Joe Sabado – Higher Education & Technology Leadership

I’ve been fortunate to have mentors and advocates throughout my career in student affairs at UCSB. This post, by no means, diminishes my appreciation for those who have helped me along my career. There is one aspect of my career that I can’t help but wonder from time to time, especially when I find myself needing to talk about issues related to my identity as Asian American. I have never had an Asian-American mentor, one who I can speak with about personal, career, and Asian-American community issues. There are certain topics I would like to explore and discuss with others who understand me. They may not necessarily agree with me, but they may just be able to relate with me because of our shared experience as Asian Americans.

The degree to which one values having a mentor/advocate with similar background/identity probably varies from one person to the other. Personally, that the folks I consider my mentors are not Asian-Americans has never been generally a big issue for me. But, when I worked with a student last year who expressed desire to have another mentor with a similar background (South Asian female), I began to think about the value of having an Asian American mentor for myself.  I also began to notice the lack of Asian Americans at the senior management level on my campus other than our Chancellor. Even in student affairs, there’s only one Asian-American director other than myself. I also remembered how we once had a Chancellor’s Asian American Task Force when I was a student in the mid-1990. I am not sure why that group ceased to exist. In all honesty, I haven’t spent much time thinking as to why there is such a lack of senior Asian-American leaders at UCSB. I have some questions but I don’t even know where to start looking for answers. I did start to think about the presence (or lack of) of Asian American Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAO) across the country. Admittedly, my perspective of student affairs at the national level is very limited because I have only been involved with NASPA for a couple of years. I don’t have the data on how many Asian Americans are at the SSAO level. What I can tell you is that meeting Henry Gee, Vice President for Student Services at Rio Hondo College, at last year’s Western Regional Career in Student Affairs Day was one of the most memorable moments of my career. VP Gee was the person often mentioned by other Asian-Americans in student affairs who I should meet. I had the chance to speak with VP Gee again at the NASPA National Conference in Baltimore. In the short period of time I spoke with him, he left an impression on me as he shared with me perspectives I really found valuable. He probably doesn’t remember me, but in those short period of time we spoke, I felt a sense of camaraderie and pride that I’m speaking with a high-ranking and well-respected Asian-American in student affairs.

I made a personal commitment when I became a staff at UCSB years ago to make myself available to Asian American students and to build relationships with them personally. I have been fortunate to have developed mentor/mentee relationships with some of them. In the last few years, I have also found myself helping other Asian American staff with their work and personal issues. As I think about what they shared with me, I think there is a value to having someone who can relate with because of shared experience. A colleague and I recently had a conversation about the fact that there are times when we don’t have to explain what we’re thinking to others who share our experiences because we simply just get it. There are also other times when as much as we can explain ourselves, other people will never understand where we are coming from.

Who are your mentors/advocates? Do you find shared experience/background as one of the attributes that make a good mentor/mentee relationship? Am I wrong in my perspective that the number of Asian American SSAOs are limited?

The ability to understand and share the perspective of our students plays a very important role in how effective we are as student affairs professionals and educators in building relationships and helping our students.  Personally, while I fully acknowledge the fact that I can never fully understand today’s students’ perspectives due to our differences in age and experience, some of my experiences and background help me not only understand what their needs and opportunities may be but build relationships as well.

I was a discussion leader for a First Year Experience course for international students three years ago. Most of them were Chinese, with one student from Brazil. Most had only been in the United States for about two months. In addition to adjusting to their academic lives, they also had to adjust to the cultural norms and language and navigate their environments. Their discomfort with their new environments was apparent during the first few weeks of the course. In my one-on-one discussions and in class, they shared their issues in trying to understand how the university works, the habits of their American roommates, and difficulties with activities we take for granted as Americans. The language was one of the main barriers during their times of transition. Some even going to the grocery stores or taking the bus proved difficult. I would not have been able to appreciate their difficulties to the extent  I did if it was not for my experience traveling to Italy with my wife only a month before this course. Through my experience preparing for the trip and during our time in Rome and Florence, I could feel some of the issues these students faced. The fact that this was our first time traveling to Europe became a source of stress for me for a couple of months before our trip. I did not know how to speak Italian, and while I researched as much as possible through the web, perusing travel sites and reading stories from travelers, I could only speculate how our experience would be.

