b'A MISSION Working in student life provides a way forme to be able to connect with studentsADVOCACY and influence changes that impact their OFacademic growth, which then impactstheir family and their communityDR. TERRENCE BROOKSEd.D. in Organizational Leadership 22Prospective students would tell mewas encouraging. Some graduatesopportunities exist and we need to that they could see the benefit inhave gone on to earn bachelors be able to initiate change and build pursuing a degree, but the system and masters degreeseven one another up. is communicating the idea thatforming LLCs and working with maybe they dont belong. youth in the community. Terrence feels a responsibility to be a voice for others, which he During conversations with otherThe next step was to find out whatalso has done outside his work in administrators in the campusother schools were doing and gethigher education. Committed to community about the applicationto the root behind the review ofusing leadership to make his own review process, Terrence discoveredcriminal backgroundspecificallyneighborhood better, he and a his doctoral dissertation researchat the community college level.partner collaborated on a project topic: Community CollegeFor the project, Terrence engagedfor the United Way and PACT Administrators Attitudes and Beliefsadministrators at two community(Partners Achieving Community About Criminal Background Reviewscolleges in the Midwest toTransformation), in which they During Enrollment Processes. understand their beliefs aboutestablished a local chapter of how criminal background checksRescuing Leftover Cuisine, a national Terrence began with his owninformed their risk managementnonprofit aimed at redistributing thinking process. As a higherpractices and their commitmentfood to those experiencing food education insider, what wereto equity within the communityinsecurity. Early on, he served on the his contributions to the currentcollege environment.board of directors for Kaleidoscope situation? His institution was Youth Center, an Ohio-based offering programs on campus toWith full understanding of the data,organization supporting LGBTQIA+ Dr. Terrence Brooks recently marked a significant achievement: The completionremove some of the barriers, butas well as the personal experienceyouth. Currently, Terrence is a there was acknowledgment thatbehind it, Terrence presented hismember of the board of trustees for of his Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership. Initially, like many first-generationbarriers, including some that were research to Columbus States BoardStonewall Columbus, an organization college students, his motivation stemmed from the desire to make his mothersystemic, were still in place.of Trustees. Through unanimousdedicated to increasing visibility, vote, the question was removedinclusion and connection for the proud. However, continuing his education also enabled his evolution as a servantIn the short term, he beganfrom the admission application.LGBTQ+ community.leader who is committed to ensuring that marginalized voices are heard. to communicate differently. Transparency was a piece of theThe degrees Ive earned and theI like to be in community. Whenpuzzle that was missing. A commonexperiences Ive had werent justyou do that, you hear things andperception among individuals withfor me. They were opportunitiesyou figure out where the voids are With more than 20 years of experience in higherSeveral years ago, Terrences focus became verycriminal backgrounds was that theto be able to connect with othersand then you use your skills in the education, including 11 years at the community specific when he was asked to oversee the enrollmentexistence of questions regardingin the community to illustrate thatbest way you can.college-level, Dr. Terrence Brooks currently serves process for individuals with criminal backgrounds whocriminal history meant they would as senior director of student engagement, leadership sought to earn associate degrees. For a majority ofbe automatically excluded. In reality, and inclusion, at Columbus State Community College.people, completing a college admission application is98% of students who answered the routine information sharing. However, for an individualquestions affirmatively had no issue. Working in student life provides a way for me to bewith a criminal background, its a barrier to entry thatWeve had people who haveTo read more of Dr. Brooks dissertation, go to:able to connect with students and influence changesis at odds with the inclusive mission of many collegescompleted the re-entry programfuse.franklin.edu/docpub/82/that impact their academic growth, which then impactsand universitiesespecially community colleges, whichbecome champions for it and that their family and their community, Terrence said. are historically open enrollment institutions.24 Clocktower | Impacting Change Clocktower | Impacting Change 25'