WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 music 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.000 We've got some great speakers to kick off this event 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.000 which is a really exciting event. 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:12.000 Some of you might know this, but early in my career, 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.000 I was the Director of Undergraduate Research 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:17.000 for six years in North Carolina and we founded 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:19.000 an undergraduate research symposium. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:23.000 We started the road of which the school has been on 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:25.000 for many years of celebrating 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.000 the accomplishments of our students. 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:30.000 It's really one of the most exciting days that we 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.000 have at a university where we gathered together, 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:35.000 and we see what our students have been working 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:39.000 on and we celebrate their successes. We give them awards for their achievements. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:41.000 We come together as a community. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:43.000 It's wonderful that you're back in person, 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:47.000 that we're here together to be able to have good communication and to 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:49.000 hear good thoughts from one another 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:51.000 and brainstorm and ask students, 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:53.000 engage in questions as we go forward. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.000 I just wanted to kick it 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.000 off and welcome everyone to campus, 00:00:57.000 --> 00:00:60.000 our speakers, I can't wait to hear from you this morning. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.000 Then I hope you all have fun 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:04.000 going to the sessions throughout the day, 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:07.000 and talking to our students who do amazing things. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:11.000 With that, I'm going to turn it over to Hilary Fouts, 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:13.000 who's the campus MC, 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:15.000 and she's going to introduce 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:18.000 our speakers for today. Thank you. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.000 I just want to clarify. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000 That's not my official title on campus. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:27.000 I'm really thrilled today to introduce 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:29.000 our first speaker, Cheyanne Heidt. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:31.000 Cheyanne is an alumni of 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.000 Western Oregon University and went through 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.000 our Masters of Arts in Teaching Program. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.000 I was going to read scripture and then I 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:44.000 just want to thrive as they look to you. Anyway, she went through, 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:46.000 she's an alumni of our MAT program 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:49.000 and we're really excited to have her back. She is the curriculum specialist for 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:51.000 The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.000 and a Grand Ronde tribal member. 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:56.000 She completed her undergraduate and teaching license 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.000 in 2018 from Oregon State University, 00:01:59.000 --> 00:01:62.000 where she discovered her passion for culturally responsive teaching 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.000 and Native American education. Then she continued her graduate degree 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.000 here at Western Oregon University. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:10.000 Please welcome Cheyanne. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.000 As you just heard, my name is Cheyanne Heidt and I 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:19.000 was invited to speak to you all today as a Western Oregon alumni, 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:23.000 but also as a member of our local Native American tribe, 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:25.000 The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:29.000 and a teacher of culturally responsive practices and curriculum. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:31.000 I was so honored to be invited here as 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:33.000 a keynote speaker to celebrate 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.000 all of the accomplishments of the students. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.000 Knowing that the theme for this event was looking to the future. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:41.000 I spent quite a bit of time considering what 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:43.000 I wanted to share with everyone today. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:46.000 What message did I want to leave as lead 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:49.000 with them as they move towards this next stage of life? 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:52.000 Eventually, I found myself drawn to a concept 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.000 often taught to native children and families. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.000 The concept of the seven-generation principle. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:02:62.000 It is the idea that the decisions we make today, 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:05.000 and the contributions that we make to this world are done 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:07.000 so with the well-being of 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.000 the next seven generations in mind. 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:11.000 My hope is that by the end of this speech, 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.000 you all begin to consider the role you play in 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:16.000 your community and how will continue to 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.000 better this world for the next seven generations. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.000 I was fortunate enough to be raised near 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.000 my reservation and had a plethora of 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.000 opportunities to participate in 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.000 tribal events with my family. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.000 My grandpa served 21 years on 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.000 our tribal council starting with the year I was born. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.000 I spent many hours sitting through 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:36.000 council meetings and attending events at his side. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:39.000 While many may have assumed that I felt competent 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:42.000 in my identity as a Native person and a tribal member, 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.000 the truth was quite the opposite. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.000 As many of us do, 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:49.000 I went through a small identity struggle 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:52.000 in my teenage years, I found myself often worrying 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:55.000 whether I was native enough. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.000 Although I spent a great deal of time at my tribe, 00:03:58.000 --> 00:03:60.000 I was not a speaker of our language. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:03.000 I did not know our dances or our songs. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:06.000 Because of that, I often felt like a fraud. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:09.000 I struggled to see the value that I had 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.000 to my tribe if I did not know these things. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:15.000 It was not until I spent three weeks in 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.000 New York City during my high school years on 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.000 a tribal internship that I found 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:22.000 myself emerging from this identity struggle. