" is, it's anything and everything. We get IT. We get that IT kinda sucks. We get that IT is not what you signed up for. We get that IT feels like too much and not enough all at the same time, which shouldn't make sense or be possible and yet it is because, the Rona (I refuse to call it the Vid, Kevin can miss me with that one). There's great news, you're almost there. The semester is almost over. A break is on its way. How will you meet it, standing tall having conquered the semester, or bloodied and bowed having barely made it through?  Both happen, but candidly we're pulling for standing tall.  Whether you run across the line, walk, limp or crawl, what matters is that you cross it, that you finish.  If you've been cruising this semester, good for you.  Keep doing what you're doing, help others, you can finish.  If you've been getting beat up all semester, we get that too.  Reach out to others, figure out what you can do differently, get some help, you can finish.  If you've been chilling and are doing okay, but know you could be doing better, you're not alone. Redouble your efforts, get some help, find a way, you can finish.  

People often call college a marathon.  You’ve probably heard the saying “It’s a marathon not a sprint.”  That may be slightly off.  What if it’s more like the Tour de France (without the doping)?  

“Life is like riding a bicycle. In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

-- Albert Einstein

There are stages (semesters) and there are rest stops (breaks).  Some stages are hilly, some are flat, while some are mountainous.  At some rest stops, you get right back up and start riding again (winter), at some you have to go somewhere else to start from a different place (summer).  Oh, and you always ride with a team even though you finish for yourself. Not to overwork the metaphor here, but this really feels like a good analogy.  The more I look at it and think about it, the more sense it makes (thanks google).  You are on the tour and you’re pedaling your behind off.  Your legs are burning, your heart is racing, it is hard to breathe, but the finish line for this stage is right around the corner.  Dig deep, push forward, pedal hard, finish strong…

"Whenever you have taken up work in hand, you must see it to the finish. That is the ultimate secret of success. Never, never, never give up!"

-- Dada Vaswani

“The Shoulders on Whom We Stand” 

Hill-Robinson Lecture 

On Thursday, September 17, 2020, a day before the 28th Annual McNair Scholars Research Conference, Michael Hunt introduced the Hill-Robinson Lecture. Hunt shared the impact that Dr. Cynthia M. Hill, Former UMBC Associate Provost & Founding UMBC McNair Director, and Dr. Thomas Robinson, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies & McNair Research Methods Faculty, has made on the McNair community. Hunt used this time emphasize the importance of remembering “the shoulders on whom we stand”. 

Dr. Jasmine Lee’s Dissertation  

During the Hill-Robinson lecture, Dr. Jasmine Lee, Director of Inclusive Excellence & Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion & Belonging in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), shared her dissertation with the title, “Counter-stories of Academic Resilience at PWIs”. Lee discussed the emotional, financial, and psychological challenges one faces as a college student who is black, first-generation, and comes from a low-income family.  

Black + First Gen + Low Income 

During this segment, Dr. Lee shared and broke down the common experiences and barriers that black, first gen, and low-income students face at PWIs, and how broad these challenges and barriers are. She then went on to elaborate on how these barriers impact the students mentally and emotionally. Even with these experiences and barriers, the students impacted still showed a resilience when it came to their education and their goals, and Dr. Lee took her audience through how she went about finding out how students were able to demonstrate that academic resilience. 

Theoretical Foundations 

To move forward with her study, Dr. Lee explained how she used the theoretical foundations of critical race theory, input-environment-outcome, and local model of student success. She then explained what each of these foundations mean and how they play an important role in her study. 

The Counter-stories 

Dr. Lee then went on to share the testimonies, or counter-stories, of black, first gen, and low-income students who share how they were able to be resilient in their academics. Some of the students shared how they did it because they wanted to give back to their communities, help support their families, or just because they wanted better for themselves. Some students also shared how they get their motivation from the people before them who fought and sacrificed their lives for them to have access to higher education, and that helps them to continue to strive. 

Theory to Practice 

As she concluded her study, Dr. Lee talked about different ways and practices that faculty and staff of these PWIs can do to support black, first gen, and low-income students. She first discussed how these practitioners should “honor and strengthen non-cognitive variables”, which would include college transition and helping students navigate the system and better “understand racism withing higher education”. The second practice that she mentioned is “over-mothering, fictive kinship, and the village model”. With this, she talked about the importance in being involved in the students’ success, both academically and personally, given the fact that the students are away from their families. Her last practice that she suggested was “affirmation, support, and advocacy”. She made sure to include this in her study because she wanted her audience to understand the value of being an active participant in student success. The level of support through affirming the students and showing up for them when they need it the most, is vital.  

At the end, Dr. Lee gave her audience a few takeaways. She mentioned how we need to remove, as she put it, “color-blind practices and programs” that fail to address the issues that black, first gen, and low-income college students are facing. That being said, she stated that it is important to take into account “student narratives in order to adequately develop programs and interventions to address their needs.” She pointed out that students have different experiences before their undergraduate careers that have helped them gain strength and determination.  

Finally, Dr. Lee mentioned the important fact that “students are not failing. We are failing them.” This was an important point that Dr. Lee made because it is crucial that, for students who are first-gen, black, and from a low-income family, faculty and staff learn how to properly support the students based on their needs, instead of taking a cookie-cutter approach. The Hill-Robinson lecture was wonderful and, though it was online, it did a beautiful job encompassing the value of community and support, and was a great way to open up the conference.  

If you want to take part of this wonderful experience, click on the link below to watch the lecture!