Convocation 2023-2024: A Starting Point for the “Sense of Belonging” Conversation
This coming Monday, NOVA will welcome students back to our campuses! In preparation for the new academic year, the College held its 2023 Fall Convocation on Wednesday, August 16, at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center on NOVA’s Alexandria Campus. For those who couldn’t make it to the Alexandria Campus, there were watch parties at the other five campuses.
Staff, faculty and administrators embraced this year’s theme, “Sense of Belonging,” as a call to action for all of us to search for ways to help others feel they belong at NOVA. Even the smallest of steps, like learning the correct pronunciation of a person’s name, makes that person feel they belong.
“Belonging” is that feeling of connectedness to a group or community; a sense that you are part of something bigger than yourself. But a sense of belonging is not only important for faculty and staff, but it is important for students as well.
“Convocation is a celebration of all of NOVA’s faculty, staff and students. It is about celebrating everyone”! That was the message from the event’s Master of Ceremonies, Dr. Nathan Carter, NOVA’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. He emphasized that there is a lot to be proud of; not only for what we at NOVA have already achieved, but also for the work we will be doing in the future.
“It’s you who work hard and care for our students. It’s you who work hard to provide and make sure that our mission of providing equitable access to affordable and exceptional higher education and workforce programs happens,” continued Carter. “You are the community leaders who are capable of doing so much, of transforming the lives of our students each and every day.”
Dr. Eun-Woo Chang, vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer, Ambassador Joseph Huggins, NOVA’s new College board chair and Dr. Jack Lechelt, new chair of the College senate and professor of political science and history, welcomed those onsite and watching from campuses. Each speaker expressed appreciation to staff and faculty for working to inspire students and shaping tomorrow’s leaders and change-makers. Another common message was the importance of taking care of your people because they are NOVA’s most valuable resource!
Keynote speaker, Dr. Terrell Lamont Strayhorn, a scholar in education, psychology, DEI and belonging, shared his passion for helping others experience a sense of belonging. Strayhorn is president of the ‘Do Good Work’ Consulting Group. He is a nationally renowned speaker, center director and professor who has published more than a dozen books and contributed to over 200 book chapters, journal articles and other scholarly publications.
Strayhorn skillfully connected with the NOVA audience and empowered them by bringing life to the topic of a “Sense of Belonging.” He told the audience that belonging is a human need and it takes on even greater importance for individuals who are marginalized.
Strayhorn shared how feeling like you belong produces positive outcomes. When students feel a sense of belonging, they come to class; they participate and are engaged. To be successful, students need to feel a sense of belonging, he said.
Strayhorn participated in two-panel discussions, one with students and the other with faculty and staff. Both expanded on the topic of “Belonging.” The panelists shared personal anecdotes and delved more deeply into what “Belonging” means to them individually.
Nigel Word, NOVA’s director of student leadership and engagement facilitated the student panel, which included Willie Brown, Jason Menjivar, Zaynab Mirza and Tej El Houda Trad. Dr. Dahlia Henry-Tett, chief wellness officer at NOVA, facilitated the panel with faculty and staff that included Indigo Eriksen, Cecil Jackson, Steven Lessner and Amanda Wilder. Dr. Strayhorn said that “Belonging” takes time. It cannot be forced or rushed.”
NOVA President Anne M. Kress, PhD, before speaking about the College’s new strategic plan, ‘Inspiring Excellence: A Bold Blueprint for Student Success,’ expressed how all our lives are made better by helping others and that NOVA was founded on caring about its students.
“We have always cared about their success at NOVA and beyond,” said Kress. “That is what we do here. We inspire excellence, and that is what this plan is about. What NOVA does is connect students to the transfer pathways and employment pathways that will help them lead brighter, bolder and stronger lives.”
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, there are some three million people who have some college but no degree or no college at all. They are outside the door of economic opportunity looking in. Kress asked, “How does NOVA connect with these adult students and connect them to pathways that pay–that help them move out of where they are today to where they can be tomorrow”?
She continued, “the strategic plan will succeed or not because of you. You are the most important aspect of our strategic plan. You are important at NOVA.”
As we excitedly throw open the doors on Monday for the first day of classes, it is with the deep hope that our students will feel that sense of belonging at NOVA. “We are not just opening the doors of our esteemed institution for a new academic year,” said Dr. Eun-Woo Chang. “We are opening the doors to inspiration, innovation and intellectual growth.”
Click here to read more about NOVA’s Strategic Plan 2023-2026 Inspiring Excellence: A Bold Blueprint for Student Success.
Click here to access the full recording of this year’s Convocation on NOVAnet, the College’s intranet site.
Submitted by:
Kathy Parkinson, PIO, KParkinson@nvcc.edu
Hoang Nguyen, Assoc. Director of External Comms., HDNguyen@nvcc.edu