ResEdChat Ep 77: Candid Conversations: Insights from a Black Woman in Housing

Crystal Lay:
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Roompact’s Res Ed Chat, where we highlight cool people who do cool things and talk about cool stuff in Residence Life and college student housing. I am your host, Crystal Lay, and I use the she/her series pronouns.
Very excited about our topic for today. We are going to be talking about being a Black person, specifically being a Black woman in housing and Residence Life. This is something that I know very well. I identify as a Black woman. I have found that my race is my most salient identity, meaning I think about it often. I notice race when I enter a space. I really try to think about… How does my race impact the relationships that I have? How does it impact the interactions that I have and my work with my colleagues, and then also with my students? Sometimes, I’ve had some really great experiences as it relates to being a Black woman in housing, and sometimes I have not.
If you are familiar with the term microaggression or unconscious bias and then sometimes explicit bias that has happened during my time… Whenever I get the opportunity to talk to other Black women about their experience, it is really exciting. Sometimes, they are reputed. Then, also, sometimes it’s hard to hear that there’s some commonalities in the things that we experience.
Today’s guest… Very, very honored to talk to this fantastic young professional in our field about her experience being a Black woman in housing. With that, I’ll let our guest introduce herself.

Trinity Brooks:
Well, hello. My name is Trinity Brooks. I use the she/her pronoun series. I’m currently in my second and final year at Indiana State University studying to earn my master’s degree in student affairs and higher education. Super excited to be graduating in May and starting the job search now. Super excited for that, and just hoping to achieve all of my wildest dreams of working in student affairs. Outside of student affairs, I enjoy doing content creation. I enjoy writing. I’m honored to serve as a part-time blogger for the Roompact team. Just excited to be here as a guest on this podcast. Thanks for having me, Crystal.

Crystal Lay:
Of course, Trinity. You wrote that really awesome blog about… Was it life or how to redo the RD role or reimagine it?

Trinity Brooks:
Yeah.

Crystal Lay:
Yeah.

Trinity Brooks:
What is the future of the RD role? Yeah.

Crystal Lay:
Yes. Yes. I’m loving seeing these as they come in. Thank you for your contributions. I am feeding off your joy and energy as you think about finishing up your second year of your grad program. Congratulations.

Trinity Brooks:
Thank you.

Crystal Lay:
First, thank you again for wanting to talk about a topic that I’m really passionate about, which is being a Black person, and we can say Black woman if you want because I think there are different experiences based on gender. And housing. Let’s start, though. Why did you decide to go into Residence Life and housing? What’s your story?

Trinity Brooks:
I interviewed for an RA position during my sophomore year when I was in college. This was February of 2020/2021 year. I had gotten offered the position probably towards the end of February, maybe early March. I’m super excited. By this time, I knew I wanted to go into student affairs, which is crazy to me, knowing my sophomore year that I wanted to go into student affairs and get my master’s. But I’m a futuristic person, so not really surprised but kind of surprised.
But essentially, I knew that having experience in the Residential Life department would help me in some ways. I applied to be an RA. I talked about how I wanted to gain more experience, what I wanted my future to look like, and essentially got the role. I do want to shout out Stephanie Hare who used to work at Maryville University in our Residential Life department.
At the time, she was the only Black woman in the department. She is the one who convinced me to apply to be an RA. I really valued her representation and her encouragement for me to pursue that endeavor because now I work in Res Life still, and I’m hoping that as I start my student affairs journey that I’ll start in the Residential Life department. Because of the encouragement from another Black woman, I think my experience now is built upon not necessarily having the best experience… MC Steph is what we call her. MC Steph ended up having to leave halfway through my first year as an RA, and it didn’t make for the best experience after she left because that was the person that I was going to, that was my support system. I didn’t have the best of experiences. As I sought out graduate assistantships, specifically within Residential Life, I talked about that. I talked about how I didn’t have the best experiences and how I wanted to create better experiences for the students that I was working with. I would definitely say that’s why I wanted to go into housing.

