Before I committed to attend MSU, I went to a Mustangs Rally. There were seniors from across the country who were curious as to what MSU had to offer; however, I already had done my research about the university and was almost sure that I would attend MSU in the fall.

Instead, I was looking for faces more like mine at the rally. My parents and I were concerned about the diversity here on campus.

After I committed to MSU, I had to attend orientation, where I saw people from cultures across the globe and plenty from my own. Once the school year started, though, I felt more alone than I ever had, so in order to meet more people and escape the comfort of my dorm, I joined the Black Student Union. Two years later, I am the vice-president and am active on campus.

I first met University President Suzanne Shipley at the President’s Picnic in August. As people walked onto the yard of the President’s house, they were encouraged to help themselves to refreshments. While I was serving myself, I heard people introducing themselves to someone, but I didn’t know to whom they were talking. My friend was in line behind me, and I heard her speaking to someone. I turned around and was greeted by a smile and a button that said, “Talk to Me,” so I introduced myself as vice-president of the Black Student Union. When Shipley heard this, her face lit up and she said that we should talk sometime soon.

I was surprised to hear her invite me to speak with her at a later date. I also thought that maybe she just said it to be nice and that I would never see her again. But recently, I received a phone call from the president of the Black Student Union saying we had a meeting the next day with Shipley, as well as other black leaders on campus, to talk about the black student experience at MSU.

I was thrilled to be able to share my concerns with the president. There were four other officers from different organizations at the meeting, and we took turns sharing our stories about our experiences with discrimination on and off campus. Shipley carefully listened to our suggestions on how to unite the campus community and shared with us her own strategies. I watched as she took notes and offered to personally assist our organizations. She told us she wants her students to feel comfortable and to know their voices are being heard at the executive level. I personally thanked her for inviting us to speak with her and for listening to what we said.

I also noticed that she wore the “Talk to Me” button from the day we first met. I am comforted by the thought of our university president reaching out to her students and being willing to make changes so that we can feel safe and know our voices are being heard.