Teach out refelction

 When I began thinking about my Teach Out project, I knew I wanted to create something that connected to admissions. There are so many issues within higher education admissions that it is impossible to address all of them in one project. Instead, I decided to focus on something practical, something that many admissions offices can improve. The topics of representation, identity, and making students feel like they belong stood out to me the most. The messages colleges send to students have a much deeper meaning than we often realize. As admissions professionals, we are usually the first people students interact with from a college, and we have an influence on whether they feel comfortable on a college campus. Although our office at Rhode Island College is diverse, many admissions offices across the state are not. Some campuses have very few staff members of color or employees from diverse backgrounds. This makes it even more important that our campus tours, marketing materials, websites, and brochures authentically represent the students we hope to serve.
When I think about meaningful representation and reflect on the Gomez article, I think about how everything in Bad Bunny's halftime performance was intentional. Every aspect of the performance celebrated his culture, identity, and lived experiences in an authentic and genuine way. Authenticity was the heart of the performance. Reading the article made me reflect on my own experiences. I remember my time at the University of Rhode Island when me and my friends were selected to be featured in brochures, magazines, and posters for the university. Looking back, I realized exactly what was happening we were the diversity. We were the representation.
That realization made me feel many different emotions. As a first-generation college student and a woman of color, I already knew I was part of the "others" on campus. Being selected for these marketing materials made me feel tokenized. It also made me realize that the message being sent to prospective students was not authentic. Someone looking at those brochures would likely assume the University of Rhode Island has a way more diverse student body than it actually did. Representation should never be about putting a few students of color in marketing materials to create a certain image. Belonging is so much more than putting students on a postcard. It means truly embracing your campus community, celebrating its diversity, and being proud of who you are as an institution.
Another part of this project that really resonated with me was the quote from the article: "For once, millions of people who have spent generations adapting themselves to America watched America adapt to them." That quote is incredibly powerful because it captures what authentic representation can feel like. For one moment, people who have often felt invisible were finally seen. Those who were uncomfortable had to sit with that discomfort, while others simply enjoyed the performance, even though it was not created specifically for them. Throughout my career  I have found myself involved in many conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have also spent so much time reading about systemic racism in higher education and college admissions. I wish higher education reflected the message in that quote. I wish institutions and people adapted to the changing student body of education and embraced the growing number of students from diverse backgrounds. Instead, we have seen lawsuits fighting affirmative action and continued attacks on race-conscious admissions. These conversations remind us that even when representation improves, there are still people who question whether students from underrepresented backgrounds truly belong.
I chose Jose Gomez's article about Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance because I wanted to use something that felt current, engaging, and connected to pop culture. I believe using pop culture makes professional development feel more approachable and relatable. Too often, professional development consists of academic articles, and people lose sight of why they do this work in the first place. I wanted participants to reconnect with their purpose while discussing something familiar and engaging.Even if someone is not a Bad Bunny fan, they have likely heard about his halftime performance. The article highlights how authentic representation allows people to feel seen without asking them to change who they are. I felt that message translated perfectly into admissions. Instead of asking students to fit into our institutions, we should be creating environments where students already feel like they belong. Using a pop culture example makes these conversations less intimidating and encourages more meaningful participation.
I believe the reflection rubric I created allows admissions professionals to honestly evaluate their own institutions without feeling judged. Rather than criticizing what they are doing wrong, the rubric encourages them to reflect on where they currently are and where they can improve. It also provides practical ideas that participants can immediately bring back to their own offices.
My graduate capstone focused on higher education admissions, and one of my major findings was that admissions counselors genuinely want to do meaningful work. However, many institutional policies are outside of their control. That realization influenced this project. Instead of focusing on admissions policies or application review processes, I chose to focus on areas where admissions offices have direct influence, such as websites, brochures, recruitment materials, and campus tours. These are realistic changes that admissions professionals can make immediately. I hope this workshop creates opportunities for admissions offices to learn from one another. Schools like Rhode Island College may excel in certain areas, while other institutions may have different strengths. By creating opportunities to share ideas, admissions professionals can take successful practices back to their campuses and continue improving the experiences of prospective students. I also think this workshop format is much more engaging than simply reading and analyzing a scholarly article. Participants immediately begin discussing practical solutions that everyone can contribute to.
One of the most valuable parts of this project was receiving feedback from my classmates. They gave me thoughtful suggestions that made me realize I could strengthen the connection between the Bad Bunny article and admissions even more. The biggest piece of feedback I received was to create additional discussion questions that directly connect the themes of authenticity and representation to admissions work. As I continue developing this workshop, I plan to include questions such as: How does your institution authentically represent its students? What messages do your recruitment materials send to prospective students? In what ways does your institution celebrate its own culture and community? I also want participants to identify examples of how Bad Bunny authentically represented his culture during the performance and then compare those examples to how their own institutions represent themselves. Another suggestion from my classmates was to add reflection questions to the back of my rubric. Questions such as. What is one thing your institution does well? What have you learned from another institution? What is one immediate action you can take to make your recruitment more authentic? I think these additions will make the workshop feel more complete and encourage richer discussions. I definitely plan to revise my project to include these ideas before presenting it professionally.
This project reminded me why I chose to work in higher education. As a first-generation college student, I know how overwhelming the college search process can be. I always tell students to choose a college that feels like home. However, students can only find that feeling if institutions honestly represent who they are and the communities they serve. I believe admissions professionals have an incredible responsibility, and we should take that responsibility seriously. Authentic representation is about much more than diverse photographs or promotional materials. It is about ensuring students feel welcomed, valued, respected, and like they truly belong from the moment they first look up a college to long after they graduate. If I can help even one student feel that authenticity through my work, then I know I have done my job.

Authentic Representation in Admissions

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