Growth, Resilience, and Belonging: Strengthening membership and experiences for Black and Brown Men at WWU

Amount Awarded: $28,000.00

Academic Year: 2022-2023

Implementation: March 2023

Full Application: Link

Categories: Campus and Community Engagement Curriculum and Research Student Life

With the funding of this grant students from WWU’s Black and Brown Male Success Collective (BBMSC) were able to attend the Men of Color National Summit at Clemson University. The 2-day leadership conference (March 28-29th) included workshops and dialogues that emphasize the importance of education, best practices, and choices to increase high school and college graduation rates among men of color. The attendance of this summit by WWU’s students enhanced their overall college experience by providing them the opportunity to hear and learn from successful men of color across various industries and allow them to network.

The Men’s Resiliency Program founded the Black & Brown Male Success Collective during the 2019-2020 academic year. This research-based program is designed to engage male-identifying students from historically marginalized communities with academic success, exploring masculinity, community service learning, and cross-cultural identity development.

Testimonials from previous year’s trip

“In so many ways, I saw myself in the crowd and on the stage. I saw myself on the promotion and the advertisement (not as a token person of color) of the summit. I connect with the culture that was responsible for facilitating such a meaningful event. I didn’t have to look far for understanding, out shared experiences were out understanding.”

“This trip showed me that it’s important to surround yourself with people who have the same ambition in life as you do. And when you surround yourself with successful people, you will become successful. I feel like that is something I can take back to WWU within strengthening connections with other students or faculty.”