This is not a cheap substitute for saying dear journal as I have been known to do in the past. Actually, I look at this as a way of publicly writing about my instructional struggles and triumphs. Recently I was appointed to student council as a mid session student representative. The curve is steep if I want to learn how to be effective and make change in a short period, but I am making a lane for myself as I uphold my promise to represent my peers. I am very serious about this. It may not seem like an important role to some, but the student council has a a considerable amount of influence. I think about how chaotic my matriculation was into this University of Wisconsin – Madison.

I think a lot of people thought that because my parents were college educated that some of the instructional knowledge rubbed off on me. Maybe that’s a little true, but the fact is, my father died several years ago, so anything he could have taught me were from the eyes of a teenager, and sadly most of it by that point was about how to live a meaningful life, not how to get ahead. I still believe this was a much more valuable lesson. We can learn how to navigate a system, but getting a solid life foundation is immeasurable.

If I need insights about how hard work can make a difference or how staying focused can translate in success, I only need to look at my dad’s legacy. It’s a lot to live up to. By my age, he had already wrote his dissertation “Black Administrators in Big 10 Colleges.” A very interesting investigation about ‘role theory,’ specifically about how Black administrators in the 1970s were missing one of the three pillars across the Big Ten schools. The three pillars being: a title, resources, and authority in the context of their employ.

How can one perform their duties without one of important components?

Simply put they cannot. I don’t know if I will ever professionally work in race relations as my father did. I am far more interested in cyber security, health, and diplomacy between foreign states. The work of race relations domestically is massive. It may not suit my desire for more immediate results. My father was a patient man.

Last week, on my second time serving my student government during a round of debate over COVID measures on campus, another represented called a point of order on the grounds they believed my questioning was rudely rigorous, to use their words, “crossfire,” to the speaker. I had to respect their interpretations of Roberts Rules, though the Chair mentioned that as a new member perhaps I did not deserve such public criticism. I looked up the Rule itself, and perhaps a follow-up question without permission is not permitted. Impatiently, I tend to demand answers. Next time I will ask for permission for a series of questions.

This situation got me thinking though, do I want to be on this body, do I believe I can make change, or is this rhetorical exercise just that. My pessimism leaves me enough room to suppose all the above is true, and so I stay on the student council. I stay vigilant and work to develop my patience because as much as I might know about institutional frameworks, I have a lot more to learn.