摄影:Caitlin Cunningham
伊冯·麦克巴奈特回来了.
不是去英国, 她出生的地方, but to the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center, where she began her 电子游戏软件 professional career in December 2002. She spent 14 years ascending from administrative assistant to program administrator at the BAIC before a stint at alumni relations, and seven years as a program manager and director of the Montserrat Coalition in the University Mission and Ministry di愿景.
McBarnett, known to much of the University community as “Ms. 笑脸,” won praise upon her recent appointment as BAIC director from Vice President for Student Affairs Shawna Cooper Whitehead, 谁注意到她的领导能力, 愿景, and mentoring skills are meaningful assets that McBarnett brings to the center.
“She has a wealth of experience and a unique ability to connect with people, particularly 代表名额不足的 and underserved students,库珀·怀特黑德说. “She is an ideal fit for the BAIC.”
Founded in 1989 and named for the late Catholic nun, 老师, 音乐家, 礼拜仪式的权威, and scholar—and the first Black woman to receive an honorary Doctorate in Religion from BC—the BAIC provides support for the University’s undergraduate community, with a particular focus on AHANA students and multicultural, 多民族的, and Options Through Education (OTE) scholars. The center helps students navigate the challenges of college by offering programs that facilitate student 身份 formation, such as the Racial Identity Development Experience, and build community through events, 撤退, 以及指导机会.
伊冯McBarnett: "[O]nce they are here, it’s our duty and pledge to serve [AHANA students] holistically, and our responsibility to embrace and empower them.”
McBarnett, who emigrated from London to the Boston area when she was 13, earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master of science degree in administrative studies from the Woods College of Advancing Studies. 她的女儿, Mashaunda, is a 2016 graduate of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, 还有她的妹妹, Maleka, will earn a degree from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences this spring.
McBarnett readily relates to BC students who suffer from the so-called “imposter syndrome”—when an individual doubts their skills, 人才, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud—because she felt much the same as an adult returning to the classroom. She credits her family, mentors, friends, and professors who never stopped believing in her.
“因为这种支持, I was able to conquer that fear of ‘I’m not good enough [for] 电子游戏软件,’并且能够出类拔萃,” she told The Heights in a 2017 interview. 她喜欢布克T. 华盛顿报, “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”
McBarnett en愿景s her office as the source for the same type of encouragement that she received, plus the necessary mentorship to help typically marginalized, 代表名额不足的, and underserved students not only overcome the belief that they “don’t belong” at BC, 而是茁壮成长.
“These are the perceived barriers that so many AHANA students grapple with every day,麦克巴内特说. “他们背负着沉重的负担. 然而, the goal of the office will be to offer that listening ear, to celebrate their accomplishments, and to help them achieve little wins, which will support them on their journey toward becoming the leaders of tomorrow.”
McBarnett—whose office sports a poster quoting poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, “如果你不喜欢什么, change it; if you can’t change it, change your attitude”—also sees BAIC playing a larger role promoting diversity and inclusion within the University, particularly through engagement with student groups on campus.
Regarding discussions about race and respect for ethnic and cultural differences, McBarnett说, “We—the administration—are continuing to have ongoing conversations that involve students about race, 身份, 和文化. When students see the `head’ working wisely and well, the community will follow.”
From the vantage point of her 21 years on campus, McBarnett characterizes the University as evolving on diversity issues, and feels BC has minimized the divide between the students and the administration.
“It used to be the ‘us versus them’ mentality from the students’ perspective, but I’ve seen a more inviting attitude expressed by University leaders over the years, and students today are more comfortable talking with us,”她说。. “There is much more diversity on campus, and the University and Office of Undergraduate 电子游戏软件 should be commended for the commitment to increasing the number of AHANA students at BC.
”,说, 一旦他们来到这里, it’s our duty and pledge to serve them holistically, and our responsibility to embrace and empower them.”
For more about the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center, visit mzccmu.com/ahana
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | February 2023