I had the opportunity to meet many of them at the second annual orientation for incoming graduate students of color—excited, apprehensive, and ready to see what their lives here will be like once the semester begins in earnest. When I entered into my graduate program at Brown, there was no such orientation yet. It was made possible by a coalition of Brown community members—students, faculty and staff—that were insistent upon our collective responsibility to not just welcome in students of color, but to do everything possible within their means to ensure underrepresented and historically marginalized students' existence and growth were supported here. Coalitions like these have defined my Brown Graduate School experience.

This ethic of responsibility to our colleagues comes out of a recognition that social change does not just happen. Instead, there are community members at Brown that push for a world we want, both outside of and within the institutions we affiliate with. This year, as graduate student coordinator for the Brown Center for Students of Color, I draw from this ethic of responsibility. I applied to get my Ph.D. primarily to get the credentials desirable to pursue a career working with college students. In my undergraduate studies, the professors that recognized, affirmed, and encouraged my curiosity and critiques about the world profoundly shaped me. Once I entered Brown, I realized we all still need such recognition, affirmation, and encouragement, no matter what stage of our lives we are in. While we are here, we owe it to one another to cultivate a learning community that is fertile ground for both recognition of each other's humanity and transformation from the status quo to an ever more inclusive and supportive community.