Advancing Student Success:
A Conversation with CSU’s APIDA Leaders

Raji Kaur Brar
Member, CSU Board of Trusteess

How does your unique APIDA heritage and your lived experiences shape your leadership style?

As a first-generation Punjabi Sikh American woman, the way I move in the world has everything to do with my ever-changing, complicated, yet beautiful relationship with my ethnic identity. As is the case with many eldest first-generation Punjabi daughters, I had to help my family navigate life, living in two cultures simultaneously. I was raised to consider the well-being of others first and to consider the impact of my decisions on not just myself but, rather, on the collective whole, my family and my community. I believe my upbringing has served me well, as I have naturally undertaken a servant leadership style.

How do you use your leadership platform to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to dream big and pursue their goals? What inspires you to do this important work, day in and day out?

Growing up, I never saw anyone who looked like me in any position of power. I believe it's hard to be what you can't see. For me, being able to serve on the CSU Board of Trustees as the first-ever Sikh is empowering in and of itself.

The CSU places high importance on providing a welcoming environment for students from all backgrounds. How do you ensure that the CSU supports all students on their path to earning a degree?​

For us to make any substantive progress as an institution, as a community, as a people, we must ensure that all people, regardless of what they look like, or where they came from, are included in all decisions that impact their life.

I understand that I am the promise of the CSU actualized. The opportunities afforded me by the CSU are the very reason that I was appointed to the board. Born and raised in the Central Valley, I am a first-generation Sikh American. My parents immigrated to the United States from Punjab, India and began their life in the States working in the fields as farmworkers. My parents eventually separated, and I was raised by a single mother who, due to being illiterate, had limited options for employment. She worked mostly in the fields but was thrilled the day she landed her dream job at Burger King and no longer had to work outside in the sweltering sun.

As a child, I was keenly aware that the proverbial odds, both financially and culturally, were stacked against me. However, my mother taught me there was a sure-fire way to beat these odds, and that was by getting an education. My mother would always tell me that education is a life partner, that it would never leave me and, more importantly,​ that no one could take it from me. By obtaining my bachelor o​f science in biology and master's in health care administration [from California State University, Bakersfield], I became the first one in my family to graduate from college. The upward mobility my college education gave me was life changing. Due to my degree, I obtained a good-paying job with benefits that, in turn, gave me the ability to purchase a new home and a new car.

However, the most important thing my degree did for me was elevate my confidence and self-worth. As a young Sikh woman, being part of a very patriarchal community, I had a lot of obstacles to overcome and by obtaining my degree and my financial freedom, I finally had the ability to make decisions of my own free will.

I have the lived experience of understanding how critical the CSU is in its role as an inclusive environment for students from all backgrounds.​​​

Wenda Fong​
MEMBER​, CSU Board of Trustees

How does your unique APIDA heritage and your lived experiences shape your leadership style?

I’m a very optimistic person, and I always strive to focus on the positive in life. It’s a disposition that has served me well, and I’d like to think its origins were grounded in my family’s history.

My grandparents came to California from China over 100 years ago. Like so many immigrants before and since, they were drawn to America, the land of opportunity. They came, my mother often told me, so that with the transformative power of education, their children and grandchildren would never have to lift anything heavier than a pencil.

I grew up in Sacramento in a house my father built. He died when I was just seven, so it was my mother who raised our family’s five children. My mother was born in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and she would often recount stories about her father—my grandfather—who worked four jobs as a cook to provide a better life and future for his family.

No matter what life threw at them, my ancestors worked hard, they never gave up and they persevered—all while helping those around them with a boundless sense of determination, positivity and optimism. I have always aspired to follow in their footsteps—to make them proud and to maximize the opportunities they afforded me.

How do you use your leadership platform to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to dream big and pursue their goals? What inspires you to do this important work, day in and day out?

The CSU is a national leader in inclusive excellence and driving social mobility, and we take great pride in serving and empowering students from all walks of life to achieve economic independence and meaningful careers. From San Diego in the south to Humboldt, 800 miles to the north, our universities are places where students discover their passions, form their dreams and strive to get every ounce out of an educational journey of a lifetime.

I always advise people to remain open to opportunities, whether they are just starting out in their careers or they are industry veterans. You never know where you’ll find a new prospect or passion. When you least expect it, a new, exciting and meaningful opportunity may be waiting for you—right around the corner. And I am the beneficiary of just that.

After 40-plus years as a producer and director in a career that has exceeded my grandest dreams, serving as a trustee and as the first Asian American chair of the CSU Board of Trustees has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to advance the CSU’s mission and elevate lives and communities through higher education.

Helping the CSU’s remarkable students—California’s diverse and highly educated workforce of the future—to envision and pursue their dreams and new opportunities is what keeps me constantly inspired.

The CSU places high importance on providing a welcoming environment for students from all backgrounds. How do you ensure that the CSU supports all students on their path to earning a degree?​

​At the CSU, we foster an inclusive climate so that all individuals are respected and feel an authentic sense of belonging. College isn’t just about gaining knowledge and real-world experience. It’s also about feeling like you belong—and making lifelong friends along the way. No matter your ethnicity, identity, background or interests, a welcoming environment awaits you at the CSU.

I know what it’s like to feel alone, the first, the only. From the very start of my career, I had to cut my own professional path, and I sometimes struggled. I was often the only woman and the only person of color in the room. I like to say I’ve had two parallel careers—one in entertainment and one in mentoring and uplifting others. As I climbed the professional ladder, I always looked for opportunities and ways to support others—especially women and people of color—so they didn’t have to struggle in the same ways I did. I did this because representation is important. It matters in entertainment; it matters in higher education; and it matters in every facet of life.

