Month: March 2020

Executive Letter, April 2020

Brooks photoNow, more than ever, relationships matter.

During the last few weeks, we have witnessed an unprecedented acceleration towards the unknown. Even still, I remain inspired and calmed by the radical spirit of educators and our students. Throughout the last few weeks, I listened excitedly as IRT Scholars reported admissions offers and funding awards. I am enthusiastic as you inch closer to your matriculation decisions.

We encourage you to reach out to us and connect. We are grateful for those of you that are convening on Facebook, Almabase, and reaching out to us via email. With campuses closed for revisits, more IRT students are seeking additional resources as they make their final decisions. Please consider reaching out via Almabase, especially if you would like to advocate for your alma mater.
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When Inclusion and Access Converge

When Inclusion and Access Converge: Imagining a College Space Where the Work Actually Happens –  by Chelsea Osademe, IRT ’19

Chelsea Osademe, IRT ’19

I was scrolling through Facebook, a few weeks ago, when I came across a reposted TED Talk titled “On Diversity: Access Ain’t Inclusion” by Dr. Anthony Jack. Dr. Jack argues that, “getting in [college] is only half the battle. Colleges and Institutions invest millions into diversity and equity recruitment, but don’t think about what to do once [students] get there. Access ain’t inclusion”. During his talk he addressed what it means to be a first-generation student navigating the politics and unspoken rules of college, what it means to truly feel included, and how exclusion can impact an individual’s ability to achieve success and college matriculation. As a first-generation Nigerian-American and first-generation college graduate, Jack’s interest in what it means to feel and be included on college campuses, in the midst of access to a college education, as well as the resources these institutions provide, really stuck with me. Dr. Jack’s talk affirmed my own experience as a minoritized individual traversing college campuses, as well as the current mundane battles I’ve faced as a prior student, now staff member, at a predominately white institution (PWI).

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IRT Alum Podcast, Kat Stephens, IRT ’13

Kat, a second year doctoral student in the higher education program at UMass Amherst, shares her thoughts in being a Caribbean scholar and woman of color academic in her regular podcast Caribbean Scholar Tings.

PODCAST LINK

Her research interests include high-achieving community college students and their transfer choices, and higher education choices of Afro-Guyanese women in Guyana, desiring to study in the United States. Further interests include bi-cultural socialization of Afro-Caribbean descendant students as they navigate American graduate programs.

 

Alumni Accolades – April 2020

~2018 Cohort~

(L-R) Christopher Perez, Program Director, Office of Graduate Diversity & Inclusion at the University of Maryland and Briceno Bowrey, IRT ’18 currently in his first year of doctoral studies in History at the University of Maryland. #IamIRT

~2017 Cohort~

Mariahadesse Tallie, IRT ’17
Mariahadesse wrote her first children’s book entitled, “Layla’s Happiness,” published by Enchanted Lion Books. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Brown University.

 

 

 

 

 

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