In this episode, Mark shares a unique path to America and into the higher ed profession, which provides him with a catalyst for his inclusion work at the University of Michigan. He explores his upbringing abroad and what it gave to him as he immigrated to the US. Learn more about Mark’s experience in committing to serving student needs, nurturing more empathy, and building resilience. It’s a fun episode full of great morsels of advice from Mark that we know you’ll enjoy!
About Mark:
Mark Chung Kwan Fan is an Asian Mauritian-born and immigrated to the U.S. at 19 years young. He currently serves as the Assistant Director for Engagement at the Spectrum Center at University of Michigan. With a student-centered approach, he approaches his work with a racial and gender justice foci. His past experience revolves in areas of housing and residence life, honors college, international student orientation and support, and identity-based initiatives.
Show Highlights:
- Learn about Mark’s distinct perspective as someone who grew up abroad 07:28
- Hear more about the important work Mark is doing at University of Michigan 18:53
- Mark shares his story of how he arrived to the US and how it relates to arriving to his inclusion work 25:56
- Mark shares a simple but resonant professional lesson about empathy 30:38
- Explore Mark’s perspective on self-care and his advice to other inclusion professionals 32:01
- Check out the great podcasts Mark recommends as resources 35:04
Notable Quotes:
- “[In regards to his perspective on the work he does] Instead of saying, ‘that what we should so that’s what we’ll do’, we definitely try to listen to what our student population need from us.” 21:11
- “Something I try to practice…whoever I interact with, whether that person is privileged or not, is really come from a place of empathy. I’ve learned so much about different people by empathizing with what they’re going through.” 30:45
- “Define what self-care and resilience means for you. It is different based on which identities you hold, experiences you’ve had.” 32:45
- Inspirational quote from Yuri Kochiyama:
“Unless we know ourselves and our history, and other people and their history, there is really no way that we can really have positive kind of interaction where there is real understanding.” 40:51
Links Mentioned:
- Code Switch
- Gettin’ Grown
- Scholar Tea
- NASPA API Knowledge Community
- Connect with Mark:
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