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Dialogues Across the Decades, Part 4: Being the Change

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Episode Topic: Being the Change

Join Dr. Milo Dodson ’08 and a panel of intergenerational alumni, Dr. Dom (Dominic) Acri ’18, Savanna Morgan ’20, and Dominique DeMoe ’19, as they explore the legacy of the Balfour-Hessburg Scholars Program. Discover how “Being the Change” transcends individual success, fostering a communal ecosystem of advocacy that spans decades. Learn why betting on yourself is the first step toward institutional transformation.

Featured Speakers:

  • Dr. Milo Dodson '08, Belkin International, Inc.
  • Dr. Dom Acri '18, National Institute on Aging (Lab of Neurogenetics)
  • Savanna Morgan '20, Archive Ensemble
  • Dominique DeMoe ’19, ESPN

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/014175.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Dialogues Across the Decades: Conversations with Balfour-Hesburgh Scholars Program Alumni.

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Welcome and the Alumni Panel

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Peace and greetings, everybody. Welcome to the Dialogues Across Decades conversations with Balfour-Hessburg Scholars Program alumni, where we will share the legacy and impact of the Balfour-Hessburg Scholars Program at the University of Notre Dame. name is Dr. Miles Dodson, and I graduated from the class of 2008, and I have the honor and excitement today to be able to spend some time with you discussing our topic and focus, being the change. Now, before we jump in, want to definitely give gratitude and thanks to all of our co-sponsors of Dialogues Across Decades, including, of course, the Balfour-Hessburg Scholars Program and the Notre Dame Alumni Association. So I think what would be great if we can go around to do introductions to welcome each other. Uh, I will kick it over to Dr. Dom give your intro, and we shall go with maybe just say your name, class year, and super, super brief, uh, brief intro

Dom Acri, PhD

Great. I'll try to keep it brief. My name is Dr. Dominic Ackery. I, uh, am Notre Dame class of 2018, which means I did my Balfour summer in 2014. I also was involved with Balfour throughout the times, I think a couple other classes. And, um, after I graduated with my degree in neuroscience from Notre Dame, I got my PhD in neuroscience from Indiana University School of Medicine

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Right, we shall popcorn on over to Savannah

Savanna Morgan

Hello. I'll try to keep it brief. My name is Savannah Morgan. I'm a Notre Dame graduate, class of 2020, which means my Balfour Summer was in 2016. I also, after that, went on to get my master's in performance practice from Rose Bruford College's Berlin campus. Um, that, I continued doing performance research. I'm currently a member of the Archive Ensemble, which is a contemporary art book publisher in Berlin, Germany. I'm working in a remote hybrid role right now. I just relocated back to the United States last year/this year. It's kind of been a b- back and forth globe-trotting situation.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Very cool. And sh- we shall pop on over to the great Dominique

Dominique DeMoe

Hello, everyone. I am the other Dom. My name is Dominique DeMott, and I graduated from University of Notre Dame in 2019, which means my Balfour Summer was 2015. Um, I studied design and computer science, and I currently work for ESPN as a visuals editor and creative producer, which all boils down to me being a storyteller, and I love it. So we can get started.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Cool. Very cool. Thank you all. And to close out intros, uh, again, Dr. Milo Dodson. I am Balfour class of '04. Feeling quite old, especially with this mustache on my face right now. Um, and Notre Dame class of 2008. shout out to Carroll Hall, which was my home away from home and campus, uh, while I was at Notre Dame. So

Dominique DeMoe

Did you

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

get us

Dominique DeMoe

dye your hair?

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

we...

Dominique DeMoe

I'm so sorry to interrupt, but did you dye your hair blonde freshman year?

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

No. No, we did not. No, we did not. We were not doing that. I had... Listen, I had legitimate reasons, and you can call them excuses if you want, but they were legitimate reasons. I was not trying to be Cisco. Let's just,

Dominique DeMoe

I felt

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

this... Yeah. Yeah. We, Dom, we, we should actually make a point of that to, to tie that into, uh, being the change, uh, later today. So, okay. So let us focus in. Um, again, the focus, the topic today is being the change. and this gonna be for everybody just to, to kick us off. But I think what would be a helpful first question here is how did your Balfour experience really serve as a launchpad for advocacy, for activism, for feeling connected on campus? And anyone can, can kick us off here

Panelist Journeys: Belonging and Leadership

Savanna Morgan

I don't mind starting us off. So I think two things come to mind for me. One, meeting my best friend, Oluel Dol dol, who was also a 2016, uh, Balfour scholar. And then two, um, being connected with people who also were on a research trajectory, uh, in humanities and public arts research before I even knew that's the path I wanted to go down. I think-- So Oluel was the first Black person who I had met at Notre Dame, um, who wasn't... Just the first Black person I'd met at Notre Dame, and we ended up, um, forming this really close bond this summer, that summer that lasted 10 years, and it really grounded me. That sisterhood really grounded me in times where I felt very isolated, um, due to the obvious anti-Blackness that can occur in a PWI, a pre- predominantly white institution. And, um, it took, it took years before I was actually able to speak up and own my experience at Notre Dame because I came in really disoriented. I really didn't even know where I was. I-- It's kinda just a situation I just ended up in. I was a QuestBridge scholar, so I was matched to Notre Dame through the, um, program. I w- I, um, come from a Pentecostal Black ground. I know nothing ab- I knew nothing about Catholicism before. I, um, also grew up in a very racially diverse place, so there was a lot of culture shock that, um, I don't know how I would've dealt with if I hadn't been, um, in the Balfour ecosystem, uh, weeks before going into the, first semester at Notre Dame. Um, so that, with that looked like was, uh, forming lifelong friendships and also, um, connected to my research mentor who was, uh, uh, teaching in theology at Notre Dame my first two years as a student. He's now working at Fordham. His name is Dr. Rufus Burnett. He still, um, a very-- plays a very fundamental role in my independent research trajectory, working with, uh, Black sonic traditions and Black oral traditions as modes of knowledge production and, uh, memory, sustaining memory. Um, yeah. I think just Balfour-- I think Balfour played a really fundamental role in, in me build connections that, that are still, that have sustained themselves 10 year, 10, yeah, exactly 10 years later

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

A whole decade of connections and support and growth, and I love that. Thank you for, for sharing, Savannah.

