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Hi, my name is Mamta Accapadi, for those of you who don't know me. Or for those of us
that I haven't had a chance to meet. I'm the new Vice President for Student Affairs here
at Rollins College. And I've been here, as of today, for 100 days.
Before I actually officially begin, I would like to thank President Salmeron and Vice
President Siegelson, for offering this space as the venue for this address. That was actually
their idea. And I also want to thank the entire student government association for allowing
me to to share these thoughts in the SGA forum and space. That just means a lot to me, and
so I want to offer my gratitude to all of you.
I can’t believe it has been 100 days since I started my first day here at Rollins College.
My own journey parallels a lot of what I want to share with you about my own understanding
of Rollins. When I first learned about Rollins, I was attending a conference, some of you
may know this story, some of you may not. I had the chance to attend a session presented
by Micki Meyer, who shared how high impact practices within the Office of Community Engagement
transform the educational experiences of our students while contributing to the greater
good of our world. Or at least that's what I got out of that presentation. I was sitting
in the front row of that presentation thinking to myself, “What am I doing with my life?”
because when I entered my own career, this was my own personal goal - to transform the
educational experience of students while contributing to the greater good of our world. From the
first moment I learned of Rollins College, I was confronted-inspired by the question…
How do I get from who I am to who I want to be? Right, so that's my own personal journey.
And so all around me there are messages. There are direct messages given to me directly from
students, faculty, staff, alums, community members, board of trustees. and there are
indirect messages that emerge in day in and day out conversation. they emerge in themes
as I trend different conversations that I have. And before I move further I want to
especially thank Kasey Geremia. did any of you all interact with Kasey Geremia to do
focus groups? There is a whole values initiative we are doing within student affairs. But Kasey
Geremia, I just want to thank her for speaking to over 20 student groups, totaling over direct
contact with over 200 students- to get student perspective from all of Rollins. and from
which I was also able to glean insight into students’ hopes for our community as well
as my own interactions with all of you.
So, Within my 100 days here- this is also my question for our community. How do I serve
our community to get us from who we are to who we want to be?
How do I show up, like Eco-Rollins, who has promoted multiple ways for us to be more compassionate
and sustainable- and has challenged us to reduce our carbon footprint. Through educational
displays or the hydration stations. How do I show up like them?
Or, how do I show up like that wonderful Women’s Lacrosse team member, who I don't know, who
was so loving and kind, I've seen her twice, she shows up and answers questions of my daughter
when we are having dinner in the dining hall.
Over the past 100 days, I have met parents, family members, hundreds of students, faculty
members, staff members, community leaders, members of the board of trustees- and the
one common theme that emerges- is hope. And so I've organized this reflection around the
theme of hope. And that is hope for a better world, a hope for better opportunities, a
hope for joy, a hope.
Specifically, what I wanted to talk about and reflect on today with all of you is that
I saw that hope manifest in 3 different ways: 1. A hope for a more caring community
2. A hope for a thriving learning community 3. A hope for a future that builds upon the
experiences that students have here at Rollins. So I think it's important for us to be consistent
with definitions. So I am relying upon Dr. Shane Lopez’ definition
of hope- hope is “the belief that the future will be better than the present, along with
the belief that you have the power to make it so.”
So speaking to my first reflection. 1. A hope for a more caring community
The Rollins college mission begins by saying that Rollins College educates students for
global citizenship and responsible leadership, empowering graduates to pursue meaningful
lives and productive careers. I'm sure you have heard that in many spaces before. To
be global citizens and responsible leaders, we must have learning experiences that educate
and inspire us to be agents of positive social change. My hope is to invest energy into having
a more strategic focus in how we apply socially just practices into our every day lives so
that our campus community is one where all members of our community feel safe, welcome,
and empowered to have a thriving educational experience.
More specifically, I think we need to come together to shift our campus climate to one
that is more inclusive, more aware, and more compassionate. As I see reports of incidents
that occur on campus, and I am sure you all see them too. I am struck by the pressures
that students experience from their specific identities- whether it be from the space of
gender, class, affinity toward as certain group organizational or affiliation. I want
to work with all of you to strengthen our community’s care of one another around diversity
issues. And spread diversity broadly. So I reflect on people who inspire me on this.
