{"id":49898,"date":"2018-02-28T16:45:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T21:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=49898"},"modified":"2024-11-08T16:47:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T21:47:33","slug":"presidents-podcast-building-equity-putting-ideas-into-action-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2018\/02\/28\/presidents-podcast-building-equity-putting-ideas-into-action-2\/","title":{"rendered":"President\u2019s Podcast: Building Equity | Putting Ideas into Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

ACC President\/CEO Dr. Richard M. Rhodes is joined by Geronimo Rodriguez, Chief Advocacy Officer for Ascension Seton<\/a>, and Clarence Watson, ACC Social Work<\/a> student, to discuss racial healing, transformation, and how to build equitable learning outcomes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Full transcript below<\/h2>\n

DR. RICHARD RHODES:<\/strong> In education and in higher education, we look at students and people, individuals, as broken individuals that we\u2019ve got to repair, and that\u2019s not it. It\u2019s\u2014we\u2019ve got broken processes and barriers that get in the way of people being successful. They have the ability. You know, you remove those barriers, and they\u2019re going to go forward just as fast as they can.
JESSICA VESS:<\/strong> Hello, and welcome to the President\u2019s Podcast at ACC. I am Jessica Vess here with our President\/CEO, Dr. Richard Rhodes. Hello, Dr. Rhodes.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening.
JESSICA:<\/strong> Whatever time it may be that you\u2019re listening to us, today we are really speaking about an important mission here at the college. We\u2019re talking about equity and inclusion, and we have some remarkable guests with us today. I\u2019d like to introduce Clarence Watson, a Social Work student here at the college, and Geronimo Rodriguez, the Chief Advocacy Officer at Seton Healthcare Family. Thank you for joining us.
GERONIMO:<\/strong> You\u2019re welcome, you\u2019re welcome.
JESSICA:<\/strong> Dr. Rhodes, this is something dear to you, something really important that you brought to ACC in the past year or so.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> Yes, we were fortunate to capture a grant called Truth and Racial Healing, and we\u2019ve put a lot of focus and attention on how do we reach out to the community? How do we become a better community member? When we talk about equity and inclusion\u2014and not just talk about it, but put it into action, and so it is important to us, and we\u2019re spending a lot effort and focus on that, and so today\u2019s conversation is very timely. And to talk about from a student perspective, from a business and employer and a community member because Geronimo not only works for Seton, but also is a new trustee on the Board of Trustees at Austin Independent School District. And so, you know, having that perspective of a community member who\u2019s actively engaged in a community. Having one of our students who\u2019s currently a student with us, but who has been an active and engaged community member and a former coach who\u2019s had some influence on kids\u2019 lives over the years. Who has now realized that it\u2019s his time to come back and to reengage in education and upgrade his skills. But to get the perspective, what it is that ACC is doing and what can we do better?
JESSICA:<\/strong> Geronimo, you do have a really deep knowledge of the community in Austin and what those needs are and where those gaps are. Talk to us a little bit about the importance of making equity and inclusion an important part of our conversation today.
GERONIMO:<\/strong> Sure. I\u2019m really grateful to be here today, so thank you for inviting me. We\u2019ve been in this community for almost 115 years. We\u2019re going to be here for another 100 years. And we have gone back and looked at what we\u2019re trying to do around recognizing individuals as human beings endowed with dignity and, therefore, compelled to be treated with respect as the foundation of our efforts to move from not just recognizing diversity, but institutionalizing inclusion and cultural competence in what we do. And I think it\u2019s important for us to model the kind of behavior that we expect, and there\u2019s a lot to unpack here. Culture\u2019s important. I think understanding our history is important, and there\u2019s also an individual perspective.
JESSICA:<\/strong> And Clarence, I really want to fold you into this conversation. What have you experienced here in the community? Where do you see those areas for improvement that need to happen? If you could just kind of share some of that with us.