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.000 One of my peers, a girl I 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.000 had attended school with since preschool, 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:29.000 also participated in this internship. 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:31.000 I was intimidated when I found out 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:34.000 that we would be pursuing the internship together. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.000 She was a confident speaker of our language. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.000 She danced our dances and sang our songs. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.000 In my mind, she was truly native. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:44.000 At the end of this internship, 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.000 we were asked to construct a presentation about The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.000 to share with the college students who were 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:53.000 working at the Museum of Natural History. 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:55.000 While my peer could answer many of 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:57.000 the questions about our language and our lifeways. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:60.000 She openly admitted she knew very little about 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.000 our politics and our daily operations at the tribe. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.000 Topics I knew much 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.000 about after spending my life hearing it, 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:15.000 discussed among my grandpa and other family members as seemingly every family gathering. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:18.000 It was in this moment that I realized it takes 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.000 many different people and 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.000 many different roles to move our tribe forward. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.000 We need individuals who are extremely 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:28.000 knowledgeable about our language and culture. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.000 But we also need individuals who are extremely 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.000 knowledgeable about our history and our politics. 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:36.000 I realized that I had a role in my tribe. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:39.000 Even if it looked different than I always thought it had to be. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.000 Going into my senior year of high school and 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:45.000 new-found confidence in my role as a native individual. 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.000 I found myself inspired to fulfill that role. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:49.000 I already knew it, this one that I 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:51.000 had a passion for teaching. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.000 I knew I wanted to teach about 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:55.000 my tribal people and my tribal history. 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.000 Looking at the current native education curriculum 00:05:58.000 --> 00:05:62.000 in place at my school, I was shocked to see the discrepancies that existed. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:06.000 Native people were always referred to in past tense, 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.000 giving off the impression that we no longer were here today. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:12.000 The image is included in the textbook. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.000 We're horribly stereotypical and the information was 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:18.000 largely about tribes of the East Coast and the Southwest. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:20.000 I realized in that instant that I 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:23.000 had never been taught about my people. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:25.000 The tribes of the Pacific Northwest, 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.000 the tribes of Oregon during all my years in school, 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:30.000 and that had to change. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.000 I had many career aspirations while 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:34.000 growing up as many young children do, 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.000 I found myself wanting to be a veterinarian, a nurse, 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:40.000 or a teacher, but never 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:42.000 wants to my parents cautioned me against a job. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:45.000 Instead, I was always asked, 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.000 what do you want your contribution to the world to be? 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:50.000 After high school, I headed off 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:53.000 to Oregon State University with the intent to obtain 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.000 my teaching license and become an elementary teacher. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.000 I felt that my role, 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:60.000 my contribution to my community light 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.000 and the task of teaching history through a new lens. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.000 Teaching a history that included 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:07.000 the native story and perspective. 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.000 Then a few years into my undergrad, 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.000 I was tasked with research and 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.000 culturally responsive teaching for a class project. 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.000 It was a concept that I had never heard before, 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:21.000 but was drawn to simply for the fact that it 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:23.000 included the blending of culture and education. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.000 As I researched this topic, 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:29.000 I found myself disheartened by the information I found. 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:32.000 Everything I read seemed like common knowledge to me. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.000 I worried that when it came 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.000 time to present to my classmates, they would be uninspired and 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.000 bored by what I had to share. 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:41.000 Boy, was I wrong? 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:44.000 The presentation start a variety 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.000 of questions from my peers, 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:48.000 many of which had never even considered 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.000 some of the culturally responsive practices. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:54.000 Such as bringing family into the classroom, 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.000 exposing students to music around the world, 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.000 or allowing students to build on 00:07:58.000 --> 00:07:61.000 their own interests and funds of knowledge. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:04.000 It was at this point again that I realized I 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:08.000 had a new role and a new contribution to my community. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.000 The ability to help our schools and 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.000 classrooms become more culturally responsive. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:15.000 It was also during my undergrad 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.000 years that I started to figure out that I potentially had 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:20.000 another niche in the education world. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000 While I loved spending the time to develop, 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:26.000 and write up lesson plans and draft up curriculums. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:30.000 This was a task that many of my peers dreaded. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:32.000 Although I had always envisioned myself as 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.000 a classroom teacher and felt it was 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:37.000 my role to teach history through a new lens. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.000 I now consider that my role may have shifted once again. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.000 Instead of teaching history lessons with native infusion, 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.000 what if I instead created those lessons for teachers across the state to use? 