His research article, “We’re Here, We’re Queer, We Persevere in This Career: Experiences of LGBTQ+ Housing Professionals” is a qualitative study where LGBTQ+ staff and administrators within housing and residence life shared triumphs, obstacles, and considerations for higher education institutions related to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The stories emerging from these college professionals’ experiences exemplify an unwritten curriculum of working in higher education, whereby LGBTQ+ professionals in housing and residence life express uncertainty on what to anticipate in their professional roles regarding the consideration of their identities within a new institutional culture.

Participants discussed the varied levels of inclusion (or lack thereof) of their live-in partners, access to residential amenities, creation of safer spaces, experiences with verbal and written threats, and the ubiquity of whether or how to come out to fellow colleagues, students, families, or other university stakeholders.

The article contains recommendations for inclusion as many professionals enter housing and residence life as their entry point into the higher education profession, without receiving guidance or trust from LGBTQ+ peers, supervisors, or role models who can share real-life examples of what they might expect to encounter within their roles or larger campus environment.

Threaded across Bosch’s research is a theme of recognizing and honoring historically marginalized identities as strengths, not deficits.  Among the many strengths noted, LGBTQ+ professionals shared how their resilience, resourcefulness, ability to create chosen families, advocacy for institutional equity, and heightened understanding of people across multiple marginalized identities has allowed them to stand as trailblazers of larger equity movements among universities and the higher education profession.

Sharing healthy tips and messages with their peers on staying safe during the pandemic, JD Grant ’23 and Pearl Sullivan ’21 created videos shared across social media to give important advice and guidance to fellow Phoenix during the Fall 2020 semester. These student-led efforts contribute to the ongoing Ready & Resilient initiative supporting a safer and healthier campus.

JD Grant ’23 is a sophomore majoring in economics and cinema & television arts.  His campus leadership and involvement includes being an athlete with the men’s club basketball team, a mentor for the Phoenix Leaders program, producer for ������Ƶ Phoenix Weekly, director for ������Ƶ Afterhours, and discussion leader for Barefoot Dialogues through the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.

Check out Grant’s catchy video where he takes you through a day-in-the-life of a student throughout their living space. He highlights how he keeps himself safe through mask-wearing, locating hand sanitizers on campus, and setting up a quick hand-washing station within your living space. Included in Grant’s important advice in this video:

• “I want to make sure we’re on-campus for the entire semester.”
• “Always wear a mask before you leave your living area.  So, I’m going to mask up before going to class.”
• “As you go about your day, touching door handles and that sort of thing, don’t touch your face.  If you do need to touch your face, use hand sanitizer.”
• “I’ve set out up some hand soap right by the sink, next to the front door, so I can wash my hands before I go touch anything else in the living space.”

Pearl Sullivan ’21 is a senior majoring in Spanish and international & global studies with a triple-minor in economics, political science, and Latin American studies.  A study abroad participant in Argentina, Pearl’s campus leadership includes being an ������Ƶ College Fellow, apartment manager in residence life, and member of both Model UN and an athlete with the women’s club frisbee team.

Check out her video which provides a more personal, one-on-one feel as she shares important advice for students regarding staying healthy during the pandemic.  Included in Pearl’s important advice in this video:

• “I’m wearing my mask.  It’s not even a discussion. Just wear your mask.”
• “Be intentional with yourself and with others. Give yourself time to process what’s going on.”
• “Give yourself grace that you might not be able to do as much as you normally would. Extend that grace to your friends, to your roommates, and to the people you meet on campus.”
• “This is a tough and scary time, and it’s important that we do our best to keep each other as safe as possible.”

Student ambassadors like JD Grant and Pearl Sullivan are creating videos to share their ideas and practices around staying safe.

Are you a student wanting to create a quick 1-to-2-minute video on ways that you’re staying healthy during the pandemic?  If so, email Matthew Antonio Bosch via mbosch3@elon.edu so you can become a student ambassador and have your voice and advice be heard.

Sharing healthy tips and messages with their peers on staying safe during the pandemic, Griffin Barriss ’21 and Alyssa Meritt ’22 created videos shared across social media to give important advice and guidance to fellow Phoenix during the Fall 2020 semester. These student-led efforts contribute to the ongoing Ready & Resilient initiative supporting a safer and healthier campus.