Crystal Lay:
Your story resonates with me. In undergrad, I had my person, Tamara White, Dr. Tamara White now, who was really a big part of me thinking about whether or not I wanted to go into student affairs and trying to understand my identity as a Black person and what came with that if I wanted to go into our field. You having your shout-out person and being a Black woman, I am like, “Yep, that was my person, too.” I think as much as we can say thank you and name those humans who have been a pivotal part of our college career, I think we should do it. Thank you for sharing that. Let’s go right into the topic. Talk to me about navigating being a Black woman in housing. When you hear that, what does that mean to you? But then also what’s been your journey as a Black woman?

Trinity Brooks:
Well, the fire alarms is being a Black woman in housing. Are we able to pause the podcast really quickly?

Crystal Lay:
Okay. It is so good to have you back. This is the first time we have had a fire alarm in the middle of the podcast. But it is the nature of our work. Glad to know you are okay. Let’s get back to our topic. True Residence Life fashion. We were talking about navigating being a Black woman in housing.

Trinity Brooks:
Being a Black woman in housing is having to deal with fire alarms real quick. But no, to be completely transparent, when I reflect on this, I do realize that I’m in my second year as an assistant hall director, so in this graduate assistantship. I understand that there is a need for support for my Black peers who are also serving in this position maybe as a first-year assistant hall director for residents and student staff, so Black or from any other background but specifically for my Black students, residents, and peers.
I have oftentimes been that support. I love giving support when I can, but I am only one person. I think this semester my mentor has really challenged me with knowing that I can refer people when necessary, so navigating that I don’t have to do it all alone. I can maybe refer a Black woman to maybe another Black woman who might be more appropriate for the situation or circumstance that they might be going through. Just knowing that I don’t have to do it all by myself and knowing that I do have two Black men who I directly supervise and one that oversees our entire department… My direct supervisor is a Black man and then our executive director is as well.
But even in that, I have to seek support from Black women in other departments or Black women outside of my institution. Although we don’t have Black women in our department yet, they are making the necessary connections. I will say my executive director has done a phenomenal job at making sure us as Black women in this department… We do have those connections, but it’s unfortunate that we do have to go outside of the department to get that connection that we do need. That would be my spiel on how I’ve been navigating that.

Crystal Lay:
Thanks for sharing that. I think you name the gender piece of how it can be easier or helpful to have folks who have that intersection of being Black and a woman. As you think about who’s in the department, what opportunities are there for mentorship, and representation, and connection? I absolutely love that you share that you have a mentor. That’s really awesome. It’s something that’s needed. How do we tell that to folks younger or earlier in their career? The importance and value of mentorship?
You are in your second year of grad school. You’re like, “Yep, job search time.” As you’re looking for a job, what are factors that are important to you? Then, does race factor into your job search? Does being a Black woman factor into your job search?

Trinity Brooks:
Yes, to the second part, for sure. But I want to start at the first part of your question. As far as things that I consider in my job search, I want to work for a department that is truly student-centered, that is open to not only being an educator but also a learner, and that is willing to create an intentional, inclusive environment. I say intentional because environments can be created to be performative. I don’t want to subject myself to a performative environment. I want the environment to be intentionally created for it to be inclusive for intentional purposes.
I think those are some of the biggest things. I know there has been a lot of politics in the DEIJ realm of things. But when I’m looking for jobs, I want to see that that department or that institution is committed to enhancing their understanding of DEIJ and cultural competencies. As much as it’s an interview for them to get to know me, in that interview, I also want to get to know them and how they’re doing that. I say enhancing their DEIJ and cultural competencies because there should already be a foundation there. When I come in, I don’t want to be the Black spokesperson. I’ve done that in high school. I’ve been sheltered from it in college and graduate school because of the mentors that I have had. Shout out to them. But as I transitioned into a full-time career or profession, I have to understand that I will not subject myself to that.
Those are some of the things that I’m searching for in a job search. Then, as far as my race goes, I definitely think that it is a factor. I think it’s a beneficial factor, not only for a department but also for the students. Like I said, the reason that I even started in Res Life is because of a Black woman. The representation factor for the students. For the department, diversifying the amount of full-time professionals that are working in a space so we can have better representation for the demographic of students that we are serving. One thing that I vow to myself is that, yes, my race is a beneficial factor to departments and students, but it also has to be equally as beneficial for me. What I mean by that is just knowing that I will not be put into a box. I will not subject myself to societal norms. I will always show up as my authentic self, so just knowing that I could be that representation/that advocate, but I also have to be valued in the midst of that.