Savanna Morgan

Of course

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Um, we shall go to Dominique, if you wanna share just maybe some ways that the Balfour Program supported your, uh, leadership development and/or kinda put you on a pathway for activism

Dominique DeMoe

Yeah, that's a really great question. I would say that Balfour was a very important time, like, important program during my time at Notre Dame. I'm lucky to be a part of it. I also made and sustained lifelong friendships. Um, and Balfour helped fund my summer study abroad to Greece, and I was able to gain a lot of experience through participating in the Summer Institute as a BIG, but also co-creating the Balfour Student Board and being a member of the inaugural leadership class. And, um, when I was an undergrad, my best friend, Jade Martinez, uh, myself and other members of our cohort kind of recognized that Balfour was a really great program. But outside of the Summer Institute at the time and the class that you take your freshman year, there wasn't a lot to, that a person could do to continue to be involved. Um, so after many hours speaking with each other, planning a proposal, working with Dr. Lucero, Mrs. Ware, Mama Wadley, talking to upperclassmen like Dom, um, writing bylaws, planning, um, like the Balfour Student Board came to be and it's really exciting that it continues to sustain today. Um, and I think that's one of the, like, biggest leadership endeavors that I sustained when I was at Notre Dame

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

I have many questions about the process of writing these bylaws and the collaborate, collaborative skills I'm sure you picked up along the way. Um, well, we shall get to that Um, and then for, for Dr. Dom here, how about for you, my friend?

Dom Acri, PhD

Yeah. Yeah, thanks. So, um, I'm an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and when I first got to Balfour was the first time that in a educational setting I was able to interact with other Native people. Um, I didn't grow up on the reservation, so I, you know, was not connected with tribal colleges or other Indigenous mentors that had b- that I am connected with now. I think I attribute a lot of the connections I have now to my summer at Balfour. Um, getting to interact with not only fellow Indigenous people but also other underrepresented students at Notre Dame I think allowed me to do two things at once, and that was, um, really build these really tight connections with the Native American Student Association of Notre Dame or NASAND that, just by nature is a very small and, and close group. Um, but then also to form other connections with, um, the other people who were either part of Balfour or part of these other groups. I think one of the things that stands out the most for me that started with Balfour and then went through my time at Notre Dame is I was very, uh, involved with this multi-decades, uh, movement to, to address the Grigori murals, the, the Columbus murals that were in, in, uh, the, the main building. And I think, um, I can talk more about it later, but one of the things that Balfour taught me about being engaged and kind of being the change that you wanna be we started very early trying to form connections and strengthen connections between us as students and the, um, citizens of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi who are in the South Bend area a- and around. And really, the mentors in Balfour and the people I met there really helped us grow that connection in a way that got them to campus, got them involved, and, um, yeah, really helped my development as a activist and, and, you know, i-

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

I

Dom Acri, PhD

in that sphere.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

that answer as well. Thank you, Dom. W-what I've heard from from everybody here is that community is almost the starting point for any of, any and all activist efforts. And even as we consider getting into leadership positions, important for us to keep in mind community, because it's not just about me, but more so the we. Is that safe to say for, for everyone? Yeah, and I think if I know anything as a psychologist about anything, it's that people not only learn best together, but we heal best together, and that's what in community is, is all about. So, um, thank you all for, for getting that first question rolling, and as we pick up momentum here, um, you know, Dom, you, you... If I can go back to you with the, the next question here. Um, I think a lot of times I'm thinking about not just microaggressions, but system-level, um, oppression or systemic oppression, and a lot of times people's answer to things, and I'm sure you may have experienced this as well, that's just how it's always been, right? Or it's been like this in the past. So I guess the question here, what would you say, how do institutions maybe sometimes understand, or excuse me, misunderstand the long-term impact of not creating enough access to programs such as Balfour really help, uh, support underrepresented or underserved communities and backgrounds?

Dom Acri, PhD

Sorry, the, the Dom thing might get a little confusing throughout this conversation, but I'm gonna assume that was me. Uh, it's okay. You can call me Dominic, and yeah, it's, it's fine. Uh, uh, no, I mean, what a deep question. Yeah, no, I, uh, what can institutions... I don't know if I can comment on, you know, what institutions do and how they contribute to, you know, these sort of things that go on for decades. But I will say that, you know, what I learned first in our addressing of the Grigori murals, but then later on through so much other great stuff that we did that really didn't get as much press, didn't go into the, you know, the Tribune and, and the Observer and things like that, was that the connections that we made just by, you know, making connections with people ended up, you know, giving us the ability to not only interact with the local tribal members, but one of them that we, that me and a fellow Bal- Balfour, uh, mentored while he was a high school student in taking his SATs and ACTs, ended up coming to Notre Dame, joining NASand. I, I can't remember if he was a Balfour or not, but I mean, just that experience and time commitment that really requires people to drive it, I think is the way that we address changes on the institutional level, because it really starts with people and connections, and it takes pro- programs like Balfour and a couple other ones that, you know, I'm sure we'll talk about during this conversation to, you know, make movement in these institutions that are older than us and will be around long after we are. And so yeah, I try to focus on the people.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