That commitment followed me into higher education. While my professional pursuits—and helping others along the way—have been rewarding, my ultimate honor is serving on the Board of Trustees of the CSU. This is a place where the nation’s most economically and ethnically diverse student body has access to an affordable, high-quality education that will forever change their lives, elevate their families and communities and change our world.

​Jose Antonio Vargas
Member, CSU Board of Trustees

How does your unique APIDA heritage and your lived experiences shape your leadership style?

I come from a family of gamblers. My Lolo (grandfather) gambled on a better future when he immigrated to California from the Phillipines, and he later gambled on my future when he decided that I should come to America at 12 years old to live with him. We are not afraid to make bold moves for what we see as the better good. Moreover, being an undocumented immigrant means making things work by any means necessary. No option is invalid to me.

How do you use your leadership platform to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to dream big and pursue their goals? What inspires you to do this important work, day in and day out?

After I discovered I was undocumented, I didn't think I could attend college, as state financial aid wasn't an option at the time, and felt defeated. But staff and faculty at my high school—including the principal, Pat Hyland, and the superintendent, Rich Fischer—were determined to send me to college​. Ultimately, they identified a scholarship program that did not ask or care about my immigration status, and I received a four-year scholarship to attend San Francisco State University. I want to use my leadership platform to pay it forward, to empower and allow others to not let their situations hinder them in life.

The CSU places high importance on providing a welcoming environment for students from all backgrounds. How do you ensure that the CSU supports all students on their path to earning a degree?

Since coming out as undocumented and starting Define American, a media advocacy organization, I've worked to humanize immigrants in America, to create conditions for policies and politics rooted in human rights. Inclusion in higher education similarly fosters a culture based on shared values and belonging. And we ensure this happens by carving out as many pathways as possible for students from all background to attend our schools.

Darlene Yee-Melichar
Faculty Trustee, CSU Board of Trustees

How does your unique APIDA heritage and your lived experiences shape your leadership style?

I’m the oldest of five children raised in a traditional, multi-generational household; my parents and grandparents raised us speaking Chinese. Thanks to an outstanding public-school education, I learned English as a second language and later qualified for admission to the Bronx High School of Science, a specialized public high school initially for boys only located in New York City. Gender equity was still an issue 50 years ago when I attended high school there. I was expected to graduate, get a job and marry; however, with family support, financial aid, scholarships and a work-study job, I was able to attend Barnard College—a women’s college—where girls were exposed to amazing role models and excellent support in building confidence and competency skills.

I was proud to be the first in my family to earn a baccalaureate degree, while also serving as a student government leader. Upon graduation and thanks to employee tuition waivers, I earned three graduate degrees, allowing me to nudge the “glass ceiling.” I’m proud to have become a tenured full professor with 35 years at San Francisco State, 24 years on San Francisco State’s Academic Senate and 18 years on the Academic Senate CSU.

Consequently, as the first person of color, first Asian American and the first Chinese American woman to serve as CSU Faculty Trustee, I leverage my leadership efforts by drawing upon my APIDA heritage and lived experiences that shaped me: appreciation for family support and advice from elders, esteem for teaching and learning, high regard for hard work and grit and respect for integrity and resilience. These cultural values and lived experiences informed who I became as a leader and are often reflected in my transformational/servant leadership styles. I often seek input to build consensus, encourage, inspire and motivate teamwork in ways that create meaningful change, and foster an inclusive environment that enables everyone to contribute and become involved.

How do you use your leadership platform to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to dream big and pursue their goals? What inspires you to do this important work, day in and day out?

My continuing enthusiasm to serve as CSU Faculty Trustee stems from a keen commitment to shared governance in higher education, the structures and processes through which students, faculty, staff, administration and governing boards participate in the development of policies and in decision-making that affect the institution. I believe that we all benefit from the “3 Cs” (communication, consultation and collaboration) and the different perspectives that shared leadership warrants. As CSU Faculty Trustee, I’ll continue to be committed to the shared interests that our campus and system constituents collectively represent. I’m a good listener and will build bridges whenever possible. I work well as a team member. I believe in consultation, collaboration and partnership on important concerns and issues facing public higher education and affecting our students, faculty and staff.

In order to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff, I proudly assert that the CSU degree is a public good, that it’s an excellent investment of public funds and that it benefits and uplifts our communities. I’ll be unyielding in my support of high-quality and innovative education that is accessible, affordable and eliminates equity gaps so that our distinctive system of public higher education can excel and thrive. I’ll commend our students, faculty and staff who bring different expertise and experiences to their roles as learners and educators, and uphold a diversity of scholarly interests, viewpoints, learning and teaching styles. By harnessing the collective expertise and experiences of our diverse community members, everyone may be inspired and empowered with fresh perspectives and creative new ways of dreaming big and pursuing their goals.

The CSU places high importance on providing a welcoming environment for students from all backgrounds. How do you ensure that the CSU supports all students on their path to earning a degree?​

E​nsuring an inclusive environment for all students requires a multifaceted approach. This includes fostering a culture of respect, providing diverse resources and support, and actively addressing systemic inequities. In my role as the CSU Faculty Trustee, I actively advocate for policies and practices that promote equity and inclusion at the campus and system levels; work closely with campus leaders, faculty and staff to develop and implement inclusive initiatives; and monitor the progress of inclusive initiatives and hold the CSU accountable for closing equity gaps and ensuring that all students have equal opportunities to succeed.

As a first-generation college graduate—the first in my immediate family to earn a college degree—I discovered early on the important skills of empathy, listening, watching and being inclusive of others with different life and work experiences. As an educator and leader, I make sure to listen to the concerns and needs of students and engage with community stakeholders to ensure that the CSU is a truly inclusive and welcoming environment for all. By working together, I am hopeful that the CSU will create a more inclusive and equitable environment where all students can thrive and achieve their academic and personal goals.