DEI Leadership
The goal for educational administrators should be to create a safe space for all of the student-athletes in our schools. As a person who represents two underrepresented groups being a queer woman, this work is vital to the mental health of our kids. I was a confident young woman growing up in the 80’s and 90’s. While there were not a lot of women in leadership positions that did not deter me from pursuing my passion in athletics. However, being a young person questioning their sexuality was a whole other story. To say that being gay was frowned upon is an understatement. Further, I grew up in a very rural area of Maine where this was not spoken of unless in a derogatory manner. It was not until I got to college that I witnessed a strong, confident queer woman. In the context of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion I truly believe you have to “see it” in order to “be it”. After being coached on many levels by strong women, I was finally able to live my best life and be true to myself and have never looked back. I think this is perhaps why I am so passionate about supporting all students from diverse backgrounds. I want to be the confident queer woman that young people see and in turn feel more comfortable in their own skin.
SUSAN ROBBINS, CMAA
Jon Solomon
I grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts raised by two immigrant parents and went to school in Arlington, Massachusetts in the suburbs of Boston through the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program. From an early age I have often been the only black person in the room. This is common for most minorities that live in urban communities yet spend a lot of their day in a predominantly white environment. I learned quickly how to adjust my behavior to the people who were in those rooms. This behavior is known as code switching. By spending most of my days in the suburbs, the ability to code switch helped me to feel accepted in the room that I was in at that moment. My parents gave my siblings and I great advice “If you work hard and treat people the right way, those who truly care about you will want to see you succeed in life regardless of skin color.” When I was a freshman in high school that became evident to me as my football coach saw potential in me that I never saw in myself. He told me that if I do what they tell me to do I will get a scholarship to go to college. He was the first person outside of my parents that talked to me about college. Over the next 3 seasons I was 1 of 7 black football players on our school team. My coach went to bat for me as I was the first and only black student in our school history to be named male athlete of the year and I received a football scholarship to the University of Maine. The lessons I learned during my high school years have stayed with me as an adult. After college I settled in Maine and again, in every aspect of my life, I am often the only black person in a room. What has helped me to get to where I am today is the advice from my parents of “If you work hard and treat people the right way, those who truly care about you will want to see you succeed in life regardless of skin color.” I have dealt with racism and still do to this day. I don’t let those situations define me. I cherish the opportunities that have been created, from people that don’t look like me because of my work ethic and how I treat people. As an educator in a school where 20% of its students are minorities, it is important for me to share my experiences with them while educating the other 80% of the student population how working collaboratively makes us a better school and community.
