The year 2023 found me on the proverbial “other side” of 2020, as a chaperone for our students at the 2023 Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) and an attendee of the People of Color Conference (POCC) in St. Louis with five of RE’s faculty and professional staff. I attended my first POCC when I started my career at Ransom Everglades in 2019. The experience was eye-opening, reinforcing the importance of helping our school community to cultivate a genuinely welcoming environment for students, faculty and professional staff where diverse voices are not just heard but celebrated.

Underrepresented students often feel that they’re alone in their feelings of being “the other” or “the only one” in a room. Adults they encounter come to work with a confidence that’s necessary to be a leader in the classroom and, quite frankly, not fall apart from the weight of being a person of color in a world where our credentials are still questioned and we’re sometimes seen as merely a “diversity hire.” 

I made a decision to take a cultural risk at the 2023 conference regarding my own identity and how I relate to my African heritage in the sea of nearly 8,800 people in attendance. I’m a Black woman with deep Caribbean roots from Trinidad and Tobago. Yet, there was a lingering fear of rejection – of not being accepted by my own people and misunderstood by others who would just see my experiment as quirky. With a deep breath, I adorned myself with my sparkly and feathered Trinidad and Tobago carnival shoulder piece from my 2015 carnival experience. It was a bold move, one that made me feel exposed and vulnerable. But I knew deep down that there had to be others like me in the crowd – people who shared my cultural background and understood the significance of such attire.

As I made my way through the conference hall, I was met with compliments on my fashion statement. But more importantly, I was stopped by fellow attendees who recognized the feathers and shared in the joy of seeing their own cultural reflection. Conversations sparked about our respective islands, and I couldn’t help but smile as people expressed their desire to bring their own cultural touches to next year’s conference. It was a beautiful moment of connection and understanding, one that reaffirmed my belief in the power of embracing my truth.

During one of the final group discussions with the students from our region, it was clear that students aren’t aware that adults at times share their discomfort regarding their place in the world and, at times, within the school community. For me, the feeling of not being Caribbean enough for Trinidad and Tobago and not American or Black enough for the United States lingered into early adulthood. 

It was nice to sit with our students and express that life experiences, whether joyful or challenging, offer us an opportunity to delve deeper into ourselves. Anu Tewari ’25 commented, “Attending SDLC this year was one of the best experiences I have ever had. SDLC was freeing, it was safe, it was scary, and it was life changing. I don’t think there was ever a time that I was able to speak with such openness and honesty. There wasn’t a fear of fitting in… it was one of the only times I was able to meet people who were able to relate to me.”

D.J. Huang, who is a library assistant at RE and attended POCC as an adult ambassador, remarked, “I did not know previously about this conference, which really changed my perspective on delivering a future full of truth, knowledge, joy and power for our students.” 

These moments of growth may come unexpectedly, sometimes disguised as obstacles, but they all contribute to our personal development and understanding of who we are. In the end, my decision to embrace my cultural identity in this unique way was met with acceptance and camaraderie. It was a reminder that our differences are what make us unique, and when celebrated, they have the power to bring us closer together as a community.