Greetings!

I hope this message finds you well as we all prepare for the end of our highly anticipated Spring semester! Indeed, this has been a loaded semester for many, but through hard work, dedication, and perseverance--we rose above each invisible barrier presented our way. These past few months since the last publication of our inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Newsletter, "The Voice," we've had so many innovative initiatives happen during the month of April and May.

To begin, we were elated to launch our Multicultural Celebration and Lavender Celebration Ceremonies. Indeed, during these challenging times when Covid-19 took over, many of us were unable to partake in a lot of our end of the school year traditions, such as graduation, prom, etc., Indeed, Covid-19 stripped us of a plethora of gatherings, yet we continued to rise above these invisible barriers as we grew closer and unified among our families, friends, colleagues, and the global communities at large.

Indeed, the world became much smaller and committed to ending the pandemic, which we continue to battle today. Here at West Liberty University's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion--we heard each others' cries for giving our students a second chance to celebrate not only prom--but also a safe space to celebrate our unique differences during our historic Multicultural and Lavender celebrations. We are truly ahead of the curve as one of the few institutions in our country providing such innovative events for our students. And we take great pride in cultivating our diversity and inclusion through innovative events such as the aforementioned

Moreover, we also celebrated Sexual Assault and Awareness Month with a spread of events on campus, including educational programming from offices and student organizations have taken place to help promote awareness and education.

As many of us have been faced with challenges this academic year--it is refreshing to know that our university stands in solidarity to rise above each challenge presented our way this 2021-2022 academic year. West Liberty University's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is committed to providing events, workshops, and a judge free zone to share, learn, and grow. We are on the move; and we are excited about our continued onward and upward initiatives towards celebrating diversity, equity, and inclusion at West Virginia's state treasure, West Liberty University. Stay tuned for an explosive and stimulating 2022-2023 academic school year, for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be unveiling our line up of exciting events for the highly anticipated year ahead. In the words of Pat Wador, “When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become wiser, more inclusive, and better as an organization.”