Facing discomfort

Author Rose Moya is project manager for CAEN and for Dean’s Initiatives at the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. This post is part of a series by the members of Michigan Engineering’s Staff Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Culture Committee.

When I was asked to write a blog for the University of Michigan College of Engineering, I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a bit intimidated. When they said it had to be related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), I became downright terrified! So I started asking myself a list of questions.

Why is it so uncomfortable? What am I scared about? What am I supposed to talk about? Why are they asking me to do this? Is this what I signed up for? How can I get over this fear?

Well, here I am, writing a blog post about DEI to answer all of those questions for myself and anyone else that is a little fearful to embrace discussions about DEI.

Why is this so uncomfortable? I am a project manager. I don’t feel that I am by any means qualified to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion.

What am I scared about? I am afraid people will laugh at what I write. Even more so, I am afraid I will say the wrong things and upset someone. And it will be unintentional because I feel like I am a kind person with a big heart. I don’t want to say something wrong.

What am I supposed to talk about? I cannot talk about a specific DEI topic because I am not qualified. I can talk about me, my lack of confidence in this area, my effort to get past it.

Why are they asking me to do this? Duh! Because I volunteered to be a part of the Staff Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Culture Committee.

And, oh yeah! I submitted this as my quote on the website: “It is a great honor to be a part of such a relevant team at the college. I am excited to be a voice and an ear for the staff so we can all learn to appreciate and leverage our differences to create an environment in which everyone feels valued and respected.” I said this. I need to live this.

Is this what I signed up for? YES!!!

How am I ever going to do this? The blog. It is almost done, so check.

The quote. I am going to continue to step outside of my comfort zone. I am going to keep challenging myself to answer the difficult questions. I am going to take advantage of the resources the college is providing to create awareness around the subjects of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

I encourage you to do the same because, together, we can make this environment the most inclusive and welcoming it can be.

Learn more about the College’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion initiatives.