by Levonne Abshire
This post is part of a series by VPS/AVPS staff sharing learnings and reflections from the CACUSS conference they attended in June 2023. Levonne is the Director of Health Equity, Promotion, and Education (UBC ‘98, ‘99, ‘19).
As I reflect on my experience at the CACUSS 2023 conference, I am reminded of the invitation to honour, engage and evolve as a student services professional in higher education. Through knowledge exchange, solution labs and skill sharing, the conference provided opportunities to learn from and with colleagues about current and critical areas of student development and success, including but not limited to equity, accessibility, mental health, advising and experiential learning. The dedicated time away from the daily operations of at UBC’s Student Health and Wellbeing, as well as family responsibilities, permitted profound repose and reflection; two practices that are integral to any sustained professional practice. Unlike many other conferences I have attended in the past, I have maintained a similar level, if not a deeper level, of engagement and connection to CACUSS and my professional practice.
Honour
Taking place on the lands of Hatiwendaronk, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the conference modeled for us the significance of continuing to honour the lands, peoples and histories of the Musqueam and Syilx People on which we at UBC work. Beyond land acknowledgements, we have a responsibility to our Indigenous students, staff and faculty to decolonize student services. Nitêh Iskotew ᓂᑌᐦ ᐃᐢᑯᑌᐤ: A Presentation on Transformative Decolonization in Student Wellness underscored the need for Indigenous-focused innovations in health and wellbeing, as well as strategies to center the experience of Indigenous students. The Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing program is an excellent example of how we are centering the needs of our Indigenous students at UBC. The Indigenous Strategic Plan provides us with a detailed road map of how we can begin to decolonize the work of student affairs.
This year, CACUSS celebrates its 50th Anniversary as an Association and the success and accomplishments of its members from across Turtle Island. As I approach my sixth year as a student services professional in higher education, I have a renewed understanding and respect for the role we play in student learning and development. I remember my first few days of onboarding and being unsure about what student affairs was. Despite completing all three of my degrees at UBC, I had not interacted with, let alone heard of student affairs or student services. I was a commuter student and the first in my family to attend a university in Canada. I had no orientation as to what the university offered beyond my course work. Prior to this job, I had a very clear sense of my role as a teacher and then as a non-profit executive. It wasn’t until my supervisor at the time, Patty Hambler, the current CACUSS President, shared the CACUSS Student Affairs and Services Competency Model, that I began to understand my role in student success. So it was rather timely, that one of the sessions I attended was a re-imagining of the competency model, with a greater emphasison decolonization, equity, diversity, and inclusion. As we move into the next 50 years of CACUSS as an association, let us maintain our commitment to honoring the achievements of the past while eagerly embracing the future with open eyes, attentive ears, and receptive.
Engage
What I loved most about the conference was the ability to actively engage in curating my own learning. Although the majority of sessions I attended centered on health and wellbeing, equity, diversity, and inclusion, I was able to delve deeper into areas that piqued my interest and, most importantly, were highly pertinentto our current context at UBC. There’s a particular session that continues to resonate with me, and I aspire to put its insights into action – International student health and wellbeing. Durham College and Ontario Tech University implemented the International Wellness Check (IWC), an early intervention process providing international students access to customized healthcare to address recurrent health issues and significant gaps in health information. I am inspired by Dr. Shivajan Sivapalan and Dr. Yasir Khan’s commitment to innovation and health equity in implementing this intervention on their campuses and look forward to learning from them in the near future.
Evolve
I am certain that if you chat with any of our career advisors on campus they will tell you that career development is not linear and that it has hills, valleys, and swirly swirls. The work of student affairs and services continues to evolve and so must we. Prior to attending the conference, Dale Mullings, AVP, Students, UBC Okanagan, invited UBC attendees to become more involved in CACUSS and a way to evolve our professional practice. I am happy to say that I have accepted the invitation and have taken on the role of leading the CACUSS AGRIP (Affinity Group for Racialized and Indigenous Professionals), a safer space for Indigenous and Racialized student services professionals to share their triumphs and challenges in higher education. Committing to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in higher education through supporting and mentoring other historically and persistently marginalized student affairs professionals is one way I will continue to evolve as a leader.
At the heart of the invitation to honor, engage, and evolve as student affairs professionals are our students and their changing needs and expectations. As the demographics of our student populations and the landscape of higher education continues to shift, we must be prepared to address the unique needs and challenges of a diverse range of students. This may require us to rethink our approaches to student engagement, support, and advocacy, and to develop new strategies for building inclusive and equitable campus communities. Within CACUSS, we have the opportunity to shape the profession of student services in higher education. How will you honor, engage and evolve as a student services professional? Who will you invite to join you? And how can I be of support?