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:52.000 This is how I found myself signing up 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:55.000 for even more years of school. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:57.000 I started my graduate journey at 00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:61.000 Western Oregon University in the winter term of 2019. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:04.000 Through the birth of my daughter, preparations for a move to 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.000 another state for my husband's schooling, 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:08.000 and the COVID-19 pandemic, 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:10.000 I finished my graduate program. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:15.000 But then what? I was now living in Montana 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:17.000 with a newborn baby and her husband 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:20.000 attending physician assistant school full-time. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.000 My career felt at a standstill 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.000 and I made many phone calls to my mom. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.000 Most were to ask for parenting advice, 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.000 but some were to vent about my feelings of stagnation in my career. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:35.000 Now please do not get me wrong. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:38.000 I loved my new role as a mother and I had no doubt in 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.000 my mind that it was the most important contribution 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:44.000 that I could make to this world. But my heart knew that I still had 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:47.000 another role to fulfill for my tribal community. 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.000 Over time, the curriculum specialists position 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.000 at my tribe became available. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:56.000 For a while it felt too good to be true and it was. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:59.000 I applied, I interviewed, 00:09:59.000 --> 00:09:61.000 and I was turned down for the job. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:03.000 As you can imagine, this resulted in 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:06.000 even more phone calls to my mom. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:09.000 I found myself questioning my role in my community. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.000 Maybe I was not skilled enough 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:13.000 to be creating these lessons. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.000 Maybe I did not know enough to be 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:18.000 educating other people about my tribal history. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.000 Through all of these frantic phone calls. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.000 My mom simply kept reminding me that 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:27.000 everything happens or does not happen for a reason. 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:30.000 It does not mean that this is not your role. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:34.000 It just may mean that now is not the right time for you to fulfill it. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:37.000 Fortunately, a few months later, 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:42.000 the position came open again. I question whether I should even apply. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.000 But I knew deep down that this was exactly 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:47.000 what my contribution to my tribe was supposed to be. 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:52.000 So I applied and interviewed and I was offered the job. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.000 Now, I get to fulfill my role and 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:57.000 my contribution to my tribe every single day. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:60.000 I get to create curriculum and lesson plans that 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.000 teach others about my people and about our history. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.000 I get to help teachers create 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:08.000 culturally responsive and appropriate spaces 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.000 for the students in their classrooms. I get to do all of this to make our world a 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.000 better place for the next seven generations. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:18.000 I stand before you today knowing that I would not be 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.000 here without the actions of my ancestors. 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:24.000 Long before the United States is, 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.000 as we know it today was developed. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:30.000 They were making decisions with me and my family in mind. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.000 This week, our tribal community lost one of 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:36.000 our most influential and loved elders. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:39.000 Catherine Harrison was an activist and an advocate. 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:42.000 She fought for our tribal restoration, 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:45.000 and for many of the pieces or for many pieces of 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:47.000 our foundation that set us up into 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:50.000 the tribal nation that we are today. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.000 our tribal people throughout most of her life. 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:57.000 On the day of her passing, 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.000 our newspaper wrote an article about many 00:11:59.000 --> 00:11:62.000 of her contributions to our tribal community. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:04.000 And as I sat and I read through the article, 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:07.000 and I sat and I flipped through the pictures. 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:09.000 I found myself reminded of 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:12.000 just how important each of our roles is. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.000 Catherine embraced her role to 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:17.000 the fullest extent upon the restoration of our tribe, 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:20.000 She aided in the making of decisions that would better 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.000 our people for generations to come. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:27.000 Up until the day she passed, she fulfilled her role as a leader to our people. 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:31.000 I only can hope that I can do the same. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.000 As you leave here today and continue 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:37.000 on to the next part of your journey, I hope you will continually ask yourself, 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:39.000 what is my role in this world? 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:43.000 What do I want my contribution to be? 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:45.000 Because what those two questions in mind, 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:50.000 I promise you will live a life fulfilled. Thank you. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:56.000 for sharing your journey with us. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:60.000 That was amazing. Our next speaker is Dominique Vargas. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:03.000 There she is. I was looking there for you. 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.000 Dominique is our Western Oregon 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.000 University's Inaugural executive director 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.000 of diversity equity inclusion. She actually just began her journey here. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.000 Well, it's almost been one year in June 1 of 2022, 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.000 so we're almost at your anniversary. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:21.000 She was most recently before coming 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:24.000 here at the University of Wisconsin Stout, 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.000 where she was the inaugural Executive Director 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.000 and Associate Dean of equity, diversity inclusion as well. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:33.000 She's worked in higher education for more than 13 years, 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:35.000 and I'm going to let her tell you the rest of 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:38.000 her story when she comes out. Please welcome Dominique. