When asked to reflect on how her identity has impacted her leadership style, Dawn was quick to mention that above all else, she identifies as a first-generation student, or first-gen. A first-gen student is someone who\u2019s parents and\/or guardians have not completed a bachelor\u2019s degree; they are the first in their family to attend a four-year college.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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\r\n\u201cThat [first-gen identity] has framed everything for me. It\u2019s given me a piece of compassion, so when I hear a student’s struggles it resonates. And I think I know to ask difficult questions in a way that helps them be comfortable because I understand. When I\u2019ve helped students whose parents are in jail or can\u2019t afford not just school but all those little things, the books, and the food, and all these insecurities…I help them take a step back and we figure out each piece.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
But with that compassion and understanding comes a tough love mentality and awareness that as a student affairs practitioner, skill development and self-improvement never ends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cI have to be cognizant of that, because things have changed. I [used to think] that if I pushed through, I think anyone can. But not everyone\u2019s me. I have to sometimes soften a bit, and realize I have to meet students where they\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cI never shared I was first-gen, ever,\u201d she reflected. \u201cBut as I got older, I realized that it was a badge of honor, something that should be shared and celebrated. It\u2019s allowed my relationships with students to flourish more because they realize I\u2019m more human.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Dawn\u2019s doctoral work was also centered around first-gen students. Her dissertation, titled \u201cExploration on the LIved Experience of First Generation College Presidents,\u201d filled a gap in the research surrounding first gen students.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cI realized there is no information on first generation students and what happens after ]they] graduate from college. You are first gen in your first job, you are first gen in your next job, and you\u2019re still learning and still not getting the guidance from home. How do you come from where you were the first in your family to go to college to becoming one of the most highly regarded positions at a university? How do you get to that point?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The answer was mentorship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cEvery single one of them talked about mentorship. Not one of them did it alone, it was others who helped pave the way, it was others who opened doors for them. It was others who saw their potential.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n
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The Labyrinth<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This past spring, Dawn presented a workshop at the Leadership Symposium titled Women in Leadership: Navigating the Labyrinth<\/em>, which focused on the low numbers of women in leadership positions in the U.S. and how men and women can work together to increase opportunities for women.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cIt\u2019s a labyrinth, and you have to learn how to navigate it in a way that works for you,\u201d Dawn shared. \u201cYou need mentors; you can\u2019t do it alone. You have to look at the ones who have broken down those barriers and then talk to them and say \u2018how\u2019d you do that?\u2019 My mentors have paved the way for me, [and now] my job is to pave the way for other women.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Men can also be doing more, says Dawn. \u201cI can\u2019t say that enough. White men, those with the power, I think need to open the doors for women. They have the power to make it possible. When you have both men and women at [executive] levels, systems run better. Everything gets better.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Despite the monumental amount of research proving that women are still underrepresented in senior level and executive leadership positions, Dawn is proud that Worcester State has women in high-level leadership roles.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cWhen I look at our leadership here, we have women at [senior] levels, and women of color. I feel so much better being here to see that. You need to have those representations in place, you need to have those identities. It makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n Finding a Mentor<\/strong> Dawn spoke to the importance of not only needing mentors to succeed as a woman in a leadership role, but also the importance of education, finding a supportive circle, and especially being open to feedback.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to get that tough feedback, and important to get it at a young age,\u201d Dawn explained. \u201cYou need to find someone you respect and look up to, because when you get the feedback you know it comes from a good place. The better mentor is the one who challenges you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n While it\u2019s important to find a mentor, it\u2019s equally important to remember that you can be a role model for someone else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cFind out the qualities that [your mentors] have and then incorporate that into what you do and into your life. Ask yourself, what would my mentor, my role model, do in this moment? It starts to frame who you are going to become as a leader. Never forget that the more you do that, others are looking at you as their leader, and they\u2019re starting to emulate and pick out qualities that you have.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cAlso,\u201d added Dawn, \u201cyou can\u2019t be everything to everyone. Who I look up to, my mentor, for others he was not the leader they looked up to. So that\u2019s the beauty of leadership; you have qualities that attract you to some but it may not be everyone and that\u2019s okay. That\u2019s the beauty of us all being different. You can\u2019t be everything to everyone but you can be a whole lot to a small population, and I find that meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n Final Thoughts \u201cEvery student has the potential for leadership. It\u2019s something that grows and develops and you work on and you learn; it\u2019s ongoing. I don\u2019t think anyone should ever dismiss it and say \u2018I could never do that, it\u2019s not for me.\u2019 It is for everyone. Believe it or not, no matter who you are, you have exhibited some type of leadership at some point and somebody noticed. Always remember that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Dawn Eades, Ed.D., it\u2019s been a journey to arrive at Worcester State. As a Pawtucket, Rhode Island native, she left home to attend Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, made a quick stop at Clemson University for graduate school, and then made a 3,000 mile move across the country to LA to work at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":2741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,12,9],"tags":[44,34],"class_list":["post-1832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faces-of-leadership","category-faculty-staff","category-interview","tag-mentorship","tag-staff"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/strong>A mentor is a person who provides guidance, support, and coaching to another person through establishing an engaging relationship and acting as a role model. And the importance of mentorship was a common thread through many of Dawn\u2019s stories and experiences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/leadershipwsu.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/4-2.jpg?w=768\")
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<\/strong>When asked for her advice for students who are just beginning to explore the type of leader they are, Dawn had powerful words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n