I had difficulty learning Italian even with the multiple translation and language apps I downloaded on my iPhone. This difficulty added to my concerns about the trip. I was also worried about being pick-pocketed in Rome. Stories about different tactics used and the prevalence of thieves out in the streets became my focus during our preparation. During our trip, the local Italians we interacted with were very accommodating to our limited Italian, but nevertheless, even ordering food or asking for directions proved challenging. When I met with the students, I shared some of my experiences and issues with our Italy vacation to connect with them. I could have genuine discussions with them and reassure them that they were not the only ones who have had to experience the difficulties of adjusting to a new culture and location.

Last week, I facilitated a transitional course for a one-week summer bridge program for first-generation and low-income first-year students. Having gone to the program myself and as a UCSB alum, I could relate to what they may be experiencing and anticipate/address some of their concerns. As a first-year generation student from a low/middle-income family, I was also able to relate to some of their family values and views on education. While each student certainly brought their unique and individual experience, there were also common topics, including financial concerns, first-time away from home, and the lack of directions with their intended majors I was able to share because of my personal experience.

As I had my orientation class for my online MBA last week, I found myself experiencing/feeling the same concerns the students shared during the summer bridge program. One of the students expressed doubt about whether she belonged at UCSB. As she mentioned in class, she realized high-achieving students surrounded her and wondered if she could compete with them. I also wonder if I have the aptitude and intelligence to complete my MBA. What was interesting as well was that one of the lectures was on critical thinking and research, both of which are topics in my orientation class. I have seen the same lectures a few times but found myself more interested this time. During our class discussion, I was able to share some of my perspectives and provide additional information on the topics.

From personal experience, I find it easier to relate and build relationships with others with similar backgrounds and experiences. In my interactions with students, especially Filipino-American students, our shared cultural background has proven to be important in building relationships.

There’s not a week I look forward to in my job more than STEP Program, a summer bridge program for incoming first-year, first-generation, and under-represented students at UCSB. I have served as a transitional facilitator for the last four years, and it’s one of the most fulfilling personal/professional experiences I have ever done in my career. STEP Program has a special place in my life. I was a student in the program in 1991, and I was also a Resident Assistant in 1994. I met some of my life-long friends through this program and became friends with some students who have also considered me my mentor.

A few years ago, this program was for two weeks, and unfortunately, due to budget cuts, the program was reduced to one week. Even so, it is remarkable how much transformation happens with the students. I enjoy watching their confidence grow and their connections with other students within this short week. It’s a testament to how well the program is designed and the dedication of the staff and volunteers.

STEP Program facilitation is not one of my responsibilities as an IT Director. My job description does not mention working with students in a classroom setting, nor does working with first-generation students. But my interaction with the students through my role as a facilitator drives my purpose. It reminds me of why my job matters and who I work for. I don’t work for my supervisors; I work for students. In the end, while the systems I help develop with my technical teams enable our business staff and departments to be able to serve the personal development and learning of thousands of students at a mass scale, I would like to believe the personal interactions our faculty, staff, and the relationships our students develop with their peer’s matter as much towards a fulfilling college career.

When I read the students’ reflections of their STEP experience at the end of the program, I get the sense of how much they value the program and how much more confident and comfortable they are with their transition into UCSB. Personally, the STEP program provides me with the opportunity to build connections with the students. Even if most of them will never contact me again, I consider it a privilege and honor to be a part of their introduction to their new lives at UCSB. My one-week STEP experience is enough to nourish my soul and provide me with motivation and a sense of purpose for the rest of the year.

One of the important lessons I have learned in my career is the value of sharing my responsibilities (and accolades) with others and being careful about taking on more duties than I am able to handle. I’ve come to learn that over-committing myself and not being able to fulfill my part do result in me becoming a bottleneck to my organization and to other colleagues. The ability to say no and to remain focus on key priorities, in my opinion, are very important management skills I am in the process of learning. Too often, in our effort to please our customers/partners by trying to meet all their demands, we find ourselves having to compromise in the quality of our work and worse, we end up failing to deliver quality work in a timely manner. This is easier said than done given the seemingly infinite projects that need to be done with scarce resources. In addition to trying to please customers beyond my capacity, there were other reasons as to why I found myself over-extended. As I reflect back on my career, I think about why was it that I fell into the trap of committing beyond what I was able to deliver. Here are just a few reasons:

– Saying “no” meant jeopardizing future opportunities. Especially during my early part of my career, I thought I had to accept every tasks given to me or risk not advancing in my career.