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:41.000 As Hillary said, I'm Dominique Vargas and I 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:44.000 use she/her pronouns and thank you to the planning committee for inviting 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:47.000 me to join in today's events. 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:50.000 When I was approached about being a speaker for today's events, 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.000 I actually hesitated to participate, 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:54.000 as I often do when asked to 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:57.000 participate in speaking engagements. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:61.000 Because for some reason, even though I've studied Communication and taught 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:04.000 communication classes and done all of these presentations over the course of the last, 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.000 basically 30 years of my life, 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:09.000 it started way back when I was five years old. 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:11.000 I still somehow doubt 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.000 myself and what I can contribute to the conversation. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:18.000 I get nervous and honestly a little bit scared. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.000 Then I reflect on where I am in my life, 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:22.000 who I am, how I got here, 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.000 and then I choose to do it a little bit 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.000 nervous and a little bit afraid and 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.000 grounded in who I am in this moment in 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:32.000 time and what I might have to offer the community. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:35.000 Now, of course, I didn't learn how to do that overnight. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.000 A few highlights about who I am 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:41.000 that inform who I am in this space today. 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:43.000 As I share with you, I was 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.000 a first-generation low-income college student. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:49.000 I am Puerto Rican, as Cheyanne reflected and made me think 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:51.000 about from her experience. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:53.000 I do not speak Spanish. 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:55.000 I've spent a considerable amount of 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:58.000 my time wondering where my place in 00:14:58.000 --> 00:14:60.000 my community is torn between 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:03.000 my Puerto Rican family and what I'll mention later as my adopted family. 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.000 My dad was in the military, 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:08.000 so we moved a lot when I was quite young. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:10.000 Then when my parents got divorced, 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.000 I lived with my mom and my sister and we move depending 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.000 on my mom's work and housing availability in South Florida. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.000 When I moved to Texas in 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.000 my teen years to live with my dad, 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.000 things didn't go well, but I had the opportunity to 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.000 move in with my best friends, family, 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.000 and that allowed me to attend high school for all four years in the same place. 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:31.000 This was life-changing at the time, 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:33.000 I had gone to five elementary schools 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:35.000 in for junior high schools. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:37.000 When I started college, 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:40.000 I wanted to pursue broadcast journalism, and I did. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.000 I followed that path to California where I went to 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:46.000 graduate school and began to work in the media industry. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:48.000 Then when I was 23 years old, 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:52.000 my mom passed away. This was an incredible shift in trajectory for me. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:55.000 It was probably the first time I 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:57.000 really took a beat and thought about who I was, 00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:61.000 what I was doing and how I was impacting my communities. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:03.000 I quit my journalism job. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.000 That was most definitely not bringing me 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.000 joy I was working in celebrities and pop culture. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:12.000 All these things that you think are super fun until they 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:15.000 are every moment of every day of your life, 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:20.000 at least in my opinion. I picked up and moved back to Texas and shifted gears. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.000 I was offered a position in higher education, 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.000 and that's an area, as Hillary mentioned, 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:27.000 that I've now been in for over 13 years. 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:29.000 While I will never say that 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:31.000 every day in higher ed is a perfect day, 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:33.000 I am confident that I 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.000 have found the right area of work for me. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:37.000 Now that I've shared a little bit about me, 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.000 I actually am going to ask 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:41.000 you to share a little bit about you. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:45.000 Think about who you are, whether social identities, 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.000 roles that you hold within your life, 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:50.000 things you like, don't like, etc. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.000 I'm going to give you a few minutes to find a partner and 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.000 share a few things that you 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.000 think about when you consider the question, 00:16:58.000 --> 00:16:60.000 who am I in this space today? 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:03.000 I've put just a few social identities 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:05.000 and other identity related categories on 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.000 the slide to give you a starting point but by 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:10.000 no means are you behold into this. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.000 The only rule for this exercise 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.000 is that I ask you to listen to 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:18.000 your partner with the intention to understand and not to interrupt your partner, 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.000 even if it's interrupting with excitement. 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Let's get started in this activity, 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:30.000 I'll give you all a couple of minutes and we'll tell you when to switch. Pick someone sitting right next to you. I love it. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.000 There was laughter and insight and I 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:36.000 could feel that you all were listening to each other. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:38.000 Thank you so much for participating. 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.000 We're going to come back to 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.000 our partners in just a moment. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.000 But first I'm going to share just a little bit more about me and 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.000 put in how some of this reflective time 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:49.000 feeds into maybe where you are now. 