community and connection, everything. Yeah. Um, Savannah and or Dominique, any

Savanna Morgan

Yeah, I definitely have something that I would wanna add to that. Um, I agree with what Dr. Dahn was saying. Um, programs like Balfour are different from how institutions at large view student success or, like, long-term impact. I think Notre Dame as an institution measures success by looking at graduation rates and what students' first job was or, or like what, um, what someone's career trajectory was right out of graduation. But a program like Balfour, for example, for shaped myself and I know other people over, over the course of a decade. And for people who graduated, um, Balfour who graduated in decades before me over multiple decades, um, I would say the impact of Balfour was somewhat immediate in that it, it cultivated a certain confidence to, to start, start taking my inquiry sis-seriously as, um, academic research and building proposals which then led to like fel- my first fellowships. But, um, it, it, it's really been a very non-linear path, like through graduate school and then into public service and then going into the arts primarily and then going back into research with the archive ensemble in Berlin. um, I think the ways that Balfour invested in me doesn't necessar- didn't necessarily bear fruit in ways that were automatically visible. Um, so yeah, access isn't just about opening a door all the time. It's, it's honestly about, um, what's possible over the course of, of someone's whole, whole life or whole trajectory, and it doesn't necessarily always have to, have to equate to, um, professional or academic life

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

So it's something like door continues to open and will always open because our potential is just ongoing, right? We grow and then we have more than we did before, and that's gonna just continue to almost grow exponentially there

Savanna Morgan

Exactly. And it's, and it's not always linear, like I was saying. Sometimes, um, yeah, especially when it comes to careers, like I can speak for myself right... Like in this moment, I'm in a very, uh, precarious situation, um, after having received a, a recent, uh, neur- neur- uh, diagnosis, um, re- re- relating to like my I basically was diagnosed with epilepsy, uh, at the end of last year, and, um, that's, um, changed the course of my professional life. Like the, the level at which I'm able to engage with text now is not what it was ago, uh, due to this diagnosis. Um, but there are, um, other ways in which I am able to expand that don't necessarily have anything to do with like what I'm adding to my resume. Like just being able to take the time to rest and reflect on, um, the last 10 years alone has really reoriented the way I, I look at my future and the way I look at my value as a person overall. Like, um, you know, I'm not, I'm not just my resume. I'm not just my, um, professional life and my academic trajectory. I'm a whole human being, and I feel like, um, that and that seed was also planted during my years at Notre Dame, uh, via the connections I was talking about earlier, not necessarily, um, because of funding I received through Balfour or through other fellowships, uh, during undergrad and graduate schools, but because of, um, people who saw, saw beyond my... the surface level of, of what success normally l- looks like. Yeah, I don't know if that, if I articulated that in a way that's narrative enough.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

articulated exactly how it needed to be articulated. And let me just say thank you for being so open to, to share with us for sure. I'm, I'm really grateful to have, um, learned a part of your journey here today. And as you were talking, Savannah, there's this like tagline almost that I saw come across a screen where it's like, "I'm more than just my resume.

Savanna Morgan

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

am a whole human being." Right?

Savanna Morgan

Yeah

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

And what you said there is almost the spirit of... To, to me anyway, I'll, I'll say this, to me, that's the spirit of activism that we're talking about, where we don't need measured, evaluated, judged based off of our work, but you have worth based off of just being human being.

Savanna Morgan

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

And that is, that is profoundly beautiful, so thank you for, for us that way

Savanna Morgan

Of course. Thank you for, for receiving that. Amen. Amen.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Asé. Asé. Um, so tha-- and thank you for that. And Dominique, I would love to get your, your perspective as well here if, if that's open

Dominique DeMoe

Yeah, I-- going back to your question about how institutions can, can kind of learn from and grow from programs like Balfour, I, I wanna go back to something that Savannah actually said earlier, which is, um, like you came to Notre Dame and it looked completely different than the way that you grew up being like, be it religious, be it diversity. When I came to Notre Dame, it looked exactly how I grew up. I grew up in a, like a very white area and I took all honors, all AP classes, and I would always be like the only person in the room that looked like me. So when I got to campus and, um, for Balfour Summer, that was probably the first time I had been in a room as diverse as that outside of like hanging out with my own family, like being around my family. But like growing up Catholic, growing up in a very like white area, it was-- my experience coming to Balfour was a lot different from a lot of other people's experiences coming to Balfour in that there was like not a culture shock in me going to Notre Dame in the same way. And I think that going back to the vein of like community and, and, and building together, like when you come to a space where everybody has very different backgrounds, then that's when you learn. And that is a big theme across my like career in journalism and working for newspapers and now a media company. I am, as a young Black woman, I'm often the only person still who looks like me in the places that I am. And I've kind of learned in my career and throughout my life that the best way to be considered is to be present and to make your presence known. And, um, like as a storyteller, I know that my experience isn't the only experience, and it's kind of my job, similar to what Dr. Dahn was saying earlier, but like to help amplify the voice of others and like amplify that aren't always brought up in the news or brought up in the media. Um, and I've also learned that just like being that voice doesn't mean immediate change. It doesn't always lead to immediate change, but the greatest thing you can kind of do is to provide that different perspective that gives people the opportunity to think differently than they typically do and open up the floor for conversations like these

Generations of Balfour and Support Systems

Dom Acri, PhD

I have a, I have a question because, and Milo, I don't mean to make you feel like an old man,

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

the

Dom Acri, PhD

but,

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

just prefaced whatever

Dom Acri, PhD

when,

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

have with that

Dom Acri, PhD

uh... Yeah. No, but this is what... So my sister went to Notre Dame as well, and she was a freshman when I was a senior, and she made me feel like an old man all the time because I remember campus before Uber when you still had to call a cab and get picked up. So I, I wanna ask you the same question about an institution, but since you have a maybe not different generational, but certainly Balfour generational perspective than the three of us, what, uh, what was it like for you and, and, you know, you came back when we were there for the Balfour 30 year, so you've seen us as students and now, like, as professionals afterwards. So can you reflect on, like, your experience and, and how you've seen it change?