CLARENCE:<\/strong> Thank you for having me. I just know the one thing that ACC is doing a wonderful job at giving everybody the opportunity, no matter what their background is, to be able to further their education. My focus is on children. I had\u2014my mom was in my life when I was younger, but I never had a dad. I never had a\u2014I had positive role models in and out of my life, but never anyone consistent. So, me being that consistent male role model in somebody\u2019s life is really important to me. So I threw the Boys and Girls Club. I have been able to work with young men, work with young women. One of my things is, \u201cBe the reason.\u201d I worked with a company, and I loved the logo so much that I continue to wear the shirt because I love being the reason that that young man wants to go to school and wants to stay out for the boys and girls club. I love being the reason that this young lady, this might be the last meal she gets of the day, and we\u2019re giving her a snack. I love that feeling. So \u201cBe the reason\u201d is one of the things, and just being out there and helping people. They say faith without work is dead. And if you\u2019re here and you\u2019re not helping somebody, you have the wrong intentions. You have the wrong\u2014 Your life is not going as it should because we are put here on Earth to help each other.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> You want to help youth through social work programs and give them the type of space and environment and encouragement and follow-throughs so that they can move through life and not face some of the struggles that maybe you have faced. Can you tell us a little bit, too, about, you know \u2014 You\u2019ve been a truck driver for a number of years, and I\u2019m sure driving a truck gave you some opportunity to think about, you know, what you want to do and what you\u2019re doing at the time, and \u2014 Did that kind of lend itself to you thinking about, \u201cI\u2019ve got to do something different. I want to do something different where I can help people.\u201d
CLARENCE:<\/strong> Yeah. Just being on the road and having time to think and thinking about what\u2019s going on in my community. For a long time, I was blinded. Well, I wasn\u2019t blind, but I had this, like, tunnel vision. I was focused on my family, and that was it. I never really focused on myself. I never for really focused on my community. So now that the blinders are coming off\u2014they\u2019re not all the way off, but they\u2019re coming off\u2014I\u2019m opening up, and I\u2019m understanding what\u2019s going on in the community, which is Austin. When I first came to ACC, there was\u2014I was happy to be here. I was ecstatic to be here. And then I stepped back and I looked and I\u2019d seen, \u201cWow, how many people actually look like me in my classes?\u201d One, maybe two. When I looked back and I\u2019d seen that and I started thinking about what\u2019s keeping people from actually wanting to come and further their education. Is it because they don\u2019t know? Is it because they don\u2019t want to? Is it because somebody hasn\u2019t, what, reached out to them and told them, \u201cHey, you have this opportunity here\u201d? So another thing that I would love to do is, interested in doing is, is reaching out to people and letting them know that, \u201cHey, this is not the end. Trucking driving, you don\u2019t have to\u2014 Trucking driving\u2019s not the end, or a restaurant or whether\u2014there\u2019s also other opportunities for you to further your education. You know, you don\u2019t have to just at this one position. There\u2019s \u2026 The world is a \u2026 what is that? The world is an open door. You know, you can be whatever you want to be, but you have to believe in yourself. And you have to have the courage to step out, and if you don\u2019t have the courage to step out, you\u2019re going to stay in the same place. So just stepping out and taking that first step and just \u2026 being strong enough to say, \u201cYou know, no matter what, I\u2019m going to continue to do this. I\u2019m going to continue to do this. I\u2019m going to push forward, and I\u2019m going to keep going because me? When I first started here, I was kind of timid because first of all, I\u2019m a black man. I\u2019m older. And you know, I\u2019m older than everybody in my class, so I\u2019m looking back and it\u2019s like, \u201cMan, maybe I shouldn\u2019t do this. Maybe I should just continue to drive trucks.\u201d But as I kept going into it and kept pushing into it, now it\u2019s like it\u2019s a challenge that I love. And that\u2019s why I decided to go to the University of Texas because I know it\u2019s going to be a challenge, and I realized it myself that I love a challenge. I never thought about that when I was younger. I was kind of always kind of timid and didn\u2019t want to, but now, you know, bring me a challenge. Anything. I\u2019m doing things that I\u2019ve never done before in my life. I just dislike that it took me until I was 40 years old, but I am doing things that I never thought I would be doing in my life.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> Yeah. For those of you listening, if you could see the smile on Clarence\u2019s face, you know, as he talks about that, meeting that challenge and moving forward, it\u2019s amazing. Well, first of all, Clarence, thank you for sharing your story. It\u2019s very inspiring. I think, for us, it\u2019s showing the practice of inclusion. Your ability to share your story is really important, I think, in the journey that we\u2019re on. I think the other part is, kudos to ACC. Equity to me is really about listening to stories like yours and then removing barriers, welcome you, allowing you to flourish to your best human potential, and then getting out of the way and watching what you do in this world. So I really appreciate you sharing your story\u2014
CLARENCE:<\/strong> Thank you, I appreciate that.
GERONIMO: \u2013<\/strong>speaking the truth\u2014 
CLARENCE:<\/strong> Thank you.