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:52.000 When I first started in higher education, 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:55.000 I worked at a small school where in 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:58.000 a place that I fondly referred to as middle of nowhere West Texas, 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:60.000 like super tiny town that 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.000 has my heart for a million years. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.000 They were a Hispanic serving institution. 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.000 I was 100 percent surrounded Latinx culture 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.000 in my daily life, it felt familiar, it felt like home. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:15.000 The entire community was predominantly Latinx, 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:17.000 not just our campus. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:20.000 Then four years ago, 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.000 I moved to rural Wisconsin. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.000 I felt a void almost immediately. 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.000 I honestly didn't understand where this void came from. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:33.000 I mean, everywhere has community, everywhere has culture. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:36.000 What was I missing? 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:38.000 When I spent some time in reflection, 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:40.000 I actually realized because of 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:42.000 the fact that I lived in so many different places, 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.000 in places like South Florida and 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.000 Texas that this was actually 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:48.000 the first time I was in a community 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.000 that was not racially and ethnically diverse. 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.000 This was the first time that I had to seek out 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:58.000 Latinx connection in my community in terms of people, 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:61.000 music, food, really, everything. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.000 I didn't realize how important that was to me 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:06.000 until it was no longer a part of my everyday life. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:08.000 There I was in Wisconsin as 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.000 this inaugural DEI professional, 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:15.000 and I realized I was not grounded and who I was in that space. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:17.000 And what that meant for me. 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:20.000 Self work is honestly a never ending process, 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.000 just like DEI is a never ending journey, 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:26.000 and it meant it was time for me to really 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.000 start to re-engage in some self work, 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:30.000 so I made sure I engaged in 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.000 my solo activities like running, hiking, 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:36.000 those opportunities to provide me time to reflect, 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:39.000 I found a counselor who was available on an as-needed basis. 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:43.000 I developed a small support network of folks at work, 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:45.000 and then I found a fantastic group of 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:48.000 fellow Latinx leaders that happened to 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:50.000 also work all over Wisconsin. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:53.000 We came together, I realized that 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:55.000 I had to seek these things out, 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:58.000 and in order to really truly engage in DEI work 00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:62.000 on a daily basis that I had to take care of myself. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.000 It was up to me to find the mechanisms to support 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.000 myself in my life and in my work. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.000 A little bit more about you. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:12.000 Now I'd like you to get back into 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.000 your partners or small groups, 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:17.000 and I want you to think about these questions that are on the screen. 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.000 Some of them may feel uncomfortable to you, 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:21.000 some of them may be incredibly comfortable to you. 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:23.000 Either of those things is okay, 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:25.000 and if for some reason you're like, nope, 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.000 I don't want to share in any of these things. You can totally just listen to your partner. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:32.000 I invite each of you to share something about at least one of 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.000 these areas with your partner from before. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.000 I will give you all a few minutes to do that. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:42.000 Please hook back up with your partner and share about at least 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:46.000 one of the items on the screen about who you are. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:50.000 Thank you everyone so much for taking the time to 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:53.000 reflect and share in community with each other today, 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.000 there were so many good conversations happening. 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.000 I definitely felt bad about having to circle as back. 00:20:59.000 --> 00:20:61.000 But thank you for taking time to 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:04.000 be in community with each other, and then reflection. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:08.000 when she was introducing me, 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:11.000 I am quickly coming up on my one-year anniversary 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:14.000 in Oregon at Western Oregon University. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:19.000 And as I consider this and spend some time in reflection, 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:21.000 I recognize that I'm still working to 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.000 discover who I am in this new role, 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:27.000 in this new to me place and I have to 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.000 ask myself where I will find my true community here. 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:37.000 And until I find myself more solidly grounded here, 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:41.000 I know that I can find some tangible touchstones in other ways. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:44.000 For one example, on occasion, 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.000 I'll drive to Beaverton 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:48.000 and make sure I eat food at Borieken, 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.000 and recently I found the food cart called 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:54.000 La Wawa in Lincoln City because as silly as it may seem, 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:57.000 when I'm looking for stability in a new place, 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:59.000 when I know that down the road, 00:21:59.000 --> 00:21:62.000 I can eat bacalaitos and testones and 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.000 that's easy and tangible for 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:09.000 me to ground myself in who I am, 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:12.000 to remember why and how I got here. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000 And I can take a pause and put myself first. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.000 I can center myself to continue to 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:21.000 engage in our work in our wonderful community. 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:24.000 It takes all of us to prioritize 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:27.000 our mental health for ourselves and those around us, 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:29.000 for us to prioritize diversity, equity, 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:33.000 and inclusion in our community, and to create environments in which we 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:36.000 all get to authentically show up as ourselves. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:39.000 While it is incredibly easier said than done, 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:43.000 I still invite you to take time for reflection, 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.000 even an occasional few minutes. 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.000 Think about who you are in this time. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.000 Find things that ground you in that. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.000 Whatever that is, that's unique for you. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:56.000 Fill your cup before you pour into others. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.000 Give yourself the same kindness and 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:62.000 grace and care that you give to others. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:04.000 And recognize that I am here and 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:08.000 the DI office is here as a resource for everyone. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:11.000 So please never hesitate to reach out, 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:15.000 as I am always happy to join someone in their journey of 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.000 self-reflection to help make sure that they are showing up for themselves, 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:23.000 and then they are better prepared to show up for others. 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:26.000 Thank you for joining me in community today. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:32.000 for sharing those reflections with us and for the opportunity to engage together. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:35.000 Our final presentation today will 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.000 be given by Dr. Chung-Fan Ni, 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:41.000 who I just had the pleasure of talking 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:43.000 with when we were doing our reflections, so thank you. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:47.000 Dr. Chung-Fan Ni is a certified rehabilitation counselor, 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:50.000 a licensed professional counselor in Oregon, 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:52.000 and an associate professor of rehabilitation 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:55.000 and mental health counseling at Western Oregon University. 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:58.000 She holds a Bachelor's degree in nursing, 00:23:58.000 --> 00:23:60.000 a master's degree in creative arts therapy, 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:02.000 and a PhD in counselor education. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:06.000 I will let her tell you more about her journey next. Thank you. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:08.000 lovely introduction. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:11.000 My name is Chung-Fan Ni and tying 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:15.000 into the previous thread of grounding. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:17.000 Dominique mentioned grounding in 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:21.000 our own identity and big spoiler here, 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:23.000 and we are grounding in the now. 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:28.000 And then, before we jump into today's focus, 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.000 let's spend a few moments to reflect our history. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:37.000 So reflect on the past 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:40.000 or even just the more recent past three years, 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.000 we all experienced COVID-19 pandemic. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:49.000 We still have that impact change our lives forever. 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:51.000 Many of us experienced 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:55.000 a tremendous loss and collective trauma, 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:60.000 so it's not going to be forgotten. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:02.000 And looking into the world, 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:06.000 we still have so many parts of the world experience 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:09.000 armed conflict escalated Ukraine war 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:11.000 and the recent Sudan war, 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.000 and Afghanistan last year. 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:17.000 That I think even though it's far away, 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:21.000 but we still impact by all those war. 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:25.000 And even just looking at this picture of a young boy, 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:30.000 this young age has to fight for his belief and perhaps 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.000 that belief is freedom that we 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.000 often take for granted in this country. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:40.000 And another significant event was 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:43.000 a social justice movement 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:46.000 and it has been going on for many, 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.000 many years and highlighted during 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:53.000 COVID-19 period and as a member and ally 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:57.000 of BIPOC community and then also 00:25:57.000 --> 00:25:62.000 LGBTQA, I2S plus community. 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.000 I think we all have 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:08.000 that commitment to do better for our world. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:13.000 And then also from daily to daily operations, 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:17.000 I think we all impacted by climate change. 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:20.000 Last week it was so hot. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:22.000 We had that historical heat wave. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:26.000 And this week, I feel very cold. 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:31.000 And then last summer we had wildfires and two summers ago, 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:34.000 we were like in Mars. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:37.000 The whole sky were red and that has 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.000 never happened to even just our neighborhood 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:43.000 and so all this instability and 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:47.000 vulnerability really started to get us wonder, 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:49.000 where do we go from here? 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:51.000 And on top of that, 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:55.000 the inflation economic factors 00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:58.000 still make us feel the pinch. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:26:60.000 How much money we can go buy, 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:02.000 joined to the grocery stores, 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.000 and looking at our budget? 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:09.000 So that's effect on every aspects of our life. 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.000 My training is in counseling, 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.000 so I'm always interested in mental health. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.000 So let's look at the data 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:19.000 from the Center for Disease Control. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:24.000 This is the data from 2019-2021, 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.000 and it's no surprise that the trend 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:32.000 going up during those three years period. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:37.000 And let's zoom in on the age group of 18 and 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:40.000 the age group that 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.000 our students going to be on campus. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:50.000 This is the group that needed the most mental health support. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.000 If we break down my number by race and ethnicity, 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:58.000 so let's first look at Hispanic and Asian group. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:27:64.000 And these two groups has the lowest treatment rate. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:06.000 Does that mean they needed 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:10.000 less of a mental health services? 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.000 Or, the question should be, 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:18.000 did they get adequate mental health services? 