“One of the key goals for the Center (for Community Engagement) is helping people find those community connections. I would say it’s both complex and also very simple at the same time, right? The simplicity is understanding we’re all human, but that’s also the complexity. There’s so much that makes us human and makes us who we are.
One area we all have to start from is realizing we’re all human, humans make mistakes, and humans are imperfect. So finding a place that’s perfect is, from my perspective, impossible. I don’t expect everyone to be perfect. In fact, I find beauty in our imperfections and our mistakes, because that’s how we learn and grow.
Being able to help people navigate that area has been challenging, but a challenge I embrace because we all deserve to find spaces that are welcoming. We all deserve to find beauty in our imperfections while also chasing our dreams together on this campus. It’s been a blessing, I would say.
Our website says our mission is to help people find unique pathways to their own community. I would definitely say that’s still my goal, though sometimes we can approach community as a collective, like the communities that are already formed. But sometimes it’s a case-by-case circumstance. I love to meet with people individually and ask ‘What are you looking for? What does support and care look like to you?’
The way we define those things individually is actually where it matters. That’s what puts meaning into our communities—being able to find the support and care you’re looking for in those communal spaces.
For example, even though I’m queer, I do not always find black representation in queer spaces that lack the support and care I’m looking for. It’s an additional layer, an additional depth I’m looking for that aren’t always seen at some levels. The more we can talk about those gaps, the more we can actually build communities and find people to bring into those spaces to actually show that inclusion really is for everyone.
What motivates me every day is the progress in the work that I do…highlighting our mission to include everyone. That’s where I start from, and it’s where I’ve always started from in any professional space that I’ve been in.
Progress in 2026 is just getting diverse people into a room and them seeing the beauty in that diversity. Honestly, that is progress for today in our world, and it’s beautiful progress because you can see in different realms where that might not be exemplified or modeled.
So, just being able to have conversations about our different cultures and then being able to explore, whether it’s different food, a different dance scene or different languages, it’s just so beautiful to see.
It shows how many different types of people make our communities great. That’s part of what makes my work so worth it, seeing the impact in our students, staff, faculty and in our local community. That’s what gets me going every day.
I also have kids, so I look for opportunities with them where they can diversify their experiences as humans and interact with others who can offer different perspectives, which enhances them academically, as well as socially.”
—Leilani Allan McLaughlin, director of the Center for Community Engagement