Passing by Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) Director Ms. Valissa Thomas’s office in the student center, you can’t miss the all-caps slogan she has propped up in the window: “What would Beyoncé do?” “Beyoncé is my girl,” Ms. Thomas said when asked about the sign.
She has been to two of the artist’s concerts, and the number one task on her all-time bucket list is to meet her personally. To accomplish this goal, Ms. Thomas figured she could offer to babysit Blue Ivy, Beyoncé’s daughter. “Or, you know, be some sort of Beyoncé babysitter.”
Ms. Thomas’s Beyoncé obsession, however, goes beyond her love for R&B and pop music. “A lot of Beyoncé’s values are set around integrity and compassion, feminism and womanhood,” Ms. Thomas said. “I’ve heard people note that her concert was the first time they’d seen a variety of identities show up as their authentic selves.” Ms. Thomas looks up to that impact of fearlessly sharing your story, and for that reason Beyoncé is one of her biggest role models.
Like her love for Beyoncé, all of Ms. Thomas’s interests and motivations can be traced back to one common pulse: a passion for gathering, understanding, and sharing people’s unique stories. After 20 years of pursuing that passion as Associate Director of DEIJ at the Francis Parker School, this year, she joined the Bishop’s community as the new Director of DEIJ.
The previous Director, the beloved Mr. David Thompson, is someone Ms. Thomas looks up to. The two have worked closely together on the annual Regional Student Diversity Summit (RSDS) event for the past few years, and Ms. Thomas considers him one of her mentors. “I really admire his work and all of the things he’s built here,” she said. “When I received the job, I felt a passing of the baton.”
What drew Ms. Thomas to Bishop’s the most was the tight-knit community. “The students have so much pride going here, and the faculty have a lot of pride working here,” she said. “It’s a really strong Bishop’s identity.”
Specific to the DEIJ department, she loves the robust affinity groups. “Making sure that students are supported holistically — in their identity, mental health, and well being — is really important to my work,” she said, which is why student involvement is so crucial for her to see. She especially appreciates the many identity-based events that the department puts on with Global Education, a mostly parent-run organization. Lunar New Year and the Global Education potluck, for example, further involve students in learning about others’ cultures.
To build on the DEIJ structures and advance the work that has already been done, Ms. Thomas emphasizes a mindset of curiosity. “If we don’t show up with bravery, curiosity and courage, it’s really hard to continue to learn about new things, or listen to other people that may have different perspectives and experiences to move us forward as a community,” she said. She loves the Harkness method and the emphasis that Bishop’s puts on it, and aims to utilize it in the DEIJ space to promote curiosity and vulnerability in group discussions.
Ms. Thomas also hopes to bring in perspectives by inviting speakers and even our own faculty to share their stories. The goal, she said, is to “ignite other people to be curious and to do a deep dive into different cultures and experiences.”
Along those lines, for heritage and history months, Ms. Thomas loves to highlight artists that are popular in the community. “Thinking about novels written by artists of color, or artists of different religious communities, you continue to be curious; if you haven’t heard of these people, you can go out and continue to learn more,” she explained.
Ms. Thomas’s goals of bringing people together are grounded by her own family and background — she looks up to her parents and their resiliency more than anything. “They grew up in poverty, but by the time I was a kid, they were creating a comfortable and beautiful life for our growing family,” she said. “They showed that you can come from places where you don’t have a lot of resources or opportunity, but you can find ways to create it.”
She noted that she did not go through any of the struggles that her parents went through growing up. “Knowing that, it’s another way being in this role pays homage to all the hard work that they did, because I can take my opportunities and resources as far as I can,” she said, “and without feeling shame or guilt, right?” It’s a discussion that is relatable and important to many Bishop’s students.
Ms. Thomas’s passion for understanding different stories extends into many areas of her life outside of her work with students. For example, she loves to travel. “Vietnam was my favorite country thus far in Asia,” she said. She stayed in Ho Chi Minh City for two weeks. “It was a really great experience to explore the beautiful culture,” she said. “One of my favorite moments while there was taking time to sit in public parks and just people-watch.” She found that she could learn so much by observing how people engaged in community spaces. She was lucky to visit during their New Year’s celebrations, and reminisced, “What a time.”
Her favorite place she has traveled to is Mauritius, an island country off the south-eastern coast of Africa. “I got to know this mixture of African-Indian culture, and the way people have created almost a melting pot, but have stayed strong with their traditions, too,” she said. Not to mention, it is a beautiful tropical environment and she remembers all of the kind people there.
Ms. Thomas affirmed that her appreciation for differences is the through-line in everything she loves to do. “It’s a big value of mine, which has expanded into my career, and will continue to expand in the way I live my life,” she said. “It’s how I get to know the world.”