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

I did come back. I remember that. Well, first of all, to take you back to the summer of 2004, no, no smartphones. There were no apps. That was definitely not a thing. they put, they put the Black kid from LA in Carroll Hall. So I remember walking around with Bal- my Balfour friends, and, um, I'm just like, "Oh, everyone's excited," all the different dorms that they're in actually on campus. And here I am, I'm like, "Do you-- Hey, guys, um, do you know where Carroll Hall is?" so everyone's faces are just like, "Damn." And so I'm like, "Oh, man, what does, what does this mean?" So that has stayed the same. Carroll Hall is still very, very far away. What has been different is, I think, um, in the, what, 22 years, um, just the physical space has drastically changed. All the infrastructure around South Bend, the amount of hotels, eateries, and everything, and obviously the, the tech of the space. But I almost think that more important for me is what stayed the same, and that's a commitment to not just surviving sometimes in a space that wasn't actually created for us, um, in mind, but even thriving in a space that wasn't created for us, and how important it is to have connections and community. So if I were to answer the question from earlier, man, I, I learned so much about how to connect with others. I'm an only child, so this was a beautiful experience to be in Balfour for me that way with all of my siblings in Balfour. Um, and the, the curiosity I always had as a kid of asking why to everything, um, that came alive for me in Balfour and getting connected to Dr. Don Pope-Davis, um, and at the time, the Multicultural Research Institute. So I guess, Dom, to a-answer the question about what's, what stayed the same, what's different, um, man, just the commitment that Balfour has to us as students, and sure, our academic progress and success and getting good m- um, grades and all that kind of stuff, but this was the first program that I really, really felt prioritized me as a person. Um, and I use that in my work now as a, as a licensed psychologist. Um, and had it not been, been for Balfour doing that, I, I don't know who I would be today, nor if I would have been able to actually thrive while, while at Notre Dame, so

Dom Acri, PhD

Yeah, I don't know if you guys remember this, but I'm just remembering it now, that unlike any other opportunities at Notre Dame or anywhere else, I can remember getting a letter to, uh, uh, apply to Balfour. And then with the acceptance was a phone call from one of the, like, sophomore, uh, or, like, the, the, the leaders of stuff like that. And I remember, like, being able to connect with people before I even came to campus. I mean, for the people who don't know, 'cause maybe we didn't talk about it, but you know, Balfour experience starts with, you know, the before freshman year so- sort of summer that we do. And even before that, even before the move, getting to meet people was such a, like, leg up on, you know, the Notre Dame experience, I think. For me at least

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Agree with you more, especially again, coming from LA, I had already fully committed, signed all the paperwork in blood and all that kind of stuff, um, I hadn't never even visited Notre Dame. for me personally, I would say that was God's choice to put me at Notre Dame and, and that was that. Um, I think, yeah, it's just, it's wild to see how that has played out. But for Savannah or Dominique, any, any builds off of that? In terms

Savanna Morgan

I

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

connected and starting the program, yeah

Savanna Morgan

Yeah, I agree. I mean, I couldn't add anything more other than, yeah, it was a huge leg up, especially with the, the huge, um, cultural divide between where the, the next four years I was going into in, in the previous 17 years of my life. Um, Balfour definitely gave me a leg up into like at least having a, a inkling of what to anticipate was coming next. Although I couldn't have necessarily foreseen all of the wild encounters that would, that would take place over the, the course of my time as an undergraduate. Um, but still, um, going in with a strong, uh, a strong, uh, support system was, was, yeah, p- possibly life-changing 'cause had it not been for the Balfour Network, I don't even know if I would've lasted my first year at Notre Dame, to be honest. Um, also mentioned, I think in my first response that it was Dr. Lucero who introduced me to my, my long-term academic m- mentor, Dr. Rufus Burnett, who's a professor, now a professor of systemic th- theology at, um, at, um, Fordham University. Um, I don't-- I couldn't have foreseen that I would even go down the, the path of research, but, um, I think, yeah, to reiterate something I said before again, just having, having someone affirm to me that my curiosities and my inquiries were worthy of like academic approaches and, and, um, and, you know, funding and resources, um, that, that would, that would eventually be poured into me as a, a lifelong searcher and question asker I, I also just wanna add, I really didn't even know, um, what the scopes of humanities research were until, um, I took my first, like, introduction to research course, which, um, I-- which was taught by Michelle Ware. It was my second semester at Notre Dame. Um, I wouldn't have known about that course had it, had she not also been one of the mentors in the Balfour program the summer before

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

indeed,

Savanna Morgan

Mm-hmm. Dominique

Dominique DeMoe

Um,

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Toni

Dominique DeMoe

yeah, we love this lawyer, so shout out to her. Um, I, yeah, I, I'll reiterate what Savannah just said, which just that the connections made during Balfour were truly life-changing. Like I d- I met my best friends that I regularly talk to, regularly see. correct. Dr. Ware. Dr. Ware

Savanna Morgan

I'm so sorry. Put a PhD at the end of that immediately. Yes

Dominique DeMoe

Cut that out. Like we only ever saw Dr. Ware

Savanna Morgan

Dr. Ware specifically

Dominique DeMoe

Um, uh, yeah, but the connections made and sustained through Balfour are so incredibly important. And I think that I had the, like, opportunity as well to quasi be recruited, quasi walk on to the Notre Dame track team. But I was plagued with injuries during my time at school, so I was only on the team until the end of my sophomore year. And I think that having the connections that I did from Notre Dame-- I mean, from Balfour were really important during that time when I felt like I wasn't, like, and I, when I-- where I felt like I was not good enough or inadequate and my body was, like, failing on me. And I-- all of my close friends were because of Balfour, and all my close friends today are, like, through Balfour connections or, like, a random roommate of a Balfour. Like, everything for me was, has been connected to Balfour through my time at Notre Dame. And when things got hard and things got difficult in my personal life or sports or whatever, like, Balfour was always there

