The Office of Diversity Initiatives is more than an office. It's a community.

Description of the video:

Jordan Davis, BS’22, Marketing and International Business; Hometown: Dayton, OH:
The Kelley Office of Diversity Initiatives is full of people who are really invested in the success of underrepresented students.

Jonah Katz, BS ’21, Marketing and Technology Management; Hometown: Indianapolis, IN:
People who come from backgrounds that are normally not represented in the business community, they can come here and they can feel supported and immediately have a home in KODI.

Carmund White, Director of Diversity Initiatives:
The Kelley Office of Diversity Initiatives is a family. We are a community of students, staff, faculty, support administrators. We're here to support you, as you go through college, in every possible way.

Jordan:
When you come to college, there's a lot thrown at you. There's different organization announcements, you know, you have classes that you've probably never even heard of and you're trying to make friends. It's just a lot. There are so many advisors and staff members that are completely willing to do anything for any student that's involved. They'll always make time for you.

Jonah:
You can text them, call them anytime of the day and they're just so willing to help because to them, we're not just another student.

Carmund:
You will have an opportunity to have a mentor, you will have an academic advisor, you will have advocacy, you'll have support. It's a one-stop shop for students.

Jordan:
KODI is going to make sure that you're on track with your classes. KODI advisors are constantly checking in, making sure, you know, have you taken this prerequisite? Have you heard about this class?

Jonah:
My advisor, Carmund White, is one of the single biggest reasons that I've been able to navigate IU and Kelley with such ease. Anytime I have a question, I can email him, I can text him. And because of how comfortable I feel reaching out to him, I've been able to develop a personal relationship with him. I know his wife, I know his kids. And I think that it's really special because I'm not just speaking to a college advisor. He's my friend.

Jordan:
I have gone to various advisors that have just sat there with me and listened to me cry or laugh or hear my successes or my lows. One relationship that's meant so much to me, is my advisor Jamie. And Jamie has been so amazing in my life. She'll go to Kroger with me and we'll do whatever, we would go to dinner. It really means a lot to me.

Carmund:
This is a place for you to get information on upcoming events that are happening at Kelley and across campus. It's a place for you to possibly get an opportunity to be a student leader.

Jordan:
It's really important that as a student leader, you're keeping a pulse on what's happening within the school because it's really not about you, it's about your students. And KODI has such a great pulse on how students are feeling.

Jonah:
I'm part of the KODI Student Advisory Board now. It's a group of students that facilitates KODI's vision, through student-involved activities. It's a really great way to get not just historically underrepresented students involved in KODI, but it also brings in majority students.

Jordan:
The times we face this year have been ridiculous. Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit every single person's life, but on top of that, you know, the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others. And it's really, really difficult to go to school and act like everything's normal. It's too much to carry on your own. Now more than ever, I have reached out for help to KODI because that support is there for times like this. And you really can't go through any of this by yourself, and you're not supposed to, because that's the whole point of a community.

Carmund:
The Kelley Office of Diversity Initiatives is committed to helping majority students who are interested become allies.

Jordan:
If you're a part of a majority white organization and you want some sort of diversity training or you want to know what is a microaggression or, you know, what is this trauma that black students keep talking about, they will come and talk to you about it.

Jonah:
All throughout the year, KODI puts on events to raise awareness, around D and I topics and really just prepare people to go out into the world, ready to have productive discussions.

Jordan:
Everyone within that office is advocating for us to administration, to the greater part of IU and beyond. And that's really important to me to know that when I'm not in a room, someone is on my side fighting for me, fighting for my community.

Carmund:
The best part of my job is getting to know you, seeing what you want to do, how you want to change the world. And that's what we're both here for. So I welcome every opportunity to get to know you, as you endeavor to change the world because that's what I want to do too.

Jordan:
College is hard, and there are obviously academic stressors but there's a lot of social and cultural stressors you feel as well. And sometimes you just don't know where to turn. KODI is full of professional help and that's really important. When you want to show up as your best self, you need to have that outlet and that's what KODI is for me.

Jonah:
It's been the most consistent part of my experience at IU. It's really the one group of people that I can call, I can text, and I can rely on for anything. It's the same way that your family at home, they're the ones that you call for support. I feel like I have that through KODI.