The Alumni Excellence series is part of the Diversity In Careers Project – a collaboration between the Inclusive Excellence Fellows Initiative (IEFI) and Career Services. The Inclusive Excellence Fellows Initiatives (IEFI) is designed to foster a campus climate of inclusive excellence through project-based peer diversity programs, working to increase diverse recruitment/retention, create opportunities for development and programming, and improve communication and coordination for DEI work.

Olivia Eaton ’28 and Tobias Cen ’28 are the Fellows working on the Alumni Excellence initiative. Diversity in Careers aims to encourage students of diverse backgrounds to be involved in the career development process by creating connections and community with alumni from diverse backgrounds.

Our respondents work in a wide range of career fields, including law, education, nonprofit work, and writing, and are very eager to connect with students. We’ve compiled their responses in the following summary:

Twan Claiborne, Class of 2020 – Linguistics: Academic Dean

Twan is a dean and educator for students with language-based learning disabilities at a public school in New York, the largest school district in the country. He shared some of the difficulties he faced as a black man in working with diverse communities in non-diverse settings, emphasizing the need for communication and collaboration amongst students, families and administrators in the work he does. 

Kim Foote, Class of 2000 – Sociology and Anthropology: Writer, former educator

Currently a novelist, Kim writes marginalized histories or the “lion’s tale”. She focuses specifically on working-class African Americans and enslaved Africans in the Americas. At Swarthmore, Kim’s classes exposed her to rich narratives about this diaspora, and she’s aimed to spread awareness about them to the general public through fiction. She is also a higher education administrator, who advises college students on their academics and study abroad.

Anonymous Alum, Class of 2017 – Music: Judicial Lawyer

After coming out as trans the weekend before her law school orientation, this alum has gone through every trial imaginable in simply trying to affirm her own identity. As someone who became one of the first openly trans employees to work at her job, the challenge of “existing, publicly” has always been a persistent concern. Yet, in face of those around her, she never fails to wear her identity with pride. She expresses that all of her struggle has shaped her into who she is today that the best thing she can do is to “hold fast, refuse to go “stealth”, and keep existing”

Edward Strickler, Class of 1978 – Philosophy and Religious Studies (Retired)

Born and raised and lived most of his life in a rural, working class community, Edward has worked primarily in the public health sector, who came to Swarthmore as a first-generation low-income student and later received a Masters in Public Health Policy from UVA. After his days at Swat, he has come to be distinguished for more than four decades for his leadership in a plethora of disciplines, working as a Medical Corps volunteer in the Virginia Health system and for the American Public Health Association. 

Alex Kingsley, Class of 2020 – Theater: Tutor, Writer, Game Designer

Alex is a cofounder of Strong Branch Productions, where they write and direct the Audioverse-Finalist sci-fi comedy podcast The Stench of Adventure. They’ve been a voice actor for various other podcasts, including Whisperling and Spirit Box Radio, and their writing has been published in several journals and anthologies, including Radon Journal, Translunar Travelers Lounge, and Sci-Fi Lampoon. They also create tabletop games on itch.io and are active on Twitter and TikTok (@alexyquest). 

Xena Wang, Class of 2019 – Classics and Art: Senior Executive at Heidrick and Struggles

Xena worked as an admissions officer and tour guide when she was a Swattie, before graduating and receiving a MA at Harvard in Museum Studies. She would continue her work in the Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art before becoming an admissions officer for the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, she works at talent-search and hiring firm Heidrick and Struggles, and continues to be an active part of the Swarthmore alumni foundation. 

Here are some key takeaways from our respondents:

• Align your goals with the goals of the organizations you’re working at – hold them accountable for the work they are doing
• Use networks! 
• “Meet your coworkers in person—the people with whom you’ll be spending most of your workday–and to feel them out for basic decency and understanding. No allyship of magic words can replace a coworker’s real, substantive kindness towards and comfort with those unlike themselves.”
• Make sure to evaluate the inclusivity of your workplace by directly meeting the people you wish to work with, dont simply make assumptions based off of the DEI efforts you can or cannot directly see
• Advocate for yourself and what you desire to accomplish in your place of work. Don’t be afraid to speak up!
• If Diversity is important to you, observe what type of people the company you are interested in employees, their background, beliefs, etc.
• Don’t fear being a “trailblazer” the support you need will always find you in the right place
• Seek and value the network of swarthmore students you make connections with. 
• Make sure that your values/ mission statement are in alignment with your employers  

Interested in connecting with these alums? Want to hear more from alumni about their experiences at Swarthmore and beyond? Sign up for SwatLink, the Swarthmore-exclusive platform to connect with fellow students and alumni! Check out