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Balfour was always... Yeah. And to this day, right? I mean, I, I, I don't know how fully I can express and cherish that I get to call Dr. Lucero Cecilia now. Like, that, that's been a struggle for probably the last-- It's taken me five years at least to be able to do it. But just to show how the people that we connect with, yeah, the people that we connect with, um, during Balfour, just that legacy, the connection, it, it stays

Mentors and Campus Pathways

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

with us. So, um, I wanna shift gears for us a little bit, if I may, to a new question. We've, we've kind of touched on this already, but I wanna just be a little bit more clear, not just about the sort of Balfour launchpad, Balfour always being there for us, the consistency of that support, just sort of opening it up to other, places on campus, mentors on campus. Um, were there mentors, faculty members, fellow students that really helped us recognize our experiences were valid, and that it was necessary to remain connected to others as we're taking on new leadership positions or continuing our, our activism work? did we feel supported in, in other areas across campus?

Dom Acri, PhD

I'd love to answer that question because I think they'll probably be listening, and I need to, I'm sorry that I haven't called them out yet. But after, uh, Balfour, and actually maybe because I met them during Balfour, three years at Notre Dame as a student intern at MSPS or the Multicultural Student Programs and Services. Miss Iris Outlaw, who was the, uh, director of MSPS then, and Arnel Bolaro, who was, uh, was co-director or, or assistant director and is now the director, were very formative in, in not just helping me transition from Balfour to the greater Notre Dame community, but connect, like, all of us in a way that actually sometimes get confused with some of my Notre Dame friends if I met them from Balfour or Balfour introduced us or we met at MSPS. And so it's all just kind of, I don't know. It started with Balfour and then led much so because of Miss Iris and, and Arnel and, and all of them into, um, helping me meet people at Notre Dame. And so I wanted to shout them out

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Shout out to Mama Iris.

Savanna Morgan

is

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Absolutely, yes

Savanna Morgan

Sorry to interrupt. Uh, this is my chance to shout out the Institute for Latina Studies, Notre Dame Institute for Latino Studies. I think that's still their name. I feel like they might have gone through a name change over the last 10 years, but that's what it was called in when I was, uh, chosen as a CCLP intern, the Cross-Cultural Learning Program, where, um, the Institute for Latino Studies chooses a core ho- cohort each summer to send into some of America's Latin American communities across Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, I think. Um, it was-- I was a LA summer intern at an art gallery called Self Help Graphics and Art, um, which served definitely as a launchpad into understanding the interdisciplinary nature of, of art making, which definitely paid off years later, not knowing I was gonna end up being an editor for a contemporary, contemporary arts research journal. Um, and especially being exposed to contemporary arts, like in this, uh, multicultural sense. Um, there-- This, um, this gallery, Self Help Graphics and Art, had a huge mission, um, regarding integrating local artists, most of which were, uh, the Salvadoran community of, of Boyle Heights, Los An- Los Angeles into, um, into the, the global arts economy. So that was definitely an eye-opening, eye-opening experience with seeing how people, um, start out in local, um, grassroots activism/arts movements and kind of navigate towards more international ecosystems. So shout out to the Institute for Latino Studies for giving me that opportunity, summer of 2018

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Listen, actually currently live in Boyle Heights,

Savanna Morgan

I-- no way.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

that

Savanna Morgan

The pupusas.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

we...

Savanna Morgan

The pupusas. Oh my goodness. I didn't even know what that was until I lived there. It was so good. It's so good

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

that clap just like affirmed everything in my being right now. Thank you, Savannah.

Savanna Morgan

It was necessary. Pupusas changed my life permanently. my go-to. Anytime I'm in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, anywhere with a large Salvadoran community, that's what I'm going to. Even in Dallas, I didn't even know we had them here until recently

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

We l- listen, pupusas, pupusas can also be the change that we need to see,

Savanna Morgan

The change we need to see in overall across, ac- across culinary traditions is the change we need to see

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

That's right. That's right. How about for you, Dominique?

Dominique DeMoe

Yeah, I'd say I have two answers to this question. One is, like, I kind of mentioned that I was on the track team when I was at Notre Dame, and when I stopped being on the team after injuries, I was, um My coach at the time, I did long and triple jump, and the jumps coach, Jim Garnham, did, I, like, did a really amazing job at keeping me integrated in the team even though I wasn't on the team anymore. So I would still go to team events. I would, um, like, meet with him for coffee and bagels on the weekends, and we would talk about, like Because I was also going through, like, a major change, a school major change when I uh, when I stopped being on the team. So he really helped me in, like, navigating what I wanted to do and, um, speaking to people within the Notre Dame network who were previously in sports or previously at Notre Dame who were doing things that I was interested in so that I could kind of learn more about what they were doing and, and how they got there after graduation. So that was really amazing. And then another institution at Notre Dame that helped a lot was actually the Center for Social Concerns, and I don't think that's the name of it anymore. But when I was undergrad, the Center for Social Concerns had a program called SSLP and an ISSLP, which were domestic and international service learning programs. And growing up, I, um, like, it was very important for me and my family to volunteer and give back to the communities that we lived in. So I, um, participating in this program was just really transformative for me because I worked in the development department for a nonprofit in the Philadelphia area called Project HOME. And I live in Delaware, I grew up in Delaware, but I was born in Philly, so And I moved there after graduation. And since participating in the SSLP in the summer of 2017, I am moving back there in 2019. I've continued to work with Project HOME, which I think is a very big win for the Center for Social Concerns. And today, I, um, I'm actually a co-chair for their equivalent of Young Friends group called the Rising Leaders, and we help in sustaining the mission of Project HOME, which is to empower adults and children and families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. And through our work, we, like, s- set up fundraisers and raise money for development and work in the community and volunteer and do outreach. So it's very multifaceted, and I wouldn't have been connected to that program and this nonprofit out- I wasn't participating in, Center for Social Concerns programming