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:21.000 And if it's not adequate, 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:23.000 what were the barriers? 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:27.000 And then looks at the trend going to continue in 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:32.000 those two groups compared to white. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:36.000 And another group I also want to highlight is the 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:40.000 black, especially 2021. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.000 Why my number dropped? 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:47.000 At the first glimpse, that doesn't make sense. 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:53.000 But if we're really looking at that similarly pattern to Hispanic and Asian, 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:56.000 that raised us our question. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:58.000 Why didn't we offer 00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:62.000 more mental health support to those who are in need, 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:06.000 and why the services went to white? 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.000 So I think it's a systematic, 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:14.000 very biased in favor of predominant white group. 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:17.000 So as a counselor education, 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:20.000 I have so much of a responsibility to 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:23.000 recruit the first-generation of counselors. 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:26.000 So for those of you watching this video, 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:28.000 if you are interested, 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:35.000 please reach out to me. I would love talking to you because we have this tremendous need here. 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:38.000 I was focusing on mental health, 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:42.000 but we also know mental health impact on so many other areas. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:46.000 News media is constantly talking about 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:49.000 gun violence and due to 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:52.000 mental health issues, and why is that? 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.000 And we also know there's no way that we can 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.000 compartmentalize every aspects of our body. 00:29:59.000 --> 00:29:64.000 Mental health is connected to our physical health. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:07.000 For example, if we feel depressed, 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:11.000 we probably don't feel wanting to go out 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:16.000 to hike or do exercise even though doctor tell us, 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:18.000 you should do more exercise. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:22.000 And same thing is that if we don't have stamina, 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:24.000 we probably are not going to pay 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:27.000 attention to make an investment in our relationship. 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:30.000 So people tend to get more isolated with 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.000 mental health issues, with obesity. 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:36.000 And then without that stamina, 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:39.000 we may not want to be able to complete our education, 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.000 and then we know education is 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:44.000 the ticket to social mobility. 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:46.000 We know income has 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:50.000 such a strong high correlation with education. 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:53.000 Without that economic stability, 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:57.000 we may not have stable housing either. 00:30:57.000 --> 00:30:61.000 Then that's shelter provides so much of safety 00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:04.000 and so for individuals who are houseless, 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.000 going to impact on so many different areas, 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:09.000 and even just every single one 00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:11.000 of us at one point of our lives, 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:13.000 we may all experience 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:17.000 some small scales of those instability. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:20.000 And this may sound so doom and 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:22.000 gloom because the trend going to keep going. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:25.000 And so what do we do? 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:28.000 I want to offer this quote here 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:31.000 by the author of Light in the Heart. 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:33.000 I'm going to read it for you. 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:36.000 place of a reference, 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:38.000 not a place of residence. 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.000 The past is a place of learning, 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:43.000 not a place of living." 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:46.000 By Roy Bennett. 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:50.000 Knowing a little bit our history, reflect on that. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:53.000 Now let's look at a future. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:59.000 Not losing our strength, 00:31:59.000 --> 00:31:63.000 we survived through the really historical pandemic 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:05.000 in our generation, 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.000 perhaps, many generations to come. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:12.000 We also need to ground in our positivity. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:17.000 Without that, it's easily to lose who we are. 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:22.000 We also want to continue to build our social connections. 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:27.000 I think a pandemic changes every aspect of our lives, 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:31.000 including how we use our technology. 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:33.000 We get more comfortable and perhaps that will 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:36.000 change how we build our social connection, 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.000 but social connections is not going away. 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:43.000 We still need them. As we look into the future, 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:48.000 I also want to share this quote by Mahatma Gandhi. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:52.000 The future depends on what we do in the present. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:55.000 We have to ground in the now. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:59.000 Grounding the now. 00:32:59.000 --> 00:32:62.000 My very wise colleague, 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:05.000 Dr. Denise Thew Hackett, who also happen to be here, 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:08.000 share with me this wisdom. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.000 Connecting dots only happens when 00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:14.000 we have a clear picture of past events. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:19.000 These dots don't lead us into the future. 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:22.000 Future is not predictable. 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:25.000 None of us have the crystal ball into 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:28.000 the future and know what will happen, 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.000 but now is our currency. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:38.000 We have to recognize what we can control in the now. 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:41.000 There are some activities 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:44.000 we can help us grounding in the now, 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:48.000 including practice mindfulness and gratitude. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:51.000 I personally do that during 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:55.000 a pandemic, especially extreme isolation. 00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.000 Every morning waking up thinking what I'm grateful for. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:33:64.000 I'm still practicing. I help myself to ground in the present moment. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:06.000 Then we also need to prioritize 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:10.000 our own mental health and physical health, 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:12.000 and within our control, 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:16.000 taking actions of what we can do. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:22.000 For example, we can volunteer if we have some extra time 00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:24.000 or if we have a bit of 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:29.000 extra money that we can donate to our favorite charity. 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:33.000 Those type of actions is within our control. 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:36.000 As we end here, 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:42.000 as we move on to the next agenda in our busy lives, 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.000 I want to invite you to take a little bit risk with me today. 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:48.000 We're going to do experiential learning. 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:52.000 The topic is focusing on the now, 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:57.000 and this is very popular or very accessible technique 00:34:57.000 --> 00:34:60.000 called 5,4,3,2,1. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:05.000 I am very privileged with all five senses intact. 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:10.000 I have good vision with glasses collection, 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.000 and I can hear pretty well in 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:18.000 both English and my mother tongue in Mandarin, 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:22.000 and then also have a sense of touch, 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:30.000 and I can smell okay, and I can also be able to taste things okay. 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:32.000 For those of you who are more 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:35.000 comfortable in different senses, 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:38.000 feel free to modify it for your own comfort, 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:43.000 but for the demonstration for this invitation, 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:47.000 I like to start with the traditional one and 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:52.000 then I'm also going to demonstrate what this look like. 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:57.000 You may hear me list five different things that I can here. 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:62.000 But feel free to follow along or do as you're comfort. 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:06.000 Before we jump into this grounding activity, 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.000 I like to invite all of you to sit 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:12.000 comfortably and prefer to 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.000 sit just a two-third of your chair, 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.000 not completely have your back against the support. 00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:22.000 Then that will help you better ground 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:25.000 to feel your own five senses. 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.000 Then no arms crossed, no legs crossed. 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:32.000 Then so your legs are fully grounded, 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:34.000 both of your legs. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:38.000 Then you can follow me along or if you want to just to 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:42.000 listen and once you have a recording and follow along, 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:44.000 that's perfect, fine as well. 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:50.000 We're going to first do three deep breath. 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:52.000 You can close your eyes as you 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:55.000 do your deep breathing exercise 00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:61.000 or you can just keep your eye gaze low. Here we go. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:07.000 Let's breathe in, breathe out slowly. 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:18.000 Breathe in, breath out. 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:29.000 One more time. In, out. 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:36.000 You can slowly open your eyes as we move into 5,4,3,2,1. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:42.000 First, I would like you to list five things you can see. 00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:45.000 For me, I can see the podium, 00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.000 I see the microphone, I see my own hands, 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:54.000 five fingers of my left hand, 00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:58.000 and I see my Apple Watch tell me time to stand. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:37:62.000 Then four things I can hear. 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:08.000 I hear overwhelmingly loud AC thing 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:12.000 going on in the room because I keep hearing. 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:15.000 I also hear a little bit 00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:22.000 rustling and then some paper rustling from the hallway, 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:28.000 and some gentle steps coming in. 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:33.000 Three things I can touch. 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:38.000 I touch my podium, very smooth surface. 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:43.000 I touch my finger with a little bit wrinkle, 00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:47.000 and I feel my face warm, 00:38:47.000 --> 00:38:49.000 a little bit sturdy. 00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:52.000 Then two things I can smell. 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:57.000 First thing, I don't smell anything, 00:38:57.000 --> 00:38:60.000 and that's one of the smell. 00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:05.000 The second thing is a little bit metallic, 00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:07.000 probably from the microphone. 00:39:07.000 --> 00:39:11.000 One thing I can taste. 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:16.000 I taste my own saliva. 00:39:17.000 --> 00:39:20.000 That's my five senses. 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:26.000 Let's wrap up with another round of three deep breaths. 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:33.000 Breathe in, slowly breathe out. 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:43.000 In again, and out. 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:51.000 Then in and out. 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:56.000 I hope you are ready to move on to 00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:58.000 the next task and move into 00:39:58.000 --> 00:39:61.000 the future as we ground now. Thank you. 00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:04.000 that wonderful wrap-up. 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:06.000 I don't know if there is a better way to wrap 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:08.000 a session than doing 00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:10.000 that mindfulness exercise. Thank you. 00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:12.000 Thank you for all of you that are here in person 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:15.000 and for all of you who will be watching this online. 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:18.000 I hope to see many of you throughout the day. 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:20.000 We have sessions all day long across campus. 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:22.000 The next session starts, 00:40:22.000 --> 00:40:24.000 for those of you who are live here with us, 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:26.000 in 15 minutes at 10:15. 00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:28.000 There are sessions here in the WUC. 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:32.000 There are some in the Richard Woodcock building, 00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:34.000 RWEC, there are some in Plant and Earth Sciences. 00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:37.000 They are all over campus and it is in the program. 00:40:37.000 --> 00:40:40.000 At 10:15, please go out there and listen 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:43.000 to the amazing things that our students are doing. 00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:45.000 They have presentations on 00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:47.000 all different fields, creative arts, 00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:49.000 different research they've been involved 00:40:49.000 --> 00:40:52.000 with lots of exciting things going on. 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:57.000 Thank you all for being here, and this ends the plenary session 00:40:57.000 --> 00:40:60.000 music