GERONIMO: \u2013<\/strong>about your story, because I think that\u2019s really important to ensure we\u2019re recognizing that, and I think that\u2019s a really big difference between just talking about diversity and the numbers and what that means at a point, and the difference around inclusion and really recognizing a human being for who they are and everything they bring to the table. Because I think that\u2019s important, finding those commonalities. Like Clarence and I, sharing stories about, you know, what we have in common is\u2014
CLARENCE:<\/strong> Yeah, right.
GERONIMO: \u2013<\/strong>driving trucks, right\u2014
[laughter]
GERONIMO: \u2013<\/strong>our life, and so there\u2019s something to be said about just sharing stories and getting to know each other.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> You want to share yours?
GERONIMO:<\/strong> My story?
CLARENCE:<\/strong> Yeah, yeah.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> Because I didn\u2019t know this story and this is amazing.
GERONIMO:<\/strong> Well, I\u2014you know, there\u2019s a \u2026 I guess I\u2019m\u2014first of all, I\u2019m really proud to be the son of immigrants. My dad came from Mexico when he was in the 6th grade, and that\u2019s as high he went, to elementary school. My mom went to the 11th grade. I\u2019m the first one in my family to graduate from high school, college, go to graduate school, and then get a law degree, and throughout my life, I have tried to\u2026 Well, I guess when you\u2019re a migrant farm worker and you\u2019re talking about how Clarence, you had all this time to think about when you were driving, I remember in the 7th grade, first time in Washington state and I get the \u201cprivilege\u201d\u2014and I\u2019m using that in quotes\u2014\u201cprivilege\u201d to work all day because in Washington, you were allowed to work all day if your school district provided a migrant program at night. And so I saw the school bus leaving in March of 1985, I think, or \u201986. I saw it leaving with my sister and my brothers and all the other kids in the school, and I was left behind. And I was mad, and I was not happy. But my mom came and talked to me and said, \u201cYou know, we\u2019re not having you work because we want you to work. It\u2019s because we need you to work.\u201d And that made me feel a certain responsibility that probably in the 7th grade, a lot of kids don\u2019t get that kind of conversation, but I got it, and I promised myself as I was thinking that one day, I would hopefully graduate high school, go to college, and maybe someday advocate for those individuals that are left behind, that aren\u2019t recognized in our community. And I\u2019ve been lucky that I\u2019ve had some parents that got engaged, removed some barriers for me to graduate from high school in top 5%. I got recruited, included, reached out to, welcomed by St. Edwards University for their College Assistance Migrant Program. I was able to make good grades, graduate cum laude, get elected student body president, and went to law school. And here I am in 2018, and last year, I was grateful to be appointed to the school district where I get to advocate and say, \u201cYou know what? We should expect every single child to graduate high school college- and career-ready, and if not, what do we need to do as a community to make sure that happens? And that\u2019s why I think that community college\u2019s such an important piece of that because we\u2019re trying to\u2014now, I fast-forward to my job, and I\u2019m really lucky to be able to be in a position where I\u2019m advocating to connect our local community to high-demand healthcare career jobs. And that\u2019s how it brings it back to the community college. As a real economic engine, as a real power and influence to ensure that our local community gets connected to the jobs and can afford to live here. Can afford to buy a house, can afford to buy a car, and to pay for their kids\u2019 education, and so to me, that\u2019s the most important part about sharing my story. This is the full circle of making sure that we are giving back to our community. We\u2019re ensuring that those pathways are broken and that those barriers are removed for our community.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> You know, that\u2019s an important message right there, is removing the barriers, because too often in education and in higher education, we look at students and people, individuals, as broken individuals that we\u2019ve got to repair, and that\u2019s not it. It\u2019s\u2014we\u2019ve got broken processes and barriers that get in the way of people being successful. They have the ability, and all we have to do is make sure that we look at the systems and that we look at the processes and pathways, and clear it away because once you do that, people like Clarence, you know, who have that desire, who have that drive, who have that big smile on their face and the hope in their eyes\u2014
[laughter]
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> You know, you remove those barriers, and they\u2019re going to go forward just as fast as they can. And I love the desire that Clarence has is in social work. It\u2019s to give back. And so it\u2019s to remove barriers for those behind you, and so you may be turning 44, but you\u2019re still a young person. You have a lot to give back. And so\u2014that\u2019s what, you know, really equity and inclusion is. It\u2019s that barrier removal and looking at how do we serve the community?<\/p>\n

[murmurs of agreement]<\/p>\n

JESSICA:<\/strong> You\u2019re going to start seeing a lot more movement in this direction with ACC being recognized as a Truth, Racial Healing &amp; Transformation Campus Center, one of ten named across the nation just last year. So that, it really puts the onus on the college and one that we were seeking to take on, to start those conversations that takes a lot of courage, and it puts people sometimes in an uncomfortable zone, but something that makes a big difference in the end. The drive to pursue opportunities like that, why is that so important to the college?