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

I love that. I love that. Yeah, center of-- Yeah, I re- I remember that was a big part of my, um, experience of... Well, I think doing some volunteer work. Um, but I-- who I wanna just give a, a major, major shout-out to who I was connected with since day one was, uh, Wabruda as an organization, uh, for Black men on campus, and specifically, uh, the mentor o-of ours, a godfather in a sense, uh, Dr. D or Dr. David Moss. man, that was such a, a beautiful, beautiful space to grow into my own and, and to find this connection with other Black men on campus. And Dr. D had such a brilliant way of allowing everybody to speak, but also to really make sure that he was facilitating in a way where everyone was able to be heard. and even the sort of the creed of Wabruda is, "I am my brother's keeper, and together we will rise," is something that I carry with me in my spirit today. and even when I was finishing up my, my PhD, um, I had the privilege of creating a group called Wabruda at UC Irvine in conjunction with the counseling center there. Um, Wabruda actually standing for and is Swahili for brotherhood. So that brotherhood that I experienced with the other Black men on campus, um, that mentorship from Dr. D, um, and just the, the sharpness and the wittiness of that group, it was, was special for me as well. so I, I want to kinda keep us going forward. I know we talked about the being the change from whether it's, uh, a pupusa or a volunteer effort or a class or mentor.

Being the Change in Practice

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

But as, as we're talking about being the change as almost this pathway, um, to activism, maybe we even just prioritize a question here of what does it mean for you all in the respective work that you're doing to be the change? And you can get as philosoph-philosophizing as you want with this, philosophical as you want. You can keep it brief. But I just really want to make sure we're, like, kinda defining what that's meant for us in our journey of activism. So again, the question being, uh, what does being the change actually mean for you?

Savanna Morgan

Um, I don't mind starting with that question. Um, so for me, in my current research trajectory, I'm really fascinated about how communities, uh, Indigenous and African and African American communities preserve knowledge outside of written text. Um, most notably through voice, through ritual, through performance, through storytelling. um, yeah, a lot of those early questions grew-- have grown into, um, the research, that research paper that was recently published in a Paris-based journal called Africana Magazine, which looks into, um, Gullah Geechee ring shouts. I come from Gullah Geechee, South C-- which is South Carolina Creole is what some people might recognize it as, but we call it Geechee, so it's like a, a group of, uh, an ancestry based off of the low country, uh, Black traditions of the enslaved people of, of South-- of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. So, um, I've, I've began digging into the archives, um, related to Geechee ring shouts and relating them to Afro-Islamic prayer calls and seeing like what's fundamental about, um... what's fundamental about, um, the call and response tradition has been carried on through our, um, through Afro- Afro Christian theology, um, from the continent, uh, to, to the United States and throughout the Caribbean. So, um, being the change for me definitely looks like, um, questioning colonial systems of, um, uh, memory through written text just like overall allowing, allowing, um, academic researchers who are fascinated by systems outside of, of Western ontology to, to thrive, um, with the same resources, uh, that, that people who, um, track knowledge in a more traditionally academic sensitive

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Love that. Uh, um, so now real, just quick follow-up. Are you familiar with, uh, Eugene Staples or Genie?

Savanna Morgan

Is, is-- Were they a Notre Dame professor?

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Uh, he, no,

Savanna Morgan

Okay.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

was a student. He graduated in 2012, I believe.

Savanna Morgan

Okay, I'm not familiar

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

I should actually say Dr. Staples now

Savanna Morgan

Okay

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

maybe a couple months ago he just finished. Um, but a lot of the work that you're describing, um, is what he just completed his dissertation in. So, um, yeah,

Savanna Morgan

That E introduction needs to happen.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

if you want...

Savanna Morgan

Eugene Staples, he said

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

we shall make that. Eugene Staples or Jeanie Dees if you're, uh, on LinkedIn

Savanna Morgan

Okay, you, Jeanne Deez, I'm definitely gonna look into it. Um, I, I hate to bring this person's name up again, but it-- since we're on the topic, I know I bring him up every two seconds. Dr. Rufus Burnett, truly an amazing thinker, um, an amazing researcher in the field of liberation theology, especially as it relates to decolonizing revelation, like, uh, um, Christian revelation and, um, basically conne- the, the infinite aspects, connecting the infinite in the, in the finite through the, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, um, through a, through a more Afro Christian lens. yeah, not to, not to just keep dropping names, but Eugene, I'm definitely gonna take that with me from this conversation

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

good. All good. We appreciate that. Uh, let's go to Dr. Dom. How about for you? Being the change, what does that embody for you? What does that mean for you?

Dom Acri, PhD

No, it, it's a, it's a really great question, and I'm trying to think about the way that I can answer it. But I was trying to think about people I met through Balfour and have, like, helped me, you know, think about this question. And I think I might even mispronounce his last name, uh, Dr. Bright Gyamfi? I don't know if anyone else knows him. Uh, you don't have to say his last name. Yeah, Gyamfi. You don't even have to say his last name because you just say Bright, and everyone knows who he is. I think, uh, yeah, my, the, my fellow Balfour scholars and people at Notre Dame have, like, challenged me to always keep going forward, learn new things, learn from new people. I mean, Bright would keep coming back and tell us, you know, his experiences, um, afterwards, and both activism and professionally. And I've tried to do similar things with, you know, um, getting involved with indigenous communities, both my own and the ones, uh, you know, that are, uh, in the places where I've lived. And I get to have lots of great conversations with people about, you know, our philosophies for change. And I don't know if I stole this from Bright or from one of my many friends that I've had this conversation with, but one of the things that I try to tell my students or the people I talk to about this is whether it's culture or our environment or things that, you know, we want to change, know, we have to realize that these are things that no one person can change but that every person's responsible for.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

you gotta

Dom Acri, PhD

So

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

my

Dom Acri, PhD

I think the being...

