At a student success launch several years ago, I talked about moving mountains and how the student success work we needed to do involved us all moving boulders in the same direction, noting that the only way we could do massive student success work (like reaching an 86% graduation rate) would be if we worked together and each did our small part toward a larger goal. This philosophy of moving mountains became a centering point for me in how I engaged in the work. It reminded me that we had to all be in this together, that folks from all across campus had to align their work, collaboratively support each other, learn from each other, and all move in the same direction. As someone who is centered by physical reminders, I got a bracelet with mountains on it to remind me of this philosophy. I wore it to work every day, and it grounded me in the work. During difficult conversations I would often rub the bracelet to remind me why the conversations were necessary to move us forward. When working with colleagues, the bracelet was a reminder to me to ask what they were working on and what I could do to support them, what mountain were they trying to move and what boulder could I pick up and help my colleague carry?
A few weeks ago, my mountain bracelet broke, and the beads went scattering everywhere (my son admitted he was trying to stretch it over his head so that may have had something to do with it breaking). At first, I was saddened—the bracelet meant so much to me. I thought about getting another one, but then I remembered the beautiful gift my colleague Amy Martin had recently gifted me. It was a wood carving that said, “You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved.” It is a popular but unattributed quote that resonates deeply with me and obviously connects with my mountain philosophy. I started to think of how far we have come since that presentation years ago. I realized that maybe we were in a new phase of thinking about “moving mountains” together.
We have accomplished a lot since we first started talking about student success more than a decade ago (long before I was even working at MSU). Things we previously thought were “impossible” or “insurmountable,” we have now accomplished. We have managed to do that because of all the passionate people on campus dedicated to student success who have pushed forward with what they believe is best for students, built coalitions of support, and relentlessly asked for the things our students tell us they need. They have shown us how to movethose mountains so we can then move our own mountains and pave the way for others.
For instance, a few years ago we looked into the possibility of a texting platform to communicate with our students through a UIA funded initiative. We were told we were not able to move forward with texting students at that time. Fast forward a few years and our colleagues in the Broad college were sharing about the great success they have had with texting their students. They showed us that the mountain could be moved! So much so that last month we launched a pilot for a campus-wide texting platform and are looking forward to partnering with several departments and colleges to try it out at an enterprise level. Our Broad colleagues showed us this mountain could be moved and inspired us to move forward in our work.
Similarly, for several years, colleagues have been advocating for the need for us to collect data about students leaving MSU through an exit survey. We could not understand how to support students if we did not understand the thousand different reasons why they leave. Until very recently, we had been told it was not possible, and there was not support for moving that forward. But that mountain has now been moved. The Operations Retention Group is moving a departure survey forward with widespread support across campus with the hope to launch in the spring.
Sometimes mountains take countless years and hundreds of colleagues to move. Students and colleagues have been asking and advocating for the need for a free-standing multicultural center for decades, often feeling like it was an insurmountable mountain to cross. When we finally broke ground on the building in April, numerous alumni noted how they thought they would never see this moment—they thought it was impossible. Yet our dedicated colleagues in SLE, IDI, and countless others continued pushing, continued advocating, continued working on moving that mountain to show us what could be done from tireless devotion to a cause.
Another example is how we think about Student Success data at MSU. Until recently, data was a closely guarded commodity, with limited data shared across campus. Then our colleagues in Institutional Research said, “this is a mountain I can move,” and opened the doors to data access. We now have a tremendous amount of data being shared across campus and more tableau dashboards than I can count. We are now working to expand our race/ethnicity and gender data categories to be more expansive and better align with how our students identify. Again, just a few years ago this was thought “impossible,” but thanks to dedicated colleagues advocating for the need, and being willing to do the heavy work of moving that mountain, we are now in process to have these categories.
When I reflect on the mountain ranges we have now moved to better the student experience, I am in awe of my colleagues’ dedication, passion, and willingness to center the needs of students above their own. We have accomplished so much by aligning our work, uplifting each other, and showing each other what is possible. Thank you to each and every one of you who has shown me how to move mountains, and I am committed to continuing to move the mountains I have been assigned to show others what is possible.
I leave you with two questions to ponder in this work—what mountain have you been assigned to move to show others its possible, and who has inspired you by showing you the mountains that can be moved?