SKIP AHEAD TO THE FOUR MINUTE MARK.

Watched this video after it showed up in my Facebook feed today and it really struck a nerve with me as an educator.

I work with a lot of students who probably don’t see me as a mentor or as a role model for many possible reasons – my race, my gender, my job. I know how frustrating it is when you truly care and want to make a difference and want your students to know how much you want to help but feel like they don’t value your opinion or feel like you really care deep down.

However, they are wrong. I do care. I wouldn’t have gone into Student Affairs as a career if I didn’t. Sure I plan events, but I am more than an event planner. I want to lift students up, helping anyway I can. Through job experience or just a friendly face that makes someone feel like there are administrator types that care if they stay at the University and want them to succeed.

I do not feel disrespected by any means. I will not go that far to say I have ever felt disrespected by the average student I work with. (Except for that one time I was working security and some punk kid tried to say I made $3.00 an hour to keep people from walking down the hallway. I just laughed in his drunk face.)

But I know this desperate feeling this presenter Eric Thomas has. He wants these students to understand – to let them know what’s out there in the world. He’s a different person than me with a different lens and a different message – but I FEEL his need to get these students to HEAR him. His message is vital. I know he does these speeches for a living and all that – but I don’t care. I was there with him.

I think all educators know this feeling and I give him much respect.