Crystal Lay:
That’s real. The value piece. When you were speaking, and I’m listening, what came to mind is not wanting to be the departmental mascot. I think that’s the feeling sometimes, if I’m going to be real, is, “We’re going to parade this person around. We’re going to put them on our recruitment posters, going to be in the recruitment team, and they are now the mascot. They will speak to the experience of all identities or marginalized identities in our department.” That’s not okay.
I think the other thing that I’ve experienced, or as I think about recruitment, what are the photos on your website. How do you talk about equity and inclusion and diversity and belonging? That’s a key piece of it, too. I think the other thing I am very aware of is when I’ve done interviews in the past, I ask the diversity question. I wait to see who’s going to respond. Sometimes, the only person that responds is the human that has a marginalized identity or the person from the diversity office. When you’re talking about you’re working to enhance and you have a framework, a part of that framework has to be everyone is open to, has had some training, or could speak to or answer the diversity question. It can’t just be the one Black person on your team or in your department, or you can’t put the burden and all that weight on that person.
I think you talked about not having to do it all by yourself. How are we all working together to provide spaces that are truly inclusive? The other thing that came up for me is I think a lot of the places I’ve worked, I’ve been one of two Black women. I tell you, no-fail, I’m always confused with the other Black women. I’m like, “We are two different people.” I think that’s another piece of awareness, is how do stereotypes or microaggressions or, again, that unconscious bias piece pop up when we do have folks of… Black women.
That ties into my next question for you. As you think about other graduate students, whether they’re in your cohort, second year, or incoming first-years who identify as Black, what advice would you give them as they are also about to find their next campus or even entering grad school?

Trinity Brooks:
Yeah. I think for either side, so whether you’re going to a professional endeavor or entering grad school, knowing your worth, knowing that you would not have gotten accepted into grad school if you didn’t meet that GPA requirement/you didn’t have that drive to go pursue another degree, knowing that you have the experience, whether it’s a lot of experience or a little bit of experience, just knowing your worth and knowing the expectations that you have for the department and the institution that you’re wanting to work for, I think that’s a big thing because, oftentimes, we feel as though the department and the institution should have the expectations for us. But it shouldn’t be reciprocated. I want to dismantle that right now. It should be a two-way street. We both should have expectations for one another. Know your expectations. In alignment with that, also setting healthy boundaries.
I know in Residential Life, majority of the staff are women. You’re going to interact with residents/students/staff on a day-to-day basis at 1:00 AM when the fire alarms are going off. Just knowing that you need to set healthy boundaries not only with the students that you supervise but also your supervisors. That can look like, “I don’t follow coworkers or students on social media,” whatever the case may be, whatever works for you.
Setting healthy boundaries/not succumbing to the imposter syndrome, that’s something that I have had to navigate these past two years, and I’m still working to navigate. I just have to continue to remind myself that I wouldn’t be in spaces if I wasn’t meant to be there. Just knowing that I am meant be in these certain spaces and shine my light, and I will continue to do so… Not allowing the imposter syndrome to diminish you.
Then, my last thing is just realizing that challenges are expected. They may and will arise. Quite frankly, they will arise. If you’re a Black woman, if you’re a Black man, if you identify as a member of any marginalized group, a challenge will arise. My biggest thing is not allowing the challenge to get you off your course. The ultimate goal for an incoming graduate student is to graduate. The ultimate goal for a person graduating and pursuing their profession is to step into your passion and make change. We’re in a transformative era. The purpose of most student affairs professionals now that are new into the field, maybe five years in, if they want to make change because change is needed right now… I think that will be my advice to any prospective graduate students or anybody that is job searching right now, especially those who are Black.

Crystal Lay:
Can you text me some advice every morning? You need an app because you’re naming things that are so important at every level: the healthy boundaries, knowing your value and your worth. Powerful stuff. I’m so glad that that’s what you have now. You can build upon that and know, yes, there’s stuff the institution will expect of me. However, I also have my own expectations. That’s going to help you filter through your job search and find the place that makes sense for you.
I also want to note that we are not recording this at 1:00 A.M. because we had that fire alarm. I want to clear that up. Okay.

Trinity Brooks:
Yes.