Griffin Barriss ’21 is a senior with majors in both public health studies and international & global studies and minors in political science and peace & conflict studies.  As a two-time study abroad participant in India and Copenhagen, his campus leadership includes being a Lumen Scholar, Honors Fellow, and Global Ambassador, plus involvement with ������Ƶ’s Public Health Society, Model UN, Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Coed Fraternity.

Check out Griffin’s catchy video where he walks across our beautiful campus to highlight how he keeps himself safe through mask-wearing, hand-washing, and physical distancing.  There’s even a cameo of ducks in Lake Mary Nell! Included in Griffin’s important advice in this video:

• “Studies have shown that if everybody were to wear a mask, it would be more effective than going into total lockdown.  When in doubt, wear it out, all across campus and especially indoors.”
• “20-second tip: In your personal bathroom, use a washable dry-erase marker to write down the lyrics to some songs where the chorus is 20 seconds long.”
• “Coronavirus is inherently a social disease and only thrives because people are closely interacting with each other.”
• “COVID-19 is serious and scary but that doesn’t mean you’re helpless to stop the spread. Be smart, be safe, and let’s take on this virus together.”

Alyssa Meritt ’22 is a junior with majors in Public Health Studies and Music in the Liberal Arts.  Her campus leadership includes being an Honors Fellow, undergraduate research on ischemic heart disease in Mongolia, serving as student coordinator within the Center of Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education, and being featured in New Student Orientation’s “I Am ������Ƶ” videos on diversity, inclusion, and antiracism.

Check out her video which provides a more personal, one-on-one feel as she shares important advice for students regarding staying healthy during the pandemic.  Included in Alyssa’s important advice in this video:

• “Your mask is the #1 protection we have against COVID-19. It shows that you care about yourself, your friends, your family, and strangers around you.”
• “Carry hand sanitizer with you.  Studies have shown that maybe COVID doesn’t spread as easily through surfaces but that doesn’t mean it still can’t.”
• “Make sure to check in on your friends. Make sure that they know you’re there for them and that they’re there for you.”
• “We’re going to get through this together.”

Student ambassadors like Griffin and Alyssa are creating videos to share their ideas and practices around staying safe.

Are you a student wanting to create a quick 1-to-2-minute video on ways that you’re staying healthy during the pandemic?  If so, email Matthew Antonio Bosch via mbosch3@elon.edu so you can become a student ambassador and have your voice and advice be heard.

Sharing healthy tips and messages with their peers on staying safe during the pandemic, Eukela Little ’22 and Rob Meehan ’22 created videos shared across social media to give important advice and guidance to fellow Phoenix during the Fall 2020 semester.  These student-led efforts contribute to the ongoing Ready & Resilient initiative supporting a safer and healthier campus.

Eukela Little ’22 is a junior psychology major with minors in African and African American Studies as well as Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities Studies. Her campus leadership includes being an Odyssey scholar, Lumen scholar, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a manager at Koury Fitness Center, and a student coordinator within the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education.

Check out her informative video on how she keeps herself safe and uplifts the safety of her nearby friends and community while acknowledging that maintaining healthy habits during this pandemic is new for everyone.  Included in Eukela’s important advice in this video:

• “As much as we would like to have that typical college experience, that is not the case right now, sadly.  That’s not any our faults or in our control.”
• “What we can control are the action steps we take as part of ������Ƶ’s community to help minimize the spread of COVID-19.”
• “Sanitize when needed, or when you’re on-the-go, and can’t get to soap and water.”
• “Just do your part, and one more thing… Black lives still matter. Now y’all go be Ready and Resilient.”

Rob Meehan ’22 is a junior finance major with minors in accounting and data science who studied abroad in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. His campus leadership includes club baseball, business fellows, serving as vice president of Active Minds, and student employment as an intramural sports official and office manager with Campus Recreation and Wellness.

Check out his video which provides a more personal, one-on-one feel as he shares important advice for students regarding staying healthy during the pandemic.  Included in Rob’s important advice in this video:

• “I wanted to say how important it is to stay healthy both physically and mentally.”
• “Keep an eye on your mental health,  Make sure you’re reaching out if you need anything.”
• “Reach out to your friends or Counseling Services.”
• “Make sure you’re taking care of yourself.  It’s a huge part of staying happy and healthy throughout this whole semester.”