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> Yeah, and before I do that, I just want to give kudos once again. Stephanie Hawley\u2014Dr. Stephanie Hawley\u2014has done an amazing job in the application for us to be recognized as one of those centers in Truth, Racial Healing &amp; Transformation. We\u2019re the only community college in the nation to be selected. We\u2019re the only higher education institution in the state of Texas to be selected as one of those ten. And the others are, you know, no-name institutions like Duke University or The Citadel or the University of Maryland.
JESSICA:<\/strong> The little guys.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> So, you know, I\u2019m really proud of the work that Dr. Hawley has done in the application and in\u2014I probably shouldn\u2019t say this since it\u2019s being recorded, but we heard that it was the best application that was submitted. And that says something about the passion and the desire to make a difference. That we have individuals who work at the college who are invested in the community and who see the needs, who have that passion, who have that desire, and want to see transformation take place. And so that\u2019s the key there, is people with the dream to make a difference in Central Texas.
JESSICA:<\/strong> And with a lot of support around the community going into that, it was something that required not just the dedication of the college, but the dedication of the community with the letters of support that came from so many.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> Yes. You know, I lost track of the numbers of letters of support that we had from everybody in the community, and it just\u2014you know, it\u2019s a resounding, \u201cYes, we\u2019re here to do it. We\u2019re here to make a difference, and we\u2019re going to change. We\u2019re going to transform this whole community.\u201d And a lot of people have stepped up to the plate and meet on a regular basis. You know, these are non-paid advisory positions and commitments from people in the community to step up and say, \u201cLet us help. Let us look at what are the metrics that\u2019re going to show over a period of time that we are truly making a difference?\u201d
JESSICA:<\/strong> And beyond the numbers that those sorts of conversations and analyses start to show, it\u2019s the faces, and that\u2019s really why hearing from, you know, you, Clarence, and Geronimo, your story as well, really makes it recognizable. Clarence, you spent decades in a job that provided for you, but you said that it also provided you an opportunity to constantly examine your own life and where you want it to go. You know, describe for us, who haven\u2019t been in the position you found yourself in, what that felt like. What did you feel when you were going through the jobs and you kept trying to find an opportunity to advance?
CLARENCE:<\/strong> I\u2019ve always\u2014every job that I had, I did really well. I put my all into it, and I never stayed at the same position. But at the same time, I always knew that I would never get that position that I really wanted. So just that feeling of just\u2026 knowing that I had to work even harder than other people to\u2026 just to know that I would never get that position was a hard thing. And just sitting back and thinking about all the\u2014because whenever a training would come up, I was there. I wanted to learn. I wanted to learn, I wanted to be the best, but I always knew that I would never get that position that I wanted, so that\u2019s what really drove me. One of the driving reasons why I decided to come back to school because I just\u2026 I\u2019ve always wanted to do great things, and I always knew I was put here to do great things, but in that field, I could just feel that, you know, that was the end for me. That was the end. I would make good money. I would be able to take care of my family, which I did, my kids. But I would never be able to be comfortable enough to\u2026 retire and\u2026 retire and feel good about myself, feel that I did something good for somebody else. You know, pouring concrete, you know, I did that, and I liked the job, but at the day, at the end of my life, I wanted to be able to say that I helped somebody, that I helped steer somebody in the right direction. You know, you get that feeling inside you to where\u2026 I really, really, really want to do something. I really, really want to do great things. And it\u2019s not even about the money. It just\u2026 knowing that I helped somebody. Whether I\u2019m making $10 an hour or $15 an hour, I helped somebody. I helped this kid who\u2026 at home wasn\u2019t being treated the way they deserved to be treated. Or this kid that was being bullied at school or didn\u2019t have the finances to do this or just wanted to talk to somebody. You know, just wanted to sit down and just talk to somebody. Laugh. Maybe they don\u2019t even get a chance to laugh at home, you know? So that\u2019s what I wanted to be.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> You know, Geronimo, earlier we talked about mentors. The goal and beyond of mentorship. You want to talk just a little bit about what that means because that\u2019s a part of the key to, you know, racial healing, transformation, and really changing the community is active engagement of individuals on affecting other individuals.
