5 Questions with... round 3!

As a sneak peek into some of our sessions next week, the conference committee has interviewed a few presenters about their session and what we can expect!

Enjoy this "5 Questions with..." Brandon Bellamy from Howard Community College, who will present Friday morning: "At the Intersection of our Identities and Transfer".

1.       Tell us about yourself and your involvement in advising and NACADA?

I am currently the Assistant Director for Transfer & Graduation for TRiO – Student Support Services program and Adjunct Faculty in First Year Experience at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. I have been at HCC for 2.5+ years. Prior to joining HCC, I spent two years at Prince George’s Community College (MD) in Advising & Transfer Services and Retention Services. Additionally, I have worked in pre-collegiate programming, multicultural affairs, financial aid, and student leadership programs.

I earned my M.Ed in Education (Higher Education/Student Affairs) from Iowa State University and my undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies (Culture Change & Social Development concentration) from North Carolina A&T State University. I enjoy long walks on the beach, thinking that I am Irish on the day before my birthday and visiting craft & microbreweries. More importantly, I believe in improving my alma mater and community through service on numerous boards and commissions.

I have been working in advising roles since graduate school when I worked in a multicultural scholarship program & TRiO-Student Support Services. Since graduating graduate school, all of my full-time experiences have been in community college advising and transfer roles. In 2012, my colleague, Johnika Dreher, encouraged me to submit a proposal to the NACADA regional conference in Annapolis. Since then, I have been engaged in the organization, presenting at the International conference in Maastricht (2013) with Johnika and Shelly Caldwell-Bennett and at regionals in Lancaster (2014). Additionally, I co-coordinated a Maryland drive-in conference on SB740 at Prince George’s Community College in June 2014.

2.       What motivated you to present on this topic?

I have a great network of young professionals in our area who are always on top of every major issue. One of the pressing questions was: “How do we advise and counsel students, when don’t understand everything that is going on...” which at the time we were addressing how some of our students of color were asking us very pointed questions after the Eric Garner, John Crawford and Michael Brown incidents. Those conversations and stories led me to think about how our campuses are addressing the issues both past and present. Through more conversation with my colleagues about not only the issues of police conduct, but also the discussion of the role of minority serving institutions and other special segments in higher education, it became obvious that there was more to these conversations.

3.       Tell us about your session. What can attendees look forward to?

The session should be interactive, integrating some familiar student development theories with some of my favorite multicultural and social justice concepts. As advisors, we bring to the table our own identities and they are the lenses through which we see the world and ultimately advise students. I am hoping to encourage attendees to think about how their students view the world, our own campus environments, and ways that we can break down the artificial barriers to transfer.

4.       What is the major take away you hope attendees gain from your presentation?

Taking from the dream & nightmare concept that Dr. Franklin McCain Sr., one of the A&T Four (civil rights pioneer) used to share. Advisors are instrumental in nurturing the dreams and the nightmares of our students. Students dream of things that ultimately may make them happy and could lull them into a false sense of security…while their nightmares are the things that really get them fired up and ready to take on the world. Sometimes these nightmares are repressed because our students have never been made comfortable to highlight that side of their lives. When students are not encouraged to reflect upon their own multiple identities, it is a tacit acceptance societal norms that in themselves can be considered oppressive, divisive or discriminatory.

I hope that attendees walk away with more of a willingness to ask their students more questions, find out more about them and encourage them to use their education as a way to shake up society.

5.       What are you looking forward to most at the 2015 Region 2 Conference?

I am looking forward to connecting with colleagues both new and old from throughout our region…and celebrating the 8th anniversary of my 21st birthday during our conference.