Student ambassadors like Eukela and Rob are creating videos to share their ideas and practices around staying safe.

Are you a student wanting to create a quick 1-to-2-minute video on ways that you’re staying healthy during the pandemic?  If so, email Matthew Antonio Bosch via mbosch3@elon.edu so you can become a student ambassador and have your voice and advice be heard.

—

Offering healthy tips and messages with their peers on staying safe during the pandemic, Courtney Kollar ’21 and Tori Seymore ’23 created videos shared across social media to give important advice and guidance to fellow Phoenix during the Fall 2020 semester.  These student-led efforts contribute to the ongoing Ready & Resilient initiative supporting a safer and healthier campus.

Courtney Kollar ’21 is a senior psychology major with a minor in dance, who studied abroad in Ireland and holds campus leadership as captain of ������Ƶ women’s club ultimate frisbee team, vice president of the Catholic campus ministry, and her student employment through the Moseley Center.

Check out her energetic TikTok video on how she and her roommates keep their living space clean while also checking in on each other’s physical, mental, and social health.  Included in Courtney’s important advice in this video:

• “I wear my mask because I want to be dedicated to keep myself safe and others safe.”
• “My roommates and I keep each other in check, too.  We talk about who comes over, wear masks at Target, and practice good hygiene by not sharing any food or drinks.”
• “Instead of going out, we have a handful of friends over and have movie nights and game nights that are a lot of fun.”
• “We all need to do our part to keep ������Ƶ safe. Let’s take it seriously and have a great year.”

Tori Seymore ’23 is a sophomore double major in political science and middle grades education who has held campus leadership as a teaching fellow, vice president of her class in student government, and through her student employment as student assistant for diversity and intersectionality through the division of equity and inclusive excellence.

Check out her video which provides a more personal, one-on-one feel as she shares important advice for students regarding staying healthy during the pandemic.  Included in Tori’s important advice in this video:

• “Make sure you’re social distancing, I suggest more than 6 feet, and that you avoid going to large gatherings, crowds, parties.  I know it’s hard to resist but please remember that this disease doesn’t just affect you. It affects the people who surround you.”
• “Avoid going to Durham and Greensboro. We have to remember that there are people who live there full-time. This disease not only affects you, you could easily pass it on.”
• “Keep yourself safe because it’s not just your life, it’s other people around you, and we have to be caring and help the community right now more than ever.”

Student ambassadors like Courtney and Tori are creating videos to share their ideas and practices around staying safe.

Are you a student wanting to create a quick 1-to-2-minute video on ways that you’re staying healthy during the pandemic?  If so, email Matthew Antonio Bosch via mbosch3@elon.edu so you can become a student ambassador and have your voice and advice be heard.

Students entered into action in their own creative ways through iPhone videos and TikTok clips. Each week, videos from these students will be featured within individual articles on Today at ������Ƶ, and the full array of video clips will be shared on the Ready & Resilient website. A visual campaign will also be created for TV screens across campus using digital posters which feature the student ambassadors with quotes from their healthy messaging videos.

Physical, mental, and social wellbeing were strongly emphasized across these student videos. Students share a wide array of tips, from avoiding travel to Durham and Greensboro, to proper mask-wearing and handwashing techniques, to allowing yourself grace and self-care, to checking in on the mental health of yourself and friends.

The first wave of student ambassador videos stretches across undergraduate and graduate students, including Griffin Barriss ’21, JD Grant ’23, Christopher Horack G’21, Courtney Kollar ’21, Eukela Little ’22, Rob Meehan ’22, Alyssa Meritt ’22, Tori Seymore ’23, Pearl Sullivan ’21, and Shawn Thompson G’21.

These students are connected to a wide network of campus organizations, including the Public Health Society, Business Fellows, Club Sports, Honors Program, the African Diaspora LLC, Biology Program, Odyssey Scholars, Teaching Fellows, Catholic Campus Ministry, Model U.N., Ultimate Frisbee, Baseball, Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, Residence Life, the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education, and the Kernodle Center for Civic Life.

