Ulises Garcia Jr., IRT ’21
This was the first question I was asked during my Statement of Purpose (SOP) Advisor interview. It is no secret that we are (and have been) living in trying times. Consequently, I believe the most appropriate way to advise as a form of justice is to acknowledge and appease to the humanity of others. Subsequently, I aimed to meet my advisees where they were at, practiced radical honesty, and challenged them to confidently speak to their strengths. I pulled lessons from my undergraduate journey, my own experience as an IRT advisee, and my graduate and professional learnings.
I remember reaching out to a mentor in undergrad for resume support and he said something that has stuck with me to this day. Before addressing any of his notes he said, “Ulises, I want you to know that I think writing is vulnerable and, therefore, you sharing your writing with me is honorable and I will treat it as such.” I was floored. I don’t know that I had experienced someone be so forward with their care about my writing before but I greatly appreciated that transparency. Writing is a reflection of thought processes put onto paper and asking for feedback is opening oneself up to being critiqued. Sharing drafts of SOP’s for 8 weeks is an act of vulnerability—it requires trust and it was imperative that I relayed that message to my advisees during our first introductory group meeting.
I chose a group setting for our first meeting because I wanted to create a smaller, more intimate community among the larger IRT cohort. Additionally, I wanted to share my personal narrative, address the scholarship that informs my praxis, and communicate my expectations and areas of support. I modeled how I employ radical honesty—meaning I choose (and have the privilege) to be honest with the people I work with about my lived experiences and social identities and highlight how they influence my positionality within systems of power, ultimately impacting how I view the world and navigate privilege and multiple intersecting forms of oppression (Williams, 2016). As a result, I created space for truth-telling and shared expectations of deep awareness, reflexivity, and critical thought for myself and my advisees.
Furthermore, this meant taking into account that we were all showing up differently every day so I intentionally started every individual weekly meeting with a personal check-in. How are you? How are things in your world? Are there factors impacting how you are showing up today? Is something taking up a lot of mental real estate that I should be aware of? The truth of the matter is that life be life’ing and I aimed to be understanding and flexible. But not all check-ins revolved around the ugly, most times it was about what made them happy that week, what meals were nourishing their body, what new music they were listening to, what they were looking forward to, and how proud they felt of the progress they were making with their SOP.
During these weekly sessions, I emphasized that my primary role was to uplift their storytelling. Through horizontal relationship building, I offered observations, posed questions, and reminded them that my suggestions are simply that. Ultimately, they had the autonomy to accept my input or respectfully disagree.
Moreover, one of my biggest takeaways from my own SOPA experience was to speak in the affirmative. Because my advisees also came from historically marginalized and racially minoritized backgrounds, I utilized Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth framework to affirm the skills and capital they hold through an asset-based approach. They carry resilience, community knowledge, and powerful stories shaped by their families and experiences and I was determined to remind them of that.
When we reached the end of the advising period, after my advisees had submitted their applications, I held one final group session. The purpose was to come together once more to celebrate this important milestone together. I had also asked them to reintroduce themselves, with the intent to showcase how far they progressed, share with the group their unique and/or overlapping goals, and practice their “elevator pitch” or “mission statement” for the (manifested) interview offers they would receive.
I closed the final group meeting with gratitude. Because this was my first time serving as an SOPA, I was transparent that I learned through this process alongside them. At the very least, I hope I accomplished at least three things:
1) That they felt I acknowledged their humanity through intentional check-ins and earnest relationship building
2) That I challenged them in their writing and empowered them to showcase the best version of their narrative
3) That they felt respected throughout the entire process, ensuring they were always in the driver’s seat and I was simply providing a roadmap to their final destination
I reminded them that my support would not end because the advising cycle closed. I am invested and dedicated to their holistic development–their cheerleader for life! I am excited to report that my advisees have followed up and they have all received admissions offers—some even to their top school choices!
This is hard work that takes heart work and I want to thank IRT for granting me this opportunity. I am excited to continue pouring into others the way people have poured into me.
Ulises Garcia Jr., IRT ’21
M.A. Higher Education & Student Affairs
University of Connecticut
B.A. Social Welfare
University of California, Berkeley
Institute for Recruitment of Teachers 