Running head: ARTIFACT B: MISSION STATEMENT

Artifact B: Mission Statement

Willa Kurland

Seattle University
ARTIFACT B: MISSION STATEMENT 1

Guiding my work is my commitment to curiosity, to critical thinking, to reflection, and to

celebrating and embracing opportunity. At a young age I understood that my story and my

identity would define how the rest of the world saw me. In college, navigating multiple

identities, I became aware of the ways in which systems and institutions could and do define my

academic and professional trajectory (Abes, Jones, & McEwen, 2007; Hurtado, Dey, Gurin, &

Gurin, 2003). As an Asian American, transracial adoptee, daughter, sister, friend, woman of

color, and life-long learner, I make meaning of my salient identities, centering my professional

identity in opportunity, advocacy, and hope (Baxter Magolda, 2008; Kim, 2012).

I am an advocate for educational opportunities that will empower those at the margins

and I am passionate about access, equity, and community engagement among individuals and

communities. In this work, my community grounds me, as a point of departure for making

change. Paulo Freire once wrote, “It is imperative that we maintain hope even when the

harshness of reality may suggest the opposite”. These words frame my ability to persist in

moments of challenge. Even in the most daunting situations, for the students I work alongside, I

will maintain hope. I will value and teach authenticity, I will be a builder of community, and I

will create change, one conversation at a time.

In these distinct ways, I am committed to lifelong learning, to advocacy and creating a

legacy of value driven work. Whether it is a paper I write, a student I advise, or a committee I’m

part of, my identity as a scholar and practitioner is rooted in my passion for elevating voices that

often go unheard (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). Today it is my professional responsibility to do

as mentors have done for me, to lift others as I climb. The completion of this graduate degree is a

celebration of those who have contributed to my success both in and out of the classroom.
ARTIFACT B: MISSION STATEMENT 2

References

Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R., & McEwen, M. K. (2007). Reconceptualizing the model of multiple

dimensions of identity: The role of meaning-making capacity in the construction of

multiple identities. Journal of College Student Development, 48 , 1– 22.

Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2008). Three Elements of Self-Authorship. Journal of College Student

Development, 49(4), 269-284.

Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical race theory: An introduction. New York: New York

University Press.

Hurtado, S., Dey, E. L., Gurin, P. Y., & Gurin, G. (2003). College environments, diversity, and

student learning. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and

research, Volume XVIII (pp. 145– 189). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

Kim, J. (2012). Asian American racial identity development theory. In C. L. Wijeyesignhe & B.

W. Jackson, III (Eds.), New perspectives on racial identity development: Integrating

emerging frameworks (2nd ed., pp. 138– 160). New York: New York University Press.