By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- More than 20 student-athletes on this year's Willamette University teams are also student employees in the Division of Student Affairs. The Department of Athletics is part of Student Affairs, along with Student Activities, the Chaplains' Office, Multicultural Affairs, Housing and Conferences, the Bishop Wellness Center, Gender Resource and Advocacy Center, Bon Appetit Dining Services, student programs such as the Bistro, and the Tokyo International University of America Student Affairs Office.
This is the fifth in a series of five articles about student-athletes who are working in the Division of Student Affairs. The focus of this article is on student-athletes who are employed in the Gender Resource and Advocacy Center and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, both of which are part of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, along with the Indigenous Partnership Programs.
Carmen Camacho-Platas (So., OH, Burbank, CA/Burbank HS), who is a member of the volleyball team, works in the Gender Resource and Advocacy Center. She manages social media and creates graphic designs for various online posts.
"I love being able to have creative expression as part of my job," Camacho-Platas said. "I've also participated in organizing larger projects like our menstrual cup drive. Aside from those, I'll take on miscellaneous tasks needed at the time, like mailing out items from our drives (such as binder and breast form drive, etc.), organizing supplies needed for events or tables, and tidying up around the office."
The supervisor of Camacho-Platas is Andrea Hugmeyer, director of the Gender Resource and Advocacy Center. Hugmeyer appreciates the efforts that Camacho-Platas puts into her work.
"Carmen works as a student advocacy coordinator in the GRAC," Hugmeyer commented. "She supports the development of resource material for students who experience sexual violence, she manages our social media content and planning, and she maintains the cleanliness and organizing efforts of the center. Carmen brings enthusiasm for social justice and a commitment to shifting our culture in equitable ways."
At the GRAC, Camacho-Platas may be working, but she's also having fun.
"I love the environment that is created by the people I work with," Camacho-Platas noted. "Andrea is an incredible boss, who I trust and feel safe with. You can tell the GRAC is driven by the passion of supporting others and doing good for our community. I also just love how the GRAC is decorated. It creates an atmosphere of inherent acceptance through its abundance of color, light, and decorations.
"I've never had conflicts with my job, academics, or athletics," Camacho-Platas recalled. "I credit that mainly to Andrea for her flexibility and understanding of the stress college students can easily fall into. It's also helpful that my job at the GRAC can be done remotely."
According to Hugmeyer, being a student-athlete has contributed to Camacho-Platas succeeding as an employee.
"I know that her involvement as an athlete has helped empower her and she wants to offer the same feeling of empowerment to her teammates and students at WU," Hugmeyer noted. "She views her work at the GRAC as supporting those efforts."
Abdul Ali (So., D, West Linn, OR/West Linn HS) from the men's soccer team works with Gordy Toyama in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Ali is very involved with the Mosaics program.
"Mosaics is a peer-to-peer mentoring program focused on connecting first-year students of color with current BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) students in their transition to the academic and social life at WU," Toyama said. "Abdul brings a strong sense of his own racial identity and how students might experience WU through a racial lens. He provides leadership through relationship-building and provides a connection to the student-athlete and their experiences."
"As of right now I am currently only working with the Mosaics peer mentoring program," Ali said. "My title is co-coordinator of the program along with Jam Rorsoongnern.
"The Mosaics peer mentoring program ... was created for students of color by students of color," Ali added. "It is not only a mentorship opportunity for first-year students, it is also a leadership opportunity for students who want to be mentors. Our goal is to create a space in which students can really be themselves and create strong, lasting, meaningful relationships between students. Our program is very flexible, allowing us to accommodate for each individual member's schedule, which is very unique, I think. Everything got pushed online due to COVID ... we are able to work completely remotely so there isn't a problem with getting work done between classes and soccer. "
For Ali, the chance to mentor other students is a great opportunity. It also provides social interactions between himself and the students he mentors -- even if it's often done remotely.
"I'm very much a people person so the thing I enjoy the most is meeting people within Mosaics and the Office of Multicultural Affairs," Ali commented. "I think Willamette is such a great place for so many reasons, but the personal connections you make are the biggest ones for me."
Student-Athletes who Work in the Division of Student Affairs:
Gender Resource and Advocacy Center, Multicultural Affairs
Men's Soccer
Abdul Ali, Multicultural Affairs
Volleyball
Carmen Camacho-Platas, Gender Resource Advocacy Center
