Reshell Ray, coordinator of ethnic minority programs for the office of student involvement at UNL, is a mentor to many students.
Kiley Timporley/ON
A
coordinator helps increase campus diversity
By Anne Steyer
Staff Reporter_
Reshell Ray is as multifaceted
as the multicultural programming
she coordinates.
Ray, 30, has been the coordi
nator of ethnic minority programs
for the Office of Student Involve
ment at the University of Ne
braska-Lincoln since November
1988, but her job encompasses
much more than that.
In addition to coordinating
ethnic minority programs, Ray
manages the Culture Center, de
velops leadership training pro
grams, promotes diversity in edu
cation, advises the University
Program Council and acts as a
mentor for multitudes of minor
ity students.
“When I’m working I give my
job my all, and I give the students
my all — 1 want them to feel they
have my full attention."
But when Ray goes home, she
said her family has her full atten
tion.
“When you talk about uncon
ditional K*ve and all that, you can
really see that in children," Ray
said, laughing. “The fact that 1
have so many makes it all the
more fun and interesting.”
Interesting is an appropriate
description of how Ray spends
her working hours. Her office is
constantly busy, her phone is
often ringing, and her calendar is
usually full.
Many of those appointments
surround making tne Culture
Center a place where all students
canfcelcomfortablemeetingand
interacting with people that are
from their same cultural back
f[round, but who may have dif
erent ethnic backgrounds.
Ray said she hoped the Cul
ture Center was the same kind of
home base for UNL students as it
was for her when she was a
student here.
Ray completed her master’s
degree in community and re
gional planning at UNL in 1986.
Although she enjoyed her time
here as a student, she said that
when she left Nebraska in 1986,
she left “vowing never to return.”
But she retu rned just two yea rs
later, enthusiastic and ready to
change the world.
“Oneof the thingsthatbrought
me back as 1 looked at the career
I was in, and looking at doing
something different," Ray ex
plained, “was that 1 wanted some
thing I would love doing and
that I could give myall."
Ray said sne decided that was
to work with college students.
“Because in that way I have
the ability to influence our fu
ture, our future leaders and the
shape of where our country is
going,” Ray said.
Besides managing theCulture
Center, Ray said she spent a great
deal of time just talking with
students, helping each accord
ing to his or her needs, not
basi ng her assista nee on any theo
ries or tried programs. Instead,
she said, she used instinct.
“I spend time with them,” Ray
said, “finding out who they are,
what they want, and what they
hope to accomplish.
"Then I try to help them actu
alize those dreams."
Ray said she did not solve
problems for students. Instead,
she listens to them and only
gives them advice when asked.
Otherwise she listens, gets to
know them and helps them find
within themselves the strength
to work out their problems.
"Everything I do is geared to
what they need."
Ray said she loved working
with people and seeing them
grow. The enthusiasm of the
people who drop by her office—
where her door is almost always
open, even during her appoint
ments — makes this obvious.
This week had been a particu
larly rewardi ng week for ner, she
said, since she’d been in contact
with a number of former stu
dents— all relaying various suc
cesses and thanks.
And Ray said that gave her a
strong sense of satisfaction.
“Tney left ready to stand on
their own two feet, ready to
challenge things."
Ray said she hoped to con
tinue helping students tap into
their strong suits, and one way
she hoped to accomplish this is
through diversity education.
Through education, Ray said she
hopea to make people realize
opportunities should be equal
for everyone.
In order to facilitate this learn
ing, Ray has participated in the
creation of SCOPE: StudentsCre
ating Opportunities in Pursuit of
Equity. Through this program,
students teach students about
cultural diversity in a non-threat
ening, safe and fun environment.
Ray said SCOPE would grow
through what the students envi
sion it to be, and what they want
it to be. It is a way to "till the
ground so that the students be
gin thinking about diversity," she
said.
Ray’s vision for the future is
simple.
"People will begin to learn to
work together, respect each
other," Ray said.