Fall 2023 @ Lehman College: November
This was the hardest yet most fulfilling month of teaching Fashion Media Literacy at Lehman College. Students focused on the entrepreneurial and creative journey of Aurora James, author of “Wildflower: A Memoir” (2023). Aurora’s story is a one-of-a-kind narrative that gathers a variety of intersectional experiences and dynamics, common in many lives of immigrant Black women residing in the USA. Along with Elaine Welteroth (“More Than Enough”) and Edward Enninful (“A Visible Man”), Aurora holds a significant presence in the fashion industry. She’s a creative director and founder of her own brand Brother Vellies, along with her founding role at the The Fifteen Percent Pledge, a non-profit initiative that centers its social impact on leveraging representation of BIPOC beauty and fashion brands on the largest American marketplaces’ shelves, such as Target, Sephora, and many more.
Through Aurora’s experience it was my intention to provide students a tangible and realistic example on how the collection of soft skills and creativity (as a problem-solving and strategic skill) can help an individual building successful business ideas, rooted in love, passion, and admiration felt at heart - just like it happened to Aurora when she decided to found Brother Vellies and The Fifteen Percent Pledge in response to the promotion and support of the Black diaspora’s experience in entrepreneurial spaces. Aurora’s upbringing and her motivation in creating pro-BIPOC spaces within the fashion industry demonstrated students that it is ok to hold on and explore our passions while being in school; it is ok to think about other interests beyond school, as long as they can be constructive and pleasing for one’s mental health; it is ok to fail and get up whenever stuff doesn’t go right at first. For this reason, we mainly read the pages that were describing the early stages of Brother Vellies, Aurora’s trip to Africa, and her relationship with the Africana experience as a biracial Canadian woman.
Finally, this month allowed me to experiment more pedagogical techniques that improved my own communication practices with the students, as well as a much more lenient and comprehensive methodology in assigning homework and grades - forever thankful of the WAC fellowship program currently conducted by Austin Bailey, Dr. Sarah Ohmer, and Sophia Hsu. I’ve included my first guest speaker, Cassandra Pintro, who go to introduce to the student her initiative on fashion sustainability awareness, Consumption Project. This was a heartwarming and excellent experience that I was able to offer them. I’m glad I could build this connection with Cassandra, support her creative and media endeavors, while giving an opportunity to the students that fashion sustainability can be indeed a thing that most people can approach to, if provided some education and a few tips. In the midst of it all, I managed to get students to speak up more for themselves during class, share their academic concerns with me, and balance my authority yet approachable demeanor in the classroom.
Cassandra via Zoom presenting her journey into fashion and her initiative Consumption Project
November flew by and I was a bit surprised by that if I must be honest. Towards the end of the month I realized that as much as I’d love to pass on tips and tricks I learned throughout my undergraduate college journey, it is fundamental to let my students come across certain obstacles on their won. It is only in this way that they can get creative in their problem solving skills and get over their challenges: I can’t provide all the answers, even though I know more than they think I already know. In fact, there are a few times I let them speak for longer minutes, explain me stuff, and share with me things that they learned on their own. It is beautiful to see how some of these students light up when you give them a chance to talk, and not just do and digest a lecture.
As vocal and confident I may look in front of them, I keep being humble and smile anytime I have the chance to do so: the way I present myself to them does wonders and some of these students are in desperate need of human interactions. The last batch of Zillennials is an extremely lonely population. The COVID-19 pandemic hit them hard in ways that I hadn’t fully noticed up until I started interacting with them this semester on a weekly basis. Public speaking is really an issue for the majority of them, as well as self-esteem, confidence, and writing skills. However, due to the nature of this course and its purpose, I am not allowed to go deep in details on their academic writing, as this role pertains to other instructors. I can correct them within a certain limit, though.
Throughout this semester I often found myself recalling a traumatic yet constructive episode that I went through during my first semester at Hofstra. I cried at my very first oral presentation for a rhetoric class. I still remember that feeling and how lonely and hopeless I was feeling, wondering how could I ever make it here in the US with my then-level of English. I was in a room full of native speakers who seemed all superiors and much more skilled than me. Little did I know that I’d be in a position of instructing students on how to talk, write, and curate their scholarship through creative strategies and academic resources.
November was introspective and such an active portion of this semester. Despite being a mentor to many I still haven’t found one for myself that alignes with my current stage of life. The support and repsect coming from faculty is felt and appreciated, but there are still lots of dynamics and procedures that I am learning as I go. I wish people would be more transparent and organizes at the administrative level at Lehman, but thankfully I’m surrounded by great scholars whose approach to both intellectual and human capitals is not only respectable but also exceptional within the landscape of higher education.
It is my intention to keep teaching next semester, Spring 2024. I wish to write for more publications and keep up the good work at FOTB. I’ve also got to extend my gratitude to the time spent on my fitness education, which one day sooner or later will give me the title of personal trainer - another form of educator.