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

more time

Dom Acri, PhD

Yeah, all right. I was thinking about writing a book about this, so this is debuting here on...

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

that one more time, please

Dom Acri, PhD

I said it one time to one of my students, and she said, "Wait, write that down. Write that down." Now, the, whether it's culture or environment, like anything that you wanna change, an institution, anything, right? It's something that no one person can change. The president of the university, the, your department chair, whoever, they can't just come in and just, like, change it overnight. They can be part of it, it's something that we're all responsible for trying to change. So not something one person can change, but something that we're all responsible for. So I think actually with the title of the episode being Being the Change, my philosophy is the being part. What can we do every day to move that forward?

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

word and a phrase, my friend. That is... Wow. Thank you for that. love, and Dominique, I-

Dom Acri, PhD

And I probably, I probably stole it from someone. Like, I gotta, I gotta do my deep research before I do any of that, 'cause maybe Bright told me that. Maybe, uh, one of the many people we brought through MSPS said something like that and just kept it in my brain, but it sticks with me,

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

you're sharing

Dom Acri, PhD

so yeah

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

to give the proper citation however it needs to be cited. But I think what, what really needs to be cited here is the power of community for change. And just in the same spirit as we all started the, um, the support and the nourishment that Balfour provided to all of us, that's what you're talking about right there, Dom, and that's what's so special about and everything that we've been talking about today, so. Um, and how about for you, Dominique? Being the change, um, top 10 ESPN, whatever works, you know. What, what's being the

Dominique DeMoe

Yeah, I like the sentence of like being a community for change, and you can't really make change without community. I think that, um, my experience in journalism and like previously working in a fast-paced newsroom that covered everything from breaking news and political events. Like my first day, my first job after college was an election day. I got there early in the morning, and I left late at night to make sure everything was covered correctly. Um, and my, like, career has spanned the murder of George Floyd, the subsequent surge of the Black Lives Matter movement, the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, and after that I moved out of news and into sports. But I'm saying that the experiences there kind of underscored the importance of providing factual information, equitable information during times of crisis and social unrest and, and all other times. So for me, being the change is like a commitment to truth and accuracy that, um, previously was kind of exemplified by my work for The Philadelphia Inquirer and their Inquirer For All initiative, which was, um, in 2020, the institution... back to how institutions can change and learn and grow, um, the newsroom kind of came to a reckoning of its own institutionalized systemic racism that, um, from that was born an or- organization internally where people were reviewing content and speaking to each other about difficult topics to make sure that the stuff that comes out and is printed on our papers and, and put online is not shaded in a certain lens toward certain groups of people, and it is not, um- That we're not discriminating against people, and that we are making sure that all of our n- and reporting is fair and just. And currently at ESPN, I'm a member of the Inclusive Content Committee, which is an internal company group that's focused on enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across all digital television and audio storytelling, like, platforms internally. So people can come request that our group kind of reviews the content to make sure that what goes out, it... Especially in if someone's writing about something that they're not particularly familiar with, or they're not familiar with the group, or they might not understand just, like, institutional issues that have gone on in the past and they wanna double check, then we kind of review that. And I think that Inquirer For All and the Inclusive Content Committee has been a really valuable part of my experience, because I am able to see and touch a lot of the work that goes out across ESPN, across the Philadelphia Inquirer, and get people to think about it before they send it out. Like, something that might seem very silly, like calling micro braids dreads, or calling, uh... Or, like, misrepresenting a hairstyle, or misrepresenting, um, the background of an athlete is, is important when you're trying to speak to a younger audience, when you're trying to grow that audience, and when you don't wanna look like an institution that does not care about the people that it serves. Um, so for me, being the change, it is that, like, commitment to inclusive content, it's that commitment to equity and, like, recognizing that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to life. And people need to learn and grow, and sometimes go back to mistakes that they made in the past and, and make it right in the future

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

And answer and ans-- You, you did the whole top 10 there, Dominique. I, I fully appreciate that. Thank you for that. I, I love what you all hit on in your own beautifully unique ways, is that being the change is so much more about our existence opposed to only making change with our work or, like, outcomes or anything like that. Obviously, that's important. But what, came to mind as I was hearing you all share there is a saying that I've heard from, um, activists in the past and pretty popular in, in activist communities, um, is you don't have to keep others warm by lighting yourself on fire. And I think when we're in these high-pressured companies, situations, institutions, there's so much pressure to just perform and to excel and to succeed, and then almost invalidate the success that we've had to just do more. But being the change is really a, a call to action to just exist and to enjoy who we are as, as humans. thank you all for, for sharing.

Advice and Closing

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Um, I think perhaps one more question, if y'all are, are still with me and, and good to go as we wrap up here. Um, across our different backgrounds and, and generations and ages, what I know to be true is as we started Balfour, we were kind of towards the end of maybe childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, whatever you wanna be, there was a spirit of still needing to heal our inner child, and there was a lot happening for us at seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, whatever. So however old we are now, whatever our generation, I want us to perhaps give maybe some, uh, advice, share something with the next generation of Balfour as maybe what you would have known or wanted to know back then or what you would have done differently during Balfour. But I want you to give it from the perspective of offering that to your younger self. Does that make sense? So like not just, "Hey, you over there, you should do XYZ," but more so give it from the perspective where you're connecting with your inner child, allowing others to do the same as they're starting their Balfour journey. Does that, does that make sense? Does that feel doable as we close out?

