Olympia Dorsey

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing my peer Sallie Blaney on her identity and belonging at ASU. Sallie is a student who juggles being an online student with having a full time job and making time for herself. This conversation helped me understand how factors like culture, work status, and education shape experiences at ASU, and what can be done to further extend inclusion making sure everyone feels they belong.

Sallie shared the dimensions of diversity that influence to her identity the most are age, culture, and education. She explained that these factors guide her decision making making her a hard worker who respects others. This connects to our course material on shared culture, described in Building Cultural Competencies by Pamala V. Morris as,” integrated patterns of systems that consist of an assortment of interrelated traditions, values, beliefs, and customs. Culture is a series of cultural traits, individual items in a culture, such as a particular value, belief, tool, or practice. These cult”. For Sallie, her cultural upbringing took place in Connecticut and her educational background both show up in the way she carries herself. This is a reminder that identity isn’t just personal, it’s also a living ties to our communities and broader culture.

One of the most important parts of our conversation was when Sallie explained what experiences here at ASU made her feel like she belong. She told me group projects and peer reviews, are a way of her feeling heard and respected. However, she also shared that working full-time and taking online classes make it harder to build relationships with peers. I can relate to this this and have also felt the tension that is reflected through this participatory dimensions of inclusion. Belonging is not just about being physically there it’s about having meaningful connections. Sallie’s experience shows how online education provides access and flexibility, but also leave students feeling isolated.

I found myself relating to her at this point. Similar to Sallie, I also juggle multiple responsibilities, like work, family, and seeing friends, on top of school. Her feedback made me to think about the barriers that can prevent students from belonging, like time and work schedules. We as online student often have less time and fewer ways to participate in community events, making it difficult to connect with peers. This made me realize universities need to design inclusive spaces that are accesible to online students as well.

As Sallie described ASU as an institution that values inclusion and flexibility, and said its flexible online programs align with her needs. She also stated that comprehending her coursework and having respectful open communication makes her feel supported. This reminded me of our class discussions about inclusion the idea, “that people feel valued differences are respected and needs are meet (Diversity & Inclusion Lecture Notes).”

When students feel that peers and teachers respect their ideas they are more likely to contribute in class. I realized how often we underestimate the importance of feeling value and heard in an academic setting.

She also talked about how she contributes her voice at ASU, by speaking up in class discussions and speaking about her work and life experiences. She admitted she isn’t involved in any student groups yet but would like to be. This is an example of how belonging is an ongoing process and we as humans are always in a changing cycle of growth.

When asked how ASU could be more inclusive, Sallie offered suggestions for one of each of the  dimensions of inclusion. On the psychosocial level she suggested more mental health support, on the relational level she said easier ways to connect with peers, participatory level she recommends flexible events available to online students, and for organizational she proposed more resources for working students. Her ideas prove that inclusion is not just about one singular aspect, but its how multiple dimensions work together.

After interviewing Sallie my perspective has shifted. Before, I mainly thought of belonging as similar to fitting in, in the sense that you either are apart of something or not. Now I see it as something shaped by culture, background, and conscious efforts to be apart of an environment. Sallie helped me realize that when schools like ASU have flexible structures and supportive environments, they allow students to feel comfortable making them them included.

References

Morris, P. V. (2015). Building cultural competencies. Cengage Learning.

Ramella, K. (2011). Diversity & inclusion lecture notes. Arizona State University.