Crystal Lay:
The topic of race can evoke a lot of emotions. How would you prefer that a white or non-Black colleague approach this topic or conversation as they listen to your experience? They’re listening to it. How do you want them to approach it, especially if they have questions?

Trinity Brooks:
Yeah. I think anybody who identifies as non-Black should definitely start by fostering positive relationships with everybody in their department. That’s a given in Residential Life. You have to have relationships here at ISU. We talk about, in Residential Life, we are in the business of building relationships. Fostering those positive relationships with each staff member is the first step.
I would say the next step to that would be understanding what inclusivity really looks like and what that means, so doing the research and having the book sense but in what I would call street sense, also getting out there, putting yourself out there to visit your cultural centers or attend events, DEIJ trainings that aren’t required, so going to events on your own there to gain a better awareness and understanding. Just as much as you have the book sense, you also have the street sense of what it means to be a Black person, period.
Then, for department specifically, I would say that creating a space for Black students/staff members to share how they are feeling. It should be what I like to call a brave space. I feel like safe spaces is a term that we have often used in the past. But I think we need to transition to something a little bit more modern. I say a brave space because that will be an opportunity for Black students and staff to really share what they need and where they need support. That can be in the form of a one-on-one conversation or maybe a group conversation or maybe even a survey. Whatever works best for you and your department, there needs to be a space for Black students and staff to give the feedback that is necessary for progression and growth.
My last thing is actually taking action based on the feedback that you have. I know that action takes time. But even if it’s going to take you six months, as you are taking those actions, sharing with the people that gave you the feedback like, “Hey, we’re doing this. It’s going to take us a couple of more weeks or a couple of more months to get to this, but this is the end goal.” Being transparent in the process is the biggest thing because we do know it takes time for change but letting everybody know that change is on the way.

Crystal Lay:
I think there’s two parts to this question and this answer that you provided back: the transparency part of, as a department, what are we doing to address and talk through the identities we have in the space, and then also how we’re providing an inclusive space. Who are we? Who’s missing? What voices are not present in the space? The folks that we do have here, do we value them equally? What does that mean within the context of our organization?
I think the other piece is for non-Black colleagues… that piece of, like you talked about, a commitment to self-learning, whether that be going to, like you said, these trainings on your own. The mandatory stuff is always… or fundatory is what I call it. That can be tricky because sometimes you’re like, “Rah, rah, rah. I got to go to this training.” But to have a curiosity to say, “I want to learn more. I am committed. I want to explore more of what this experience could be,” is definitely a really good sign of, again, curiosity and a commitment to self-learning and not putting the burden on folks like us. Thank you for sharing those pieces. I’m going to ask you for advice again because good at this. For someone who is maybe the only person or one of the few of their race in their department, do you have any advice for them?

Trinity Brooks:
Ooh.

Crystal Lay:
Come on now.

Trinity Brooks:
Okay. All right. I would say for anybody who is one of few, it is really important to build community with the people who are in your department because you all might be small in number, but you are mighty, more than you know. Even though you all might be Black, you might all be Black women, there are still some diversifying factors amongst you all. Having those crucial conversations, building community… I feel like I have that small community here. Whenever we’re in meetings that are related to Residential Life, we’ll look at each other and be like, “Did you hear that?” Just building that community in that sense of camaraderie… That is necessary in order to truly thrive in any position.
I think for people who are the only in their department, that could be tough. Truly. As I go out and job search, that is something that’s on my radar. What if I am the only? The mindset that I have going in is that, yes, it might be hard to be the only. Sometimes, you might even be the first, but the fact of the matter is you just don’t know what glass ceilings you’re breaking.
You don’t know what opportunities or doors you might be opening for other people of color, not even as Black people but people of color, people from marginalized communities to be able to step into these leadership roles or these professional roles that we never would’ve seen ourselves in a hundred years ago, so just knowing that if you are the only, continue to shine your light/continue to excel in your professional endeavors. When you continue to grow and grow out of that space, know when it’s time to transition. Transition into something bigger and better and something that’s going to work for you. I will also say to anybody that’s the only, try to find maybe a mentor or organization or maybe a support group/an affinity group that could help you navigate that as well.