Want to do your part to help with our second wave by creating a quick 1-to-2-minute video on what is keeping you safe? Email Matthew Antonio Bosch at mbosch3@elon.edu to sign up & become a student ambassador, or you can reach out to any of these additional staff members from the Division of Student Life:

• Barb Carlton – Moseley Center
  
• Kiah Glenn – Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education
  
• Aliana Harrison – Residence Life
  
• Jordan King – Student Involvement
  
• Brett Simon – Campus Recreation and Wellness
  
• Charlotte Williams – Campus Recreation and Wellness

Established in 1999, the Diamond Honoree program recognizes colleagues who have made outstanding contributions to ACPA, student affairs and services, teaching, and higher education. The program also provides an opportunity to raise funds for future work, research and academic scholarship.

One of the highest awards given by ACPA, professionals are nominated for Diamond Honoree consideration based on their outstanding and sustained contributions to higher education and to student affairs. They may be former leaders of the profession, supervisors, teachers, or anyone who has had a continued and significant influence on the quality of college students’ experience.

More information about the program is available at . Below is the Diamond Honoree biography listed for Bosch:

Matthew Antonio Bosch serves as Dean of Student Inclusive Excellence and Assistant Professor at ������Ƶ, NC. With degrees from University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, & Cornell, Dr. Bosch’s professional experience spans Academic Affairs, ������Ƶ, Diversity Affairs, and Student Affairs. While Chief Diversity Officer for North Hennepin Community College, he was elected the 1st Latinx President of the Minnesota College Personnel Association, earning statewide recognition from the MN Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as “Top 25 Latino Leaders On The Rise.”

Dr. Bosch’s research focuses on the career advancement and intersectional identities of LGBTQ+ professionals in higher education. Providing leadership for diversity and identity centers, he teaches courses in Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities Studies and ������Ƶ’s Masters of Higher Education program. Within ACPA, his leadership spans the governing board, assembly leadership, state chapter presidents, network directorates, coalition directorates, and foundation board, also serving as an annual conference presenter and panelist.

A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Bosch continues to appreciate how people “took a chance on him” throughout his schooling and career. Crediting ACPA among his list of chance-takers, he strives to give back to the association, igniting his passion to pay it forward so students and professionals feel validated, valued, and victorious.

At this month’s North Carolina Library Association statewide conference, faculty and staff across ������Ƶ’s Belk Library and the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education (CREDE) joined to present their collaborative work in engaging students across multiple identities with academic libraries. “Together, we created a model that we have adapted with students connected with the CREDE as well as other groups of students across campus,” said Patrick Rudd, assistant librarian and coordinator of library instruction and outreach services.

More than 30 librarians, faculty, and educators attended their NCLA session entitled, “The Spaces Between: Critical Partnerships between an Academic Library and Cultural Center to foster Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” highlighting ������Ƶ’s core values of strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusiveness as important work for all departments across campus.

“It is critically important to work across departments to advance diversity, inclusion and equity efforts,” said Tyrone Jean, assistant dean of students and director of the CREDE. “Our partners in the library have taken the university commitment to diversity and global engagement and partnered with the CREDE to create strong relationships and create more inclusive environments.”

Key partnerships within the presentation included genealogy and zine workshops, pop-up exhibits, and a needs assessment about library space usage for underrepresented identities. Additional campus initiatives such as ������Ƶ’s Committee on History and Memory and participation in the Universities Studying Slavery consortium are providing opportunities for academic libraries, cultural centers, and universities at large to acknowledge past histories and enhance current campus climate while building capacity for serving students in the future.

“Colleagues in the library serve as critical partners in creating curriculum regarding diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Brandon Bell, assistant director of the CREDE, in talking about the collaboration as a critical university partnership. “Within the frame of history and memory, these partnerships help elucidate equity and social justice in vivid ways.”

Focus groups added depth to what students from diverse identities were experiencing as barriers related to engaging with libraries. “Working with CREDE on our focus groups for the library was really helpful, and conference attendees were appreciative to hear about our collaborative work,” said Jennifer Smith, metadata specialist within Belk Library.

