Shay Brown is building a legacy when it comes to celebrating diversity on Texas Wesleyan University’s campus. In the year and a half that she’s worked for the University as the assistant director for student diversity and inclusion programs, she’s created many events and programming that help celebrate and educate others on the unique cultures of Texas Wesleyan’s diverse student body. 

Shay grew up in Pleasant Grove, a southeast neighborhood of Dallas, and was surrounded by different cultures. She believes those experiences helped shape her views on how to celebrate diversity and brought to light the importance of understanding different backgrounds. 

“Growing up, my friends were from so many different backgrounds. I always appreciated being around other cultures, races and religions,” she said.  

Shay became a first-generation college student at Texas Woman’s University, which she says has helped in the way she interacts with students, understanding that students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds. 

“I am able to see students and meet them where they are,” she said. “My struggles in undergrad shaped the way I interact with my students. I strive to show them that going to college and graduating is possible and that they can do this.” 

Shay went to college to become an elementary school teacher and got involved with Zeta Phi Beta sorority, a historically Black sorority, where she became passionate about working with diversity and inclusion programs.  

“The sorority has always been very active in the community,” she said. “Being action-oriented and community involved were our main pillars, so that got me started.”  

As she continued her college career, Shay noticed a lack of Black women in leadership positions in education and the disparities in education for students from marginalized backgrounds. This led her to start a student organization called Future Minority Educators and change her focus from becoming an elementary school teacher to working in diversity and inclusion.  

“I wanted to do something more systemic and focus on diversity and inclusion. That made me want to go into higher education because I noticed the retention issues with students from different marginalized backgrounds,” she said. “My goal was to go into education and make it a safer space, not only for Black and Brown students, but for all students of color and students who come from marginalized backgrounds.” 

Shay then got her master’s in higher education leadership from Texas Christian University (TCU), where she focused specifically on diversity and inclusion programs. She worked as a graduate assistant in the gender resource office and in the multicultural and international student services office at TCU, where she gained experience in assessing the effectiveness of the inclusion initiatives, developing programs to better support diverse student needs, fostering student relationships and designing educational pieces.  

When she was looking to apply to other universities, she looked into the student demographics at each campus so she could make a bigger impact on students from various cultures.  

“I thought Texas Wesleyan was a really interesting campus,” she said. “I wanted to be on a campus where we have a lot of diversity and where we’re a minority serving institution, because that gives me a lot more cultures to learn about and highlight — and I think it has a bigger impact on our students. 

“We have students here who are excited that their culture is being highlighted, and for international students, they’re getting to celebrate cultural traditions they don’t normally get to celebrate because they’re not at home.” 

Shay has created events and celebrations like the Lunar New Year Celebration, the International Food Festival, Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month Kick Offs and put together an ofrenda for Dia de Los Muertos, just to name a few.  

“It’s been a pleasure working with Shay – she will go out of her way to help her students and does whatever is in her power to assist,” said Stella Ton, a student intern of the Diversity and Inclusion Programs office. “She is doing so many great things that are not only for the Student Diversity and Inclusion Programs, but also for the school and the students.” 

Dr. Dennis Hall, vice president of student affairs and dean of students, said that the work Shay and the staff in Student Affairs have been accomplishing through celebrating and educating the community on diversity and inclusion speaks to the value of Texas Wesleyan. He believes that the team is building a sense of belonging, which is important for student growth and development. 

“Shay has been able to come in and continue building on the vision of inclusion and creating that sense of belonging for each student — and she has done so with great success,” Hall said. “I’m proud of her and for each member of the Student Affairs team who work tirelessly to make our students’ experiences the best that they can be.” 

Shay is hopeful that the diversity and inclusion program will continue to grow and bring more connections to the different communities on campus.  

“I’d love to see more events and programs highlighting different aspects of diversity on our campus, educating students more about inclusion and ways to get involved so they can learn more from each other,” she said.  

And her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Thanks to the hard work that Shay has done, many students have been able to share their cultures with not only each other, but faculty, staff and the community. 

“My main goal has been to build relationships and connections with our students,” Shay said. “We have such a diverse student population — I want to help our students see their culture celebrated often. I want them to be seen, be heard and be celebrated on this campus.” 

Want to join Shay and be a part of diversity and inclusion programming on campus? Join the Diversity and Inclusion Council or take part in student activities. It’s a great way to help Shay continue to build the legacy she’s leaving at Texas Wesleyan.