Crystal Lay:
I love that. Can I add? I want to add take care of yourself. Therapy. As a student, you have access to counseling. As a full-timer, most to all institutions, there are resources to get plugged into an employee and wellness program or finding community resources. There’s also some resources to find, like Black therapists or finding your local NAMI, N-A-M-I, organizations, counseling/therapy, because our work can be hard. I just want to name that.
It also can be using your vacation time. You need to take a break and breathe. I want to give permission to figure out when you need to tap in and tag out and name. “I need some help here.” I think the other piece I will briefly add is sometimes when you’re one of two… This has happened to me. Like I shared earlier, sometimes we can self-isolate because it’s not the, “Oh, we were both hired because we can do good work.” It’s the, “We were both hired. The way conditions are set up, we’re now competing with each other.” That’s not how it’s supposed to be. In an effort to help people remember that I was not the other Black woman, I would distance myself. That’s completely counter to wanting to build community, to having these crucial conversations as you stated and then also being in a meeting. We give looks-

Trinity Brooks:
We do.

Crystal Lay:
-like you said. I think this examination of if I’m purposefully distancing myself from someone else to prove that I am different… What’s the impact of that? I’m not saying we all have to be BFFs. There’s the saying of “skinfolk ain’t kinfolk.”

Trinity Brooks:
Skinfolk ain’t kinfolk. Yeah.

Crystal Lay:
Right. Also, don’t intentionally isolate yourself because you want to prove that you are a different Black person. I don’t know if that makes sense, but just wanted to name that piece. All right. We are down to our last question. We’ve talked about so many powerful and amazing things. I want to thank you for your vulnerability and openness and sharing these pieces. If folks want to learn more about supporting staff and/or students who identify as Black or African-American… I want to open it up. Do you have any recommendations for where they can learn more, or where they could start?

Trinity Brooks:
Yeah. I was in the last space that I was sitting. I would have the book that I needed to show. But I’m just going to talk about it. One of them is Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together at the Cafeteria Table? That’s a really big one because like I said, we are… When I say we, the Black professional staff/head staff that work at ISU. We have been intentional with building community amongst one another. Maybe that’s going to lunch, going out together on the weekends. But sometimes that can be perceived as, “Oh, Black people are ostracizing themselves. We’re going backwards in history,” when that’s not the case at all. I think for our allies, those people who don’t identify as Black, I think that would be a great read. Even if people who are Black want to read it, I think it’s a great read for you to stand on business and stand 10 toes down on why you are building community and the necessity of it. That’s by Beverly Daniel Tatum, who is the former president of Spelman College, so a Black woman giving her perspective and her expertise in that area.
Another book that I would offer up as a resource would be The Table. It’s called The Table: Stories from Black Women in Student Affairs. A lot of authors. I met one. Her name is Leah Ward. She’ll eventually be Dr. Leah Ward here soon. But just wanted to shout that book out. It gives the lived experiences and stories of Black women specifically. If you’re wanting to learn more about the Black experience, I think that would be great to hone in on what it means to be a Black woman within student affairs.
Outside of just books and things like that, there are plenty of articles online. Inside Higher Ed is my go-to. I would suggest that. Maybe even looking up people on social media, looking at certain hashtags… People often share their experiences on social media, and then through conversations. We talked about that earlier in the podcast, just having conversations with people, opening it up to where people have the space to be brave, so taking what you learned through that conversation and applying it to how you can create inclusive environments for Black men and women within student affairs. Then, I also want to say GTS. If you know, you know. DTS.

Crystal Lay:
You have provided so much wisdom. You’re going to get hired. Somebody hire her because Trinity is amazing. We might have a job open. No. You are so wonderful and you have so much wisdom. My hope for you, Trinity, is that you do find that place that’s going to provide space for your light to shine. You’re going to shine naturally. I think about it… Find that place that does not put a basket on your light. My hope for you is nothing but great things as you go into this next part of your career journey. I’m excited for you.

Trinity Brooks:
Thank you.

Crystal Lay:
Of course. Of course. Thank you for spending time with me. Another great topic. Another great guest. If you all have topics or guests or things that you want us to venture into, please feel free to connect with us here at Roompact. Again, Trinity, thank you so much for connecting with me today.

Trinity Brooks:
Thank you for having me. I enjoyed it.

Crystal Lay:
Wonderful. All right. Everyone, take care. Thanks for listening.