 My name is Virginia Booth-Womack, I direct the minority engineering program at Purdue University and I mentor engineers, many of which are black. And some of the things that I see when I talk to students is their need to really know that they belong here. Not because they're black, but because they're good students. The students that get into Purdue are some of the highest-performing students in the nation. Yet when they get here, oftentimes they're excluded. They're not welcomed or invited, you know, as an intentional gesture. And that's problematic because students, just like you and I, we can tell when we're appreciated, we can tell when someone values us and we can tell when someone would rather not participate with us or not be involved with us or not include us. You don't have to open your mouth, you can feel it. And I know that some of these things that students feel can just emanate just from them, but a lot of it is coming from the other side, from you, from me, and from others. That maybe because of the busyness of the day we just aren't paying attention or maybe intentionally we don't think that all students are equal or that all students belong here or that they deserve to be pursuing engineering at Purdue. And, you know, as you talk to students and as you listen to students, you're going to hear their stories and you're going to feel what they're saying. It's not just words. These words are connected to real emotions. So when you have students in your classroom, you can be intentional in making sure they know they're appreciated or you can be intentional in making sure that they're understanding or if they have any questions. You can be intentional just in letting them know that you see, you hear, and you care about all students. And I think that's what students that I service, most of the African-American students, they just want to know that they're seen as equals. I have students that may be working 30 hours a week and they're studying in the center every day because they want to make sure that they do everything they can to be successful. So with their scholarship dollars, yes. I'm going to look to make sure that any student that comes to me, if there's a way that we can help them, we're going to do all that we can to support student success. I believe that there are instances where, not I believe, I know there are instances where racism is experienced by students. Not just at Purdue, but across the nation. We hear the cries of students all over the country. And it's our job to really pay attention to that. We ask ourselves, what can I do different? I want to know what I can do different as a program director. And I've discovered that I've held students to a higher standard than I do others, especially if they're black. That's not okay. I put undue pressure on students because I want to make sure they can prove that they deserve to be here, and they already deserve to be here. The fact that they are at Purdue means they should be here and they should be successful. So I'm looking for ways that I can be better, that I can be more inclusive, more attentive to what students need because they are successful in my mind and they will be successful in this world. And I'm asking you, what can you do different? What are things about yourself as a teacher, as another student at Purdue, as an alum? What can you do different? How can you reach out and make sure that we are addressing the needs that students have? Thank you for thinking about it. And I'm looking forward to your response.