Erin Brioso is an inspiration to me, as an RA who took it upon herself to build awareness
of how we can intervene when we see potential instances of relationship violence and ***
harassment and assault. I want to lead by her example. I want to amplify the work that
Dylan Allen is trying to advance through interfaith cooperation and dialogue. I am deeply inspired
by the collective and individual efforts of our fraternity and sorority system, through
IFC and Panhellenic, who strive to raise awareness of social issues broadly both through direct
service and through philanthropic efforts, or the Office of Multicultural Affairs and
the Lucy Cross Center for Women who engage us in meaningful reflection of equity and
access issues broadly.
I would like to pay special focus to student well-being, and shift our conversation of
student life to JOY advancement, not problem minimization. Taking a critical look at the
elements of student well-being are deeply important to me- whether that is programming
space, community issues, campus traditions, etc.
We have many great examples- and we also have work to do. I want to be in it with you, and
I want to elevate the level of humanity by which we live, serve and show up here at Rollins.
I will be developing a team of student leaders, the VPSA Social Justice fellows, to help lead
that initiative. This team will go through a social justice immersion in January, and
meet with me monthly to identify our plan, and how we move forward. Additionally, I plan
to have two advisory groups of student leaders with whom I share thoughts, gather feedback,
and determine strategic direction as we strengthen the quality of student life.
2. A hope for a thriving learning community I had the great opportunity to spend time
with many student leaders at a Campus Climate retreat envisioned and hosted by SGA. During
this retreat, many outstanding ideas emerged- and I was especially moved by our students’
hope for a more engaged academic community. In that retreat, students shared wanting to
have more informal interactions and meaningful experiences with faculty members. This is
one of the reasons I so deeply appreciate our Rollins community, because our students
are truly visionary. This request is directly aligned with what we should be doing as a
liberal arts institution and my hope is to work in deep partnership with our faculty
around supporting more opportunities for internships, faculty dialogues, diversity and global learning,
and undergraduate research. We need more moments like the moment when Courtney Banker’s paper
(co-authored with Ted Gournelos): TED Talks and the need for a changing education system.
won “Top professional paper” at the Florida Communication Conference. As our general education
curriculum moves in a visionary direction, my hope is to maximize opportunities that
students have to work with and learn from the faculty here at Rollins. Through our immersion
experiences, community engagement focused courses, field study courses and more, my
hope is that all of our students have the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships
with faculty.
3. A hope for a future that builds upon the experiences that students have here at Rollins.
Our campus is rich with opportunities and services that prepare you to lead and serve
in the world once you graduate. My hope is that you are able to see and make that connection.
Currently an integrated Career and Life Planning initiative is underway- looking at all of
the experiences and opportunities and gaps that exist here at Rollins. My hope is that
you have a support system that includes your academic faculty, your co-curricular experiences,
your peers, and advisor on campus that, with synergy, contribute to you having the skills
and experiences you need to lead in the unknown future.
All in all, my hope for all of you is an amazing and unforgettable experience that lights within
you a sense of purpose for now and always. To quote a former Rollins president, Hamilton
Holt, nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results. It produces
no results. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results
that last." I know the things I talk about require a lot of work, and that they can’t
be done alone or in isolation. I am in it with you.
So When I drop my daughter off to school every day, some of you may know this, we have a
ritual. Right Siya? I tell her “You are my heart and soul… and... Siya, you're my
heart and soul and...and what? So we have this ritual and we say, you are my heart and
soul and I love you very much.” Every morning and that's what we do. As a mom- I know what
that feels like- and I live, I lead, and serve with the feeling in my heart that someone
out there has that hope for you- and I am committed to being a steward of that hope
into something bigger and grander for all of us.
So- with that “You all are my heart and soul… and I love you very much.”
And I open the space for specific questions, thoughts, feedback.