Happiness
I strive for true, self-defined happiness. It is paramount that I live authentically by understanding the intersection of my identities, fulfill my purpose through meaningful work that contributes to student success, and discover my passions through creative exploration.
Serving as the advisor for annual National Pan-Hellenic (NPHC) Step Show Committee was the ultimate test of my love for student programming. Over the course of five and half months I provided guidance to a group of six students who oversaw the development and execution of the NPHC Step Show designed for 500 people. Throughout the planning process I helped students create marketing strategies and I encouraged them to claim ownership on various aspects of the project, such as budget management, onsite logistics, and promotional designs. Once students took ownership of tasks, their understanding of the overall process increased and they could effectively communicate the goals of the show to their peers. I also supported the student-led committee by communicating with campus constituents and partners on both the regional campus and main campus to create excitement and increase faculty and staff awareness and attendance. I followed up with each member of the team as they expressed varying levels of stress to make sure everyone was still working toward the same set of goals and outcomes for our event. Using a student-centered approach, it was equally important to help students acknowledge the fact that they were whole people who needed to put self-care and academics first. In the end, we hosted a $5000 event attended by students, staff, University President, and community members. We also raised awareness and hundreds of dollars for a philanthropic cause.
A newer passion of mine is my commitment to body positivity and size inclusive fashion. It is hard to believe that there was a time when I hated shopping, but I remember getting nervous walking into the mall knowing most of the clothes on the store mannequins were not made with me in mind. About two years ago I stumbled upon a plus size blogger's social media page and I was overwhelmed with the number of amazing outfits she had. They all fit, she still looked age appropriate and most of all she looked happy. I knew then that this was a journey I wanted to commit to: self-acceptance. It is certainly not easy with society telling me beauty means one thing (that I am not) but this journey requires me to strengthen my internal voice. I want to be able to inspire the students, especially the women, that I work with to love themselves unconditionally so that they can also challenge socially constructed norms.
