HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
Anyone who has visited or even attended a Historically Predominantly Black Institution of higher learning can vouch for the unique experience. The community, culture and connection on those campuses are highly creative, resilient, supportive, familiar, rich in history, and full of pride. It is for these reasons professional, soft & social skills, relationship development, and leadership must be just as unique to the shaping of the individual HBCU/PBI student as is their experience on campus and in the class room.
Derrick Sier & OMOS Team Building are ready to partner with institutions to make this happen. |
COMMUNITY
The number one reason students fail to succeed in higher education is because they lack a support system. According to the vast majority of HBCU/PBI alumni, the student body, faculty and staff were overwhelmingly referred to as family. When your community turns into your family, support is more freely given and better received. It is through the relationship of community we believe the most significant growth takes place. That is why the HBCU/PBI experience is important. |
CULTURE
The way someone moves, talks, dances, learns, interacts...their life experiences, all are relevant to the development of that individual. Being in an environment where others do things similarly, provides a sense of safety, acceptance and freedom to not posture, but instead, simply exist as one’s natural self. When safety, acceptance and freedom is provided, it allows all other energy to be directed toward learning, growing and experiencing life in a way which could not be as effectively done in an environment where this culture didn’t exist. BCUs/PBIs provide this unique cultural security which allows their students to dream and achieve freely in a safe and accepting environment. |
CONNECTION
Strong connections are forged in the fire of familiarity. The more people have in common, the faster trust is built, progress becomes more sustainable, conflict is more easily resolved, more grace is given and intuition is added to the creative and partnering process. This describes the core of relationship development on the HBCU/PBI campus. |
HBCU KEYNOTES & WORKSHOPS
P.B.I. TO P.R.O.Historically/Predominately Black Institutions have stood the test of time for well over a hundred years. From being self funded to fighting the oppression of a nation, these institutions have discovered how to not only survive, but thrive in the face of persecution. As a result, they have produced some of the most persistent, resilient and opportunistic professionals in the world. How is that so?
|
Dual CitizenshipOften times, being black in America means learning to exist in two different worlds. The first world would include being around friends, family and those who share a similar cultural experience. The second world may include sharing academic, professional and/or social space which those who are not familiar with the first world. The HBCU/PBI experience acknowledges both worlds exist and prepares their students to successfully exist in both, while equally preparing them to change the culture by creating their own.
|
Lead Here, Lead There, Lead AnywhereLeadership has many transferable traits. Serve. Honesty. Integrity. Hard work. Communication. The list of leadership traits is long. However, what makes them transferable is their ability to be specifically applied to any environment. That said, how are HBCU/PBI students learning to take the leaderships skills they are receiving and apply them in settings dissimilar than the one in which they are learning?
See It. Achieve It.Representation has become one of the primary igniters of the young African American dream. Very few things light the flame of the heart like seeing someone who looks like you and possibly have the same life experience...do that which you have been dreaming. Not only does this let the dreamer know their dream is possible, but it also potentially provides a potential blue print for success and allows them to expand their vision on how to arrive at their goal/dream/destination. This representation through achievement and/or blueprint is the backbone of inspiration and mentorship.
Power in NumbersWhile there have been individuals who greatly impact the world, the greatest impact comes when people move in large numbers. Think about it. Any protest. Any march. Any civil discord. Any boycott. Any great move of mankind has come when people gather around a single cause in large numbers. Let’s bring it to the college campus. Greek life. Athletics. Music. Social & professional clubs. The ability to gather and move in large groups comes with great power and phenomenal results. So, how do we get people to gather in great numbers?
Roots“You can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you come from.” While many may not aspire to this completely, it definitely doesn’t hurt knowing where you come from. Knowing your history could also provide some context to who you are and why you are that way. It could help explain the world around you and how you fit or not fit in that world. Knowing your history has its benefits.
|
Network = Net-WorthIt is said, “Each person is the sum of their five closest friends.” Another saying is, “Show me your friends. I’ll show you your future.” A few other quotes talk about “iron sharpening iron” or “a three stranded chord is not easily broken” or “your type is your treasure”. Whichever the case, a general way to predict productivity, discover purpose and identify passion is by looking with whom you associate.
Micro-AcademicsThe world is full of microaggressions which chip away at the very existence of the black student. Unfortunately, those microaggressions have invaded the academia. Institutions have been found to push certain students toward certain professions and industries based on their skin color and perceived cultural experience. This is where HBCUs/PBIs come in to save the lives of those students and build them up in places where the world has tried to tear them down.
Soul FoodThere are some things which just hit closer to home. Certain people identify with certain movies... certain music, certain fashion, certain foods, certain social preferences, certain learning styles... certain things just register differently with certain people. And the same way everyone has their ideal traditional soul food plate from grandma’s house around the holiday, in the same way, certain people are expecting to come out of their HBCU/PBI with a certain experience. But what are those things? When people think of a HBCU/PBI, what comes to mind. More specifically, what do they think when they hear of your specific institution?
Beat of the DrumWhen most people think of the HBCU/PBI experience, they probably won’t get too far down the list without mentioning the music. The snap of the snare. The bottom of the bass. The brass of the horns. The crash of the cymbals. The high kicks of the dancers. The twirl of the flags and battens. The way all those combine to remix and present classic and popular music. The show down between the drum lines of opposing bands at the 50 yard line. This is definitely unique to the HBCU/PBI experience.
|
About Derrick
Born in the summer of 1981 in North Tulsa, Oklahoma, Derrick was raised by parents who simply wanted to love people. Whether those people were family or random neighborhood kids who needed clean clothes and a hot meal, giving love was their primary focus. In fact, Derrick's first memory as a child was of himself stumbling through a house packed full of people who were laughing, eating, drinking and enjoying each other's company. Every significant memory that follows has the same feel....loving on people.
Today, loving people has remained at the core of everything Derrick does. From his Bachelor's degree in Recreation Management to his Master's degree in Theology to his company, OMOS Team Building, which means One Mind One Spirit, Derrick sincerely believes and has spent his life proving "growing together is better". |