As I write about love of career, I think it’s always fundamental that I began with my positionality. I cannot speak about something that appears external without speaking about the internal which shaped the external. I am a Black, Afro Caribbean, nonbinary woman with locks. In this Black body, I had to first bring a love and understanding of my identities, the genesis of loving myself. Love of self, ensured that I was liberated, decolonized, and able to work from a place of authenticity, with character and from a place of integrity. Loving my career began with me understanding who I was as well as my value proposition. In my full-time job, I’m vice president for diversity equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, and in my work as a consultant I help organizations to realize innovative change with emphasis on equity-centered coaching, crisis management, and dialogue processes using circles. In those two realms my value proposition is the liberation of Black and Brown bodies and the decolonization of white minds. I love this work because I’m able to facilitate discussions and witness a change in the way that new information disrupts what people practice on a regular basis. And for me that is related to people being liberated. When people are liberated, they act in liberating ways which means that they disrupt some of the practices that make people in organizations feel trapped, feel that they don’t belong, and feel that they are not welcome. As important as liberating self and others is love of career, so is having clarity about who you serve and why. I think that’s the true Genesis of this love. Be crystal clear about who you serve and why you work for them. For me, it’s about eliciting the greatness in young people and working with a group of people whose passion and knowledge will change the world. Additionally, the icing on the cake and a significant reason why I love my career so much is that there’s congruence between who I say I am as an individual, and who I am at the work. I see no separation or splitting of self between who I am and what I get paid for. As a result, my work isn’t work, my career isn’t just a job. It’s the thing that I love. Very often I’m told, “I don’t know how you can do this”. My response, “I do this because I love my work”. Even if I’m in an environment that is challenging, dare I say, even toxic, because I love what I do and who I serve, I’m able to rise above some of those embers, as a friend and colleagues says, “to be the James Baldwin in those situations”. Understanding that I’m in spaces to be the change, to help people to be liberated and decolonized, is my work, and the work I love. The gelling and interconnectedness of me as an individual and the work I do, enables me to walk the talk with character, integrity and accountability. That the genesis of loving my career. What’s yours?
C. Michelle Cromwell, PhD., Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Chief Diversity Officer SUNY Plattsburgh