One final innovative twist involves ������Ƶ’s archival efforts. University Archivist and Assistant Librarian Libby Coyner said such an important collaborative partnership is powerful. “Working with the CREDE helps make my work possible. The way they build community and create spaces for conversations means that I can bring archives into their programming as a way of supporting their work, but also giving visibility to archives,” Coyner said. “As much as I’d like people to visit us in the archives, I also understand the need to meet people where they are. They help us all to learn how to unpack these histories and legacies together.”

Collaborations will continue this Spring with a joint Pop-Up Museum Exhibit in honor of Black History Month.  All are welcome to swing by and view this exhibit that combines the work of the identity centers with the work of the library and archives, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 from 4 to 6 p.m. in Moseley 215.

Garay served as director of the LGBTQ+ Resource Center at Virginia Tech and brings previous experience from the Cross Cultural Center at St. Louis University. Garay earned a bachelor’s degree in theater arts at Dominican University and a master’s degree in college student personnel administration from the University of Central Missouri.

A graduate of the national Social Justice Training Institute, Garay has fused student leadership, identity and intersectionality throughout conference presentations and talks, including “Tracing Histories of Student Resistance in the Spirit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” and “Anti-Blackness in Mexican and Mexican-American Communities.”

Garay will report to Matthew Antonio Bosch, dean of student inclusive excellence, in the new Office of Student Life structure, with CREDE and the GLC both reporting through Bosch. Garay has already been meeting with students, faculty, and staff to hear about their experiences and ideas for advancing ������Ƶ’s inclusion towards people of all genders, sexualities and intersectional identities.

Led by diversity educators within the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education (CREDE) and co-sponsored by the Office of Leadership and Professional Development, the first session in a four-part lunchtime series on race and reflections was entitled, “History & Memory.” Members of ������Ƶ’s faculty, staff, and senior administration, as well as graduate students joined in on these discussions around the creation and validation of incomplete histories and how these legacies are often perpetuated through a racialized lens.

​​������Ƶ has joined nearly 50 universities in examining the historical and contemporary issues of race and addressing them as part of the Consortium on Universities Studying Slavery. Such universities include Brown University, Clemson University, Harvard University, James Madison University, Wake Forest University, and the College of William and Mary.

Building upon the work of the provost-appointed Committee on ������Ƶ History and Memory, the CREDE staff engaged attendees in discussions around the levels of responsibility that individuals and institutions play in the retelling and repairing of historical harms towards marginalized communities, especially communities of color. “We are excited to provide a space and construct an environment where ������Ƶ faculty and staff can engage in robust dialogue on race and racism as co-learners," said Tyrone Jean, assistant dean of students and director of the CREDE. "These conversations are difficult yet necessary in the pursuit of racial equity.” 

The second session on July 16 is entitled, “Education: How and What We Teach and the Subsequent Erasure and Re-Membering of the ‘Other.’” Kiah Glenn, assistant director of the CREDE, will share examples of how the U.S. education system conveys incomplete descriptions of histories that equip younger generations with inaccurate or invisible histories surrounding people with underrepresented racial and ethnic identities. “People often don't know the unintentional and intentional ways in which the system of education can disadvantage marginalized groups," Glenn said. "This session will highlight these disadvantages in education and help participants understand their own personal educations and ways in which they can help change the system.”

The third session on July 23 is entitled, “Constructing Realities – Media, Racial History, and Memory,” where Brandon Bell, assistant director of the CREDE, will share research on how media portrayals influence people’s perceptions of racial stereotypes and inequities. Attendees will gain the opportunity to develop their media literacy pertaining to issues of race, ethnicity, equity, and inclusion. “The media we passively and actively consume has profound impacts on our understanding of cultures and things different from us," Bell said. "As society continues to grapple with issue of inequity across our lived experience, the ability to critically engage the media will be an increasingly important skill.”

The final session on July 30 is entitled, “Criminal Justice System or a System of Criminal Injustices?”  Tyrone Jean will share how legal practices over time have shaped historical and cultural narratives around marginalized people as criminals, leading to racial disparities and high incarceration rates.

Buffet lunch is provided for attendees at each session. To sign up for the upcoming sessions on July 16, 23, and 30 between noon and 2 p.m., please register via the Office of Leadership and Professional Development website at .