We prioritize meaningful mentorships in our working relationships. We value collaborating with students, explicitly naming systems that impact students, sharing ways of navigating hidden curriculums, and supporting student personal and professional goals.
Collaboration (with students, faculty/staff within our institution and at other universities, and community organizations or individuals within our communities) is a top priority for our lab. We value these partners as experts and essential contributors.
Central to our work is the understanding that systems of oppression and power deeply impact communities – their current and generational well-being, their access to human rights, and much more. To truly support positive changes in society, we must recognize these systems and their roles (critical reflection) and then take action to dismantle them together (critical action) – in other words, we must engage in and support critical consciousness.
Our lab promotes community engagement through researching the ways of supporting youth engagement, but also through our own community engagement – as individuals and as a team.
As community is central to our work, reaching out to local community members, organizations, and stakeholders is key to us. We intend to center the goals, values, and perceptions of these stakeholders.
We are dedicated to continuously learning about ways of making our work accessible to others and improving our strategies.
