BY Christina devries [SHE/they] | Director of Development
I remember writing my intro blog nearly four years ago and wondering what my life would look like when I left Students United. Why would I be saying farewell? Where would I be headed? What would we have done while I was here?
Now, that day has come. I’m heading to return to art and perhaps public health work. When I started, I certainly didn’t imagine a global pandemic that would put our fundraising on pause or transitioning to a more remote work world. But we’ve done a lot more together than just weathering that storm.
We’ve encountered a lot of what I call money feelings. How did talking about money growing up influence how you think about money now? What do we think about students giving or raising money? How do students think and feel about fees? Is our budget accurately reflecting our work? Are there places we want or don’t want to ask for support?
We began to build a fundraising program based on Community-Centric Principles e.g., fundraising must be grounded in race, equity, and social justice; time is valued equally as money; we foster a sense of belonging, not othering. We launched a new, five-year strategic plan, and we revamped the Campus Coordinator Program into the Student Leadership Program. There were multiple trips to D.C., including a special alumni trip. We launched a campaign with the spiciest name to date: FCK Student Debt and the Student Debt Cancellation Fund. We must not forget, we celebrated. 55 years of centered student voice and better policies in higher education should be celebrated every day this year! *Also, there is a new celebration in the works for mid-February with the stunning Scholarship and Alumni Advisory Board, so stay tuned!
All this work was funded by students, people in our community, and even some earned grants. Behind each student fee, or donation, or grant – there are people. People who care, people who are generous, and people who believe in the power of organized students. The connection of those things coming together was always the best part of my time here.
I say we in this see-ya-later- blog because we did this together. Plus, the people you’re doing the work with – whatever the work is – are often the most enduring. Sometimes we’re good at mentioning this and sometimes we forget. But the moments of learning together and loving accountability, hard, easy, or with tears, are the lessons that stick. The truest job any of us really have is to love – to love and care for one another and work towards the freest self imaginable under the constraints our world currently imposes.
As I move on, I know that love was given here, received, and traversed throughout our time together. Like the others who have also transitioned away, I’ll still be cheering for this organization. I’ll just be in a different seat.
Take immaculate care of yourselves,
Christina