Education Commons^™

Yes, We Can Rule The World- Advancing Our Black Male Mentoring Programs, Trevor D. Mccray

The Vermont Connection

This article will address the lived experience of a Black male higher education practitioner who served as an advisor over a Black male mentorship program. While the summer of 2020 brought awareness to the life of individuals who identify as Black and Brown, with the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, there have been numerous attempts to right some wrong in America. This practitioner will share his experience, expertise, and perspective on the performative anti-racist measures, anti-Black rhetoric, and lackluster efforts of universities and colleges investing into people of color mentoring initiatives. As a result, higher education administrators have …

Am I Black Or White? A Lifelong Quest To Define Myself In The Binary Of Race, Aliandra Burgos

The Vermont Connection

In this paper, I utilize the Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) form to explore the relationship between race as a binary and anti-Blackness. I intend to specifically share my narrative with experiences of race and highlight the emerging themes that are prevalent such as whiteness as property, anti-Blackness in the Latinx community, and the Black and white binary of race. The ways in which I define my racial identity are constantly shifting throughout my higher education journey. I have received mixed messages about what it means to identify as Black or white, but these messages have never fully defined my racial …

Reimagining An Antiracist Career Center Based On The Professional Identity Development Model For Black Students And Students Of Color, Jake Small

The Vermont Connection

As a Black college student studying at a predominately white-serving institution (PWI), many departments were not built for me. Learning models, development theories, and functional services were not developed with students like me in mind.

In this paper, I will start by articulating my audience and positionality in order to ground where I enter this scholarly conversation on the topic of Black student engagement with career services in the college context. I will then examine the ways professional standards have largely been exclusionary for Black students and students of color. Next, I’ll offer my own professional identity development framework …

Educational Redlining: The Disproportionate Effects Of The Student Loan Crisis On Black And Latinx Graduates, Tatiana Havens

The Vermont Connection

Racially biased funding in the United States education system has left Black and Latinx students disproportionately affected by the student debt crisis. Some educational loan lenders are using education data in the loan underwriting process, and Black and Latinx students are at risk for being wrongfully charged additional interest and fees. The United States historically excluded Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities from opportunities of social and economic mobility, and the student debt crisis perpetuates the financial disenfranchisement of BIPOC students. In this paper, I intend to discuss the racial disparities in educational loan distribution, congressional policies, alternative …