A Term as ACUI President and Still Trying to “Be a Student Union”
Recently I was talking to two great past presidents, Neela Patel and Deepti Chadee, and I asked them about writing this last article as president. What do I say? Is there a traditional message after a year in the position? It was then that Neela gave me a great idea—to reflect upon the speech I made assuming the role nearly a year ago at the Annual Conference in Denver. It was a great idea. This final column would be the perfect opportunity to reflect upon that original message and whether or not I acted and served in the manner and capacity that I had originally presented to our ACUI community. Big thanks to not only Neela and Deepti, but to several other past presidents and other leaders in the Association who have been wonderful listeners, feedback providers, and advisors over these past months.
There were a variety of themes from the speech I gave in March, but two of them stand out to me as I write this article—curiosity and being a student union. These two themes remain guiding ideas in my leadership and professional practice and have forced me to learn a few things as president.
Curiosity, as I spoke about in my speech, has always been a guiding principle in my life and professional practice. I am truly a curious person. How people, structures, systems, and organizations work and function are interesting to me. I like to ask questions, and I like to learn. Not necessarily in the classroom, as I was a horrible student, but certainly in the larger landscape of life. The past several months, curiosity has been helpful to me as president, but in many ways, this role forced me to be curious about myself. How am I going to approach this situation or conversation? How will I manage my time and priorities? I found myself asking myself so many questions about my abilities and skills and how they might or might not help and support the Association.
I now recognize that the role of president challenged me to address some of my more challenging traits. I haven’t always been the best listener or always attentive to details in running meetings or following up on them, but as president, I have had to be aware of these personal challenges and find a way to be better. As president, I quickly realized that listening is job number one. And I mean truly hearing people and listening to understand their ideas, perspectives, concerns, or frustrations. Without truly listening, I am unable to provide them with the thoughtful and clear answer they deserve.
As I expressed in my speech, I really love the idea of being a student union in the world. And I talked about some ideas of what this might look like: Being open to others and their ideas, creating space for discourse and dialogue, having fun and laughing, and enjoying the creative talents of others whenever possible. I still think this is my personal goal and I think on this idea often. But again, in my reflective state, I have too often thought of the challenges to this idea rather than the opportunities. It must be the time of year or thinking about the closure to a great chapter in my professional life that brings about all this contemplation and reflection, but I am working to think of the opportunities I have to be a student union to my community rather than the challenges.
I’m going to be cognizant of opportunities that arise to turn challenges into opportunities. I will continue to advocate for spaces of inclusivity on campus and in my community, and I will continue to serve on boards and committees that promote art, music, and theater in my community. Another way to extend my work as a walking student union is to get out of my bubble a bit. I can easily surround myself with likeminded voices and thinkers, but to live in a diverse and inclusive world, I need to extend myself to, again, truly listen to understand. To be honest, I’m a bit confused and frustrated with the world right now, but the privilege to step away from the world and just live my life isn’t one I’m comfortable pursuing. I’m not sure what it means or looks like to figure out the viewpoints of others while fighting for the world I believe in, but I think it is wrapped up in the idea of living like a student union: Being a community builder, supporting the rights of everyone, and showing up for my community.
In closing, thank you, ACUI. I have truly enjoyed the ride as your president, one of the best roller coasters ever. An association supporting students and community will always be my association of choice and to be in a role of leadership within this amazing community has been an honor.
