"You Belong Here": A Conversation with Geida Cleveland

What led you to the Carlson School?

I was born and raised in Mexico and moved to Minnesota when I was 12 years old. I remember seeing the university while visiting with my family and knowing that this is where I wanted to go to school here one day. When I was accepted, I was thrilled, but once here, I quickly realized that I didn’t know where I belonged. As a first-generation student and immigrant, I had to navigate many situations without the guidance of parents.

After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I started working at the university with the hopes that I could help students with similar stories as mine navigate the University. After 15 years at the University of Minnesota, I am still passionate about supporting students on college campuses to navigate higher education. I have the privilege to work with an incredible, thoughtful, and passionate team to support students who share very similar stories to ours. 

What is the mission of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Enrollment and Scholarship (DEI+ES) team?

You typically don’t see diversity, equity, and inclusion on the same team as enrollment and scholarship, but it is intentional. We work to create a K-12 pathway to college that recruits a talented and diverse student body. We also create support for students once they’re here through scholarshiping and programming as they are important parts of retention. We also focus on growing external partnerships in diverse communities. We want to be good neighbors to the Cedar-Riverside area, as well as create partnerships with other external organizations that work with underrepresented students in business.

What value does the DEI+ES team bring to students?

We make sure that student voices, especially students of color, first-generation students, LGBTQIA+ students, are not forgotten about or pushed aside. We want students to know that there is a way to find community at the Carlson School and understand that they do belong here.

What resources does the DEI+ES team provide?

We work with students as early as middle school all the way through their graduation from the Carlson School. We offer exposure to what business school looks like, explain how to apply to college, and more. We have two middle school programs and two high school programs, and the mission of those is to give students the opportunity to explore. Even if a student walks away not interested in business at all, we see that as valuable because we helped them understand themselves.

On the enrollment side, we work closely with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. We host a lot of recruitment initiatives, bringing people to campus for tours and events for admitted students. We also lead recruitment scholarships, Carlson-specific scholarships, and transfer student admissions.

For current Carlson School students, we offer a variety of opportunities for students to find community and support. From our LGBTQIA lunches, first-generation events, Heritage Month celebrations, etc. All students are invited to participate and can find more information about our events on our website, newsletter or by hanging out in the Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion Hub.

Can you highlight a few specific initiatives and resources of the DEI+ES team?

We have a streamlined application process for our upper-division scholarships. We often hear that Carlson School doesn’t offer a lot of scholarships but the reality is that one application will give students the opportunity to be reviewed for all of the scholarships offered.  We know students get busy with their classwork, so we wanted to make the process simple with a single application and a single deadline for all Carlson scholarships. The application for the following year usually opens in the spring.

The Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion Hub is a place for organic community building. The Take-What-You-Need Closet, located in the Maroon Lobby, is a new space for students to find donated basic needs items. We also created a Reflection Room in Hanson Hall as a space for any students who need a space to pray, meditate, or find some quiet. We would love feedback on all of the new spaces so that we can make improvements in the future.

Some other resources and events include our LGBTQIA+ Lunches, Power Lunches for women-identifying students, and Snacks & Crafts for Heritage Month celebrations. I would encourage students to sign up for our People of the Global Majority newsletter to hear about our initiatives and events.

What strategies does the DEI+ES program employ to ensure that students from all backgrounds feel welcomed and supported?

Our greatest strategy is partnerships with current students. We offer a lot of student jobs — Emerging Leaders of Color mentor, THRIVE mentor, Outreach Ambassador, Carlson Ambassador — where students get paid to help us shape our initiatives and let us know what is helpful. We take the student voice very seriously, and the more students share with us about what gives them a feeling of belonging and what doesn’t, the better we can shape their experience.

What advice do you have for students looking for a sense of belonging at the Carlson School?

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and attend our initiatives and programs. I know that some people are introverted, shy, or scared to put themselves out there and those are definitely valid feelings. But once you find your people, your community, then you will feel so much better being here. If you are in the Carlson School, you were accepted for a reason. Your application was reviewed, and you were recruited because you belong here. Your lived experiences, your identities, your voice, the things you bring inside and outside the classroom are all valued and make the Carlson School a better place and will make the business community a better place.”