– I fell into the trap of “hero mentality”. I felt I had to solve every problem that came my way, because that’s what heroes do. Did it feel good being recognized for being the “hero”? Absolutely, but I soon found out I was getting burnt out as I was working too many hours. I also found out being a “hero” also brought out professional jealousy from others who may have also wanted to be the “hero”.

– I felt the need to establish my areas of authority/boundaries when I was promoted to a higher position. Areas of responsibilities don’t always match what is in the job description as duties are not always exclusive to a position. Sometimes, there are more than one person responsible for the same duties.

– I thought I was the only one capable enough to do the job. I had the “expert” mentality. This was a bad mentality, especially in a team lead role. Not only is it a selfish/arrogant mentality, it’s also not sustainable nor is it scalable. When I was the only person who knew how the applications I developed work, I had to do the maintenance myself and that prevented me from moving on to new projects.

– I viewed every projects/tasks as critical/high priorities requiring immediate resolutions. Instead of spending some time analyzing the appropriate response required and planning what needed to be done, I immediately went to work fixing issues/projects that came my way.

I think I’ve changed my ways as I became more experienced and more mature in how I deal with my responsibilities/career. I’ve learned to “let go” and not feel as if I have to take on every responsibilities that come my way. In a way, taking on too much beyond my means seems selfish. I had to change my ways in part, it was out of necessity as I found myself being burned out and not having the appropriate blend of work/personal lifestyle. It was also a commitment on my end as a supervisor to model what I think is the right approach to work to my team members and other colleagues. I’ve come to learn, through experience, the benefits of not always being the one to take on every responsibility. Do I always succeed in my attempt to stop over-extending myself? Of course not. But, I am more careful about putting myself in situations where I may not be able to fulfill my responsibilities.

I have heard other folks say good ideas come when they’re in the shower. Could it be because that’s one of the few minutes within our busy days we actually get to think freely and not get distracted with the worries and issues we must face at work and in our lives?

It’s been a hectic year at work. We started several major projects and maintenance of existing systems kept increasing. This is a sign of the increasing role of technology in how we do business in student affairs and on our campus. In my role as  information systems director, most of my time is spent in meetings from steering committees, oversight committees, project work groups, and with my supervisors. These meetings are in addition to managing resources, providing leadership and support to my staff, working with our business units to plan projects and to solve unexpected issues. There were times when I had to remind myself to step back and take on tasks one at a time. It’s been stressful and I definitely felt drained and frustrated at times. I took a much needed vacation this week with the goals to just read, write, and review my future career goals. It’s been awhile since I’ve actually had the time to think and reflect. As I think about why I felt so frustrated at times, I began to realize what I stopped doing the last few months — I stopped learning, thinking/dreaming about new ideas, and reflecting on growth and accomplishments. I was so busy at work managing that I had gotten away from the two activities I enjoy and used to spend a lot of my time on – reading and blogging. I read  a lot of books in 2013 but not so much this year.

I’ve only written a few blog posts this year as well. One of the many things I enjoy about blogging and reading was that one idea led to another and when different topics like politics, history, culture, and technologies came together, there was a sense of personal satisfaction in being able to synthesize these different perspectives. It was even more fun when I was able to apply what I’ve learned to my work. For me, learning and reflecting energize me. To be able to dream about the future in a world filled with pessimism and constraints is liberating. To be able to reflect and document on my  challenges, and accomplishments this past year also provided me with a sense of growth and progress. It’s hard to fully appreciate the blessings and the relationships I’ve developed without spending some time reflecting on them.

It’s amazing how easily we can get into the routine of just dealing with what’s immediately in front of us and forget to dream about possibilities and reflect on our experiences. Taking some time away from our day-to-day grind is healthy and something we should all consider.