Dominique DeMoe

Yeah, I think I can start. I don't have a fully formed thought actually, but here I am. I would tell my younger self going into Balfour, going into undergrad to, and I'm not a gambling person, but to bet on yourself. I think that a lot of time when I specifically was an undergrad, there were times when I wanted to try something new, or I wanted to explore something, or I wanted to try a different class, try a different major or something, and, um, I talked myself out of it, and I didn't give my opport- myself the opportunity to try and maybe fail or try and then succeed. I just kind of went the safer path or the safer route and, um, maybe pre-prescribed path that I always thought I was going to be on. Um, but I think that in growing and through college and after college, all of the biggest development for me has been trying something completely new and, like, in love with it. If you told me when I was an undergrad that I would be working in journalism and doing like broadcast media, I would have been completely shocked. Because I did, I grew up loving reading, loving writing, loving storytelling, meeting people, learning from others, um, but I convinced myself that I was going to go down a very STEM path. And that very STEM path put me through a lot of anguish. I'm not gonna lie. But when I, uh, decided to bet on myself, changed my major, worked for The Observer at Notre Dame, and tried new things, every day was m-me learning more about myself. It was me learning more about myself, me growing more, and giving me the opportunity, because you kind of just said you can't, um, light up a room by setting yourself on fire. I was trying to make everything work for everyone else, but maybe not myself. And when I made things work for myself, then I could help others. Like putting on the mask in the airplane before, for you before someone else. Like, do try things and maybe fail, but grow along the way is, is my advice.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Great advice. Great advice. Thank you for that gift Savannah or Dr. Dom, I will let y'all figure out who wants to jump in next

Savanna Morgan

I kind of wanna build on what Dom was saying. I w- I also don't have a formulated thought, but Dom, uh, laid some traces that I wanna pick up on. And I would definitely tell my younger self that, um, a delay is not a denial. A delay is not a dead end. Um, and just because certain opportunities might look like they've disappeared, it, it doesn't mean that you've lost something. Um, it's just an opportunity to, to rethink your path. Um, yeah. I'm trying to think of a specific example. This, this resonates right now with where I am in my life, but it definitely... It feels like, um, with the-- It feels like it also resonates with my younger self, um, because it was, it was the continuous, uh, investment in relationships with mentors and the continuous curiosity that allowed me to keep developing despite, um, felt like, um, delays to me. A lot of it is related to my personal life and, uh, definitely like different like family situations that have to stay private at the moment. But, um, yeah, sometimes the most meaningful work, it comes from adapting rather than just following what you had originally planned. So following up on what Dominique said, definitely bet on yourself and also know that, um, that, yeah, timelines change, like trajectories are not always linear

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

I love that. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you

Dom Acri, PhD

If I was to give myself, uh, advice, like especially when I was wrapping up Balfour and like getting ready to go to Notre Dame and trying to, you know, explore the science that ended up becoming my career, the activism that I did, not just in my free time, but still do to today. Um, and for fun, I was also, in the Shakespeare troupe, Not So Royal Shakespeare at, uh, at, at Notre Dame. And so I'll say my advice is Shakespeare said it best, "To your own self be true." Because it really, um, I don't know, there, there are paths that seem very prescripted or like going, doing undergraduate research, then going to grad school, and you'll have lots of people give you advice. There'll be things in activism where you're trying to, you know, photocopy something that worked for another group or another time. And I think in activism in particular, if that's something that Balfours are, are interested in doing during their time at Notre Dame, they've just gotta know that, you know, they gotta listen to the voice inside their own head. Because it's not always gonna be comfortable, and there's gonna be people with conflicting opinions. you know, I think if you're rooted in the experiences and the values that brought you to Notre Dame, to the people who you trust and respect, you know, you can make your own decisions and grow as your own activism, activist instead of trying to be somebody else. So that's my advice.

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Listen, I did not have a Shakespearean quote on my bingo card for this recording, but are

Dom Acri, PhD

It just came to me. I, I had to memorize so much of it for, for, for all the shows. So actually when Dom and, and Savannah were talking, I was like, "Oh,

Savanna Morgan

Shakespeare

Dom Acri, PhD

will be good. This, this might be a good clip."

Savanna Morgan

for real. And d- that's coming from a FTT major who was a theater con- concentration. Shakespeare is not for the weak

Dr. Milo Dodson (he/him/his)

Wow. That, that is special. Um, if I may just to, to close us out with, with just a, a piece here before we do the final, final closeout. I think I were to share, and I actually hadn't even been thinking about, what comes to mind most immediately for me is to be afraid and do it anyway. I remember the constant anxiety and the struggle and feeling like needed to get A pluses at Notre Dame and be valedictorian, all of these things. Definitely neither one of those happened, by the way. Um, but there was so much fear that that fear almost led me to inaction. And I think it's okay to be afraid, and we still wanna move forward in whatever it is that we're doing, whether that's the nonlinear growth that we're hoping for, whether that's for healing, switching majors, everything. And if I were to talk to 18-year-old Milo, um, in, in Balfour, uh, sitting up late nights in, in Fisher Hall, um, I would encourage him to, to be afraid and to do it anyway. and there's so much courage that I gathered from connecting with everyone in, in Balfour, and what a gift it has been to connect with the three of you here. So, um, Dr. Dom, Dominique, Savannah, thank you, thank you, thank you. For all of those who are watching here, um, thank you for joining us for the fourth episode of Dialogue Through the Decades. Con- let me start that over. Uh, so for everyone who is watching here, thank you for joining us for the fourth episode of Dialogue Through the Decades: Conversations with Balfour-Hessburg Alumni. And thank you to all of our esteemed guests for sharing your wisdom, your advice, and your journeys with us. Uh, for all the more additional information about the Balfour-Hessburg Scholars Program, please visit our website to see more about what our students are up to. You can find us on Instagram, and the handle is @balfour_hessburg_scholars. Additionally, to find out more or to share this series with your friends, family, and colleagues, please visit think.nd.edu. And go Irish. Peace