Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz visited Migrant Student Services (MSS) leaders, staff, and students as part of a tradition of engaging with MSU’s migrant community.
But Guskiewicz’s Nov. 14 visit did not resemble a traditional presidential speaking engagement or appearance with a podium and microphone. Rather, while enjoying food and fellowship, Guskiewicz, along with Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Mark Largent, met with and listened to students and staff as they explained what the university could improve and what can be done to strengthen the students' sense of belonging.
“Sometimes the formalities do not allow us to really get a feel for each other,” said Luis Garcia, director of MSS. “What we try to do is break that barrier and we do that around food and community and providing a safe environment for conversation to take place.”
MSS is nationally renowned for its work and services for MSU students who come from farmworker families and strives to advance the education of and empower students from seasonal farm working communities.
“Migrant Student Services is vital to our mission to provide an accessible and equitable education to all of our students," Largent said. "I was thrilled to join President Guskiewicz at his meeting with MSS students, staff, and leadership. Conversations like these help leaders understand the support that campus programs need to ensure that all our students are supported to learn, thrive and graduate.”
Garcia, the MSS staff, and students shared a meal of traditional Mexican food in a relaxed setting with the president to encourage conversation and allow students to voice their stories, thoughts and concerns.
“We get a lot of credit from many of our leaders around campus about our program being a model program for creating a welcoming environment for our students, students who haven’t felt represented by institutions like this one,” said Elias Lopez, senior associate director of the Migrant Student Services’ College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP). “When students don’t demand to speak with the leaders, but the leaders show up to be accessible and available to students, to be willing to learn about the students represented in some of the communities on our campus and learn about their challenges, that is important.”
Opportunities to have informal conversations between university leadership and the students that MSS serve are rare at other institutions, Garcia said. It’s a practice at MSU that he said gives students a strong sense of belonging.
It is also work that directly aligns with MSU’s mission as a land grant institution. About 170 years later, Lopez said the university is still providing direct access to higher education and opportunities to the most marginalized communities, including the farmworkers who feed America.
“To our farmworker students: You belong here, and MSU is committed to supporting your success every step of the way,” Guskiewicz shared after the visit in a Facebook post. “Together with faculty, staff and the entire MSU community, we are building a campus where every voice is heard and valued.”
To learn more about MSS and their work on campus, visit mss.msu.edu.
By Mark Johnson