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Behind the Scenes of our Sponsored Sessions: Take 1

Socioeconomic and Class Issues in Higher Education
February 20, 2015

We are so thrilled to be able to cosponsor three sessions at the 2015 NASPA Annual Conference in New Orleans next month! Each session touches on an issue that we feel is central to the Socioeconomic and Class Issues in Higher Education knowledge community and can spark some real reflection, so make sure to bring a colleague. In the Behind the Scenes series we will feature the presentors of those sessions and find out a little bit about them, their session, and their advice for us as professionals. 

Sonja Ardoin is co-presenting:

Movin' On Up! The Complex Navigation of Shifting from Low Class to Middle Class Ways of LIfe for Student Affairs Practitioners        Program ID - 14147

1. What brought you to this work (of studying social class in higher education)?

My own life experiences are what draw me to studying and advocating for social class awareness and equity in higher education. I grew up in a low income family in a low income area of a low income state. In short, folks were poor and faced all the inequities that arise from being poor, including lack of many kinds of capital that make navigating higher education even more daunting. I want to help create easier paths and more equitable systems in higher education for others who face class issues. 

2. What will student affairs professionals take away from your session?

I hope that student affairs professionals find our session a welcoming space for sharing their own experiences, recognizing that they are not alone in the complexity of navigating social class systems combined with higher education systems, and generating ideas and strategies about how to help ourselves and others better navigate the types of capital and social class systems within higher education. 

3. What are you most looking forward to about New Orleans?

Getting a taste of home (literally and figuratively)! I am from Louisiana - a small town about 3 hours west of New Orleans - and have spent quite a bit of time in the city, so being at NASPA will allow me to feel at home for a bit. I am excited to share aspects of the city, such as music on Frechmen Street and beignets at Cafe de Monde, and my home state with colleagues. 

You heard it here first! Find Sonja for all the local recommendations. :)

4. What are you writing/reading these days to deepen your knowledge on the topic?

I just bought the NASPA Book Club suggestion Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams, which I am sad to say I had not heard of before (it would have been a great add to my dissertation literature!). I am further exploring Yosso's (2004, 2006) work on community cultural wealth, which I learned about at ASHE 2014. I think the framework showcases the many types of capital that can be impacted by social class. I am also working on two articles; the first is on my dissertation research on rural, low income, first generation students' processes of decoding university jargon and the second is with a colleague from University of Southern Mississippi about our shared experiences of trying to navigate the academy's faculty ranks as people with rural, low income, first generation backgrounds.

5. What advice would you offer student affairs professionals regarding social class in higher education (in terms of their own identities, and/or their work with students, and/or their influence on institutional policies/practices)?

Well, I am not sure what advice I would offer others, but I can tell you the advice I offer myself regularly around this topic.  I attempt to make, or keep making, social class awareness present in higher education.  I think this identity component is often forgotten or lost on our campuses.  We have people - students, staff, and faculty - at our institutions who struggle with the realities of their current or former social class, and its subsequent capitals, on a daily basis.  So, I try to be the person who brings up the "scholarship" availability for events and programs with fees to enable students without the financial means to still have those co-curricular experiences; the person who mentions that not every student has a smart phone to access the online guidebook or assessment; the person who considers that not all staff members may be able to contribute to the potluck; the person who asks about the "fancy" utensils at the faculty banquet; the person who plans the professional development session on cultural, social, or linguistic capital.  I seek to raise awareness and champion equity regarding social class.

6. Any final words of wisdom to share? 

I am not sure if it is wisdom, but I want to mention the reality of the impostor syndrome. The piece I struggle with most in growing up poor and now being middle class is the (sometimes overwhelming) dual impostor syndrome.  I do not ever feel quite accepted in the academy because I lack some of the types of capital that I "should have" or that the institution expects me to possess.  Similarly, I now feel that I do not quite fit in my hometown either because I have "made it" by getting a formal education and a "good paying" job.  I am often told that I "don't talk like them [my fellow Cajuns] anymore," "dress up too much," and am "too good" for the rural, low income area.  It is odd to not feel fully accepted anywhere because of the stereotypes and expectations around specific contexts and social class.  I share this because it is true and because I think some of our colleagues may have similar experiences.  

Thank you for your insights Sonja, we look forward to your session! Check back next week for her co-presenter's responses.