GERONIMO:<\/strong> Well, I think there\u2019s a couple of things about the mentoring piece, but before I talk about it, I just want to recognize. I think Clarence is speaking about a lot of values that we all believe in: hard work, opportunity, doing something bigger than ourselves. I think that is a part of this discussion that we shouldn\u2019t lose sight. And I think for ACC, I see it in your practice of being student-centered. When I look at healthcare, I see it as person-centered, as patient-centered, family-centered approaches. To making sure that we are removing barriers so that individuals like Clarence can reach their full potential of what they want to. I think we shouldn\u2019t lose sight of that. And it goes with mentoring. I think mentoring is a great thing where people who like each other are supportive of each other. I would advocate that we also need to be sponsors of individuals. Removing barriers, providing resources, picking up the phone and putting them in positions in our community where they\u2019re getting engaged. Because I think engagement is another piece to all this. There is a thick thread in our democracy around engagement, whether it be parental engagement\u2014parents advocating for their kids, around schools and opportunities that they get\u2014civil engagement from our business leaders around making sure that we have a local community, a local economy that is thriving, that is being beneficial of our community. But also, at the end of the day, sponsorship is really about leadership. Clarence talked about his story and about how it was not about him. It was about others, his children. I think as leaders, we have to also recognize that leadership is so important because it is not about us. It is about individuals like Clarence and making sure that they get supported. Students in our community, our local community members, getting connected to some of these jobs so they can afford to live here. So to me, there\u2019s mentoring, which I think is a really important aspect of supporting individuals, but I think the other level is sponsorship. Leadership. Engaging, removing barriers, listening instead of just hearing. And so I think those are real keys to making sure that diversity and inclusion are really\u2014and research shows they are key drivers to innovation. And in this city, one of the things I\u2019ve learned\u2014in this region\u2014is that we believe in innovation, and I really believe that diversity, inclusion, and equity are the big drivers of innovation as we try to think different, change processes, tweak things, get out of the way on certain things, remove barriers. All of it is so key, and that relationship in mentoring is where it starts. Then it\u2019s about sponsorships. Then it\u2019s about leading in our community. And I think it\u2019s really important to make sure that we are self-aware about some of these things that we have, and I think that\u2019s what I really love about the work that you all are doing about truth and reconciliation, is that it really is turning the mirrors on ourselves as individuals in our community. Let\u2019s learn about history of where we\u2019ve been, recognize where we are in the present, and then envision a future where it will be just and it will be about opportunities for all of us.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> Boy, if that\u2019s not a good wrap\u2014<\/p>\n

DR. RHODES<\/strong>: \u2013I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n

JESSICA:<\/strong> And that is what\u2019s the focus here at ACC and across the community here in Central Texas. Clarence, I want to thank you so much for your time, for joining us, and sharing your amazing story. We, of course, wish you all the best. You\u2019re going to be an amazing social worker, influencing many lives, and we wish you the best moving forward in that.
CLARENCE:<\/strong> Thank you.
JESSICA:<\/strong> Geronimo, thank you as well for joining us.
GERONIMO:<\/strong> Happy to be here.
JESSICA:<\/strong> And President Dr. Richard Rhodes.
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> All right.
JESSICA:<\/strong> Any last words from you?
DR. RHODES:<\/strong> I just want to also say thank you to both of you for taking time to have this conversation with us because these conversations mean a lot. And people will hear them. Future students will hear your words. People from the business community hear your words. And, you know, that\u2019s what it is. It\u2019s\u2014you know, Jessica mentioned it earlier. Often times, we in education like to talk a lot about metrics and a lot about the data, but as you mentioned, there are faces behind every one of those data points, like Clarence, like Geronimo, that make a difference, and it\u2019s hearing the voices of those individuals that make that data then come alive and meaningful. And so I want to thank you for taking the time to make this meaningful conversation for our listeners. 
CLARENCE:<\/strong> Thank you.
GERONIMO:<\/strong> Thank you.
JESSICA:<\/strong> This has been the President\u2019s Podcast at ACC. Thank you for joining us.<\/p>\n

For more information please visit:<\/p>\n

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