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Through his work, this award-winning Tiger wants to support a campus environment where people feel valued, respected and committed to creating positive change. Meet Jerad Green.

Title: Associate director of multicultural programs and first-year doctoral student in educational leadership – higher education.

Years at Clemson: One-and-a-half years

What I do at Clemson: One of my primary responsibilities is to coordinate cultural awareness and educational programming for our campus and greater Clemson communities. This includes Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Black History Month, the International Festival and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. As a university, we aim to develop our students as global leaders and citizens, so my hope is to create opportunities for students to actualize this vision through our programming.

Another part of my job is to work closely with our multicultural student organizations and to provide opportunities for leadership, development, advising and training. Historically, cultural organizations have helped promote access and retention in higher education for students from diverse groups and have created a space where they can feel connected to others. They’ve also been curators of positive change, and my goal is to help guide them to that change.

What I love about Clemson: More than any institution I’ve worked for or attended in the past, Clemson has a strong sense of community and family. More specifically, athletics and the football program have united the institution and created a sense of pride to be affiliated with Clemson. My biggest hope is that we can create that same sense of community around issues of cultural diversity and inclusiveness.

My defining moment at Clemson: For me, this moment is continuous. I am a recent transplant from Minnesota and had never really been to the South before moving to Clemson. It was scary to move more than a thousand miles from my family, friends and community. However, the people and students at Clemson have made it feel so much like home. I feel like a part of this community because people have welcomed me with open arms, and continue to remind me that the work I’m doing is making a positive impact. My goal is to be of value to those I serve. When I think about my time at Clemson, thus far, I feel as though I’ve brought value to the learning of this community.

Accomplishment I’m most proud of: I truly feel I’ve expanded our definition of inclusion and equity on campus through my programming, advocacy and relationship building. Prior to joining Clemson, my role only programmed for Black History Month, Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month and the International Festival. I’ve now expanded that to include Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Native American Heritage Month and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. I’m also part of a team that has developed a program to give research and graduate school experience to historically underrepresented undergraduate students. Lastly, I have expanded the use of the Intercultural Development Inventory as a tool to measure intercultural competence as a skill set, and I’ve convened a group of faculty, staff and students to enhance indigeneity on Clemson’s campus.

Where I see myself in five years: In five years, I will hopefully be graduating (if I haven’t already) with my doctorate and preparing to lead a multicultural center and/or doing diversity and inclusion work. I am confident that my work will include supporting, educating and advocating for students in their pursuit of excellence.

Last thing I watched on TV: Game of Thrones – rewatching before the final season!

Guilty pleasure: Sweets and pop (a.k.a. soda for Southern folks)

One thing most people don’t know about me: During my undergraduate experience, I was part of a group that created a multicultural center on my campus called the KEAP (Knowledge, Empowerment, Advocacy and Pluralism) Center. We had an office (similar to the Gantt Center), but did not have a physical space where students could feel connected. Through our advocacy, we were able to secure a space which now sits in the heart of the student union. This experience propelled my interest in pursuing student affairs as a career field and pushes me to continue advocating.

Want to nominate a colleague to be featured in Meet a Tiger? Contact Jackie Todd at jtodd3@clemson.edu.

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