Q&A: Alisha Davis

Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

我在大急流城出生长大，所以我是真正的大急流城人 Rapidian. 我爸爸是一名退休教师，我妈妈是一名退休经理 for an office furniture company. I’m a three-time Western Michigan University graduate. I have a bachelor’s degree in community health, a 家庭和消费者科学硕士学位，以及博士学位.D in 教育领导，具有更高的教育重点. 

你一直都知道你想在大峡谷工作吗? 

Well, it was kind of by accident. I worked at Spectrum Health and Priority Health. My dad always wanted me to go into teaching, and I was like, “Nope. Not going to do it.” But I was working in health care 看到大峡谷有一些兼职工作. I 了解医疗保健的提供者和付款方，所以我 thought, “Well, let’s try it out.” 

I ended up teaching two classes that semester. The next semester, I 教了三个孩子，同时还在优先医疗中心全职工作. I was then asked to come to Grand Valley full time. Once I was on campus and 全职和学生们一起工作，我最终爱上了这份工作.

我在医疗保健领域一直做的一件事就是关注 不平等和未被充分代表的群体，所以过渡到那种类型 of work on campus was natural. I ended up focusing on DEI, and on our marginalized students. I really love that work as well, it’s something that I’m really passionate about. I always want to be dedicated to 确保我们所创造的空间是 包容所有人，让我们的边缘学生 can thrive.

你教过联合健康科学课程，真是受启发啊 你可以去大峡谷的社会正义中心工作?

我热衷于与我们历史上被边缘化的人一起工作 并确保服务和协调护理 we provide are just that: coordinated. I have a wonderful group of 有才华的员工，他们在自己的工作中表现出色. They’re 与我们的学生一起工作，为他们创造机会 successful. 作为一个被边缘化的群体，这就是我的视角 tend to approach things from. When you’re creating inclusive spaces, 即使最初关注的是边缘群体，但最终 creates inclusive environments for all. Everyone benefits from a focus on coordinated care. That is what led me here: Working with talented 为学生创造成长环境的员工. 

February is Black History Month. What does this celebration mean to you? 

庆祝我们历史上的边缘化是很重要的 groups. 他们经常被排除在谈话之外，所以这是至关重要的 为他们提供一个被强调，庆祝，尊敬的时间. When 我们提倡像校园黑人历史月这样的庆祝活动，我们 通过说，创造一种归属感和认同感， "This is important to us." Black people are being recognized 感谢我们的价值和我们长久以来的贡献 society. 我们在社会正义中心所做的工作提升了 这在校园里创造了一种大家庭的感觉. 

We’re also creating educational opportunities. When you’re looking at 对于大多数人来说，知识渊博是很重要的 well. 这不仅仅是为我们的历史创造归属感 被边缘化的学生，但它也创造了教育 opportunities. 你知道的越多，你就能做得越好 you can contribute to the community. I think that’s a piece that 有时在工作中被忽视，但却是一个非常 important aspect.

你在大峡谷工作超过13年了 now. What has been your favorite part?

它是和学生一起工作，看到那些“啊哈”的时刻. When 你说的话让我灵光乍现. Or sometimes, 他们会问你一些有挑战性的问题，你必须思考， and you actually learn from that experience. Outside of the classroom, 与学生建立联系，让他们回来问你问题 for help in finding the right direction. You’ve now been a piece in 这个谜题帮助他们找到了自己的道路并取得了成功. Those are the things that make me love what I do. 

你为什么认为社会正义中心是有价值的?  

我们正在以影响历史的方式在校园内创造变化 marginalized students. Yes, we create a sense of belonging, yes we 帮助学生茁壮成长，但我们也有一个声音在校园，和一个 responsibility to speak for students. From that social justice 框架，我们正在帮助消除那些阻碍 进步和阻碍我们边缘化学生的成功. That 为学生辩护的文章对社会公正非常重要 centers. 学生的声音有时会在校园里迷失，这是我们的 有责任为这些学生发声，确保 we are creating the best Grand Valley that we can. 

What is one thing you are passionate about? 

I’m really big on fairness. When I see things not being fair or 群体因为自己的身份而被欺负，这就是 really upsets me. It’s also the thing that drives me to do the work, 确保我们在生活中无论做什么，都是公平的 公平地说，不要把任何人排除在谈话之外. And that the rules are the same. We don’t get to treat people unfairly based on the groups that they represent. That’s what we see in society and in many spaces. It’s not OK.

你有最喜欢的建议，或者你遵循的咒语吗? 

我记得小时候，我爸爸有一个朋友是著名的艺术家. I 我想要他的签名，但我真的不敢问. And my mom said, “Just go ask.” And so I did. I walked up and said, “I really want your autograph.” And he told me, “Always ask for what you want. Because they can only tell you no. But if you don’t ask, then you don’t know.” 

在这份工作中，你要问——问你想要什么，你期望什么 事情是，问为什么事情不符合公平和正义. They can only tell me no, right? But I could also get a yes. I think that 是我年轻时学到的人生一课，我试着利用这些空间 that I get to be in to ask the questions. 

我想我最近的口头禅是安吉拉·戴维斯(Angela Davis)的话:“我不 longer accepting the things that I can not change. I am changing the things that I cannot accept." It speaks to what we do here. It’s 尽我们所能为我们的群体做出最有影响力的改变 work with. We’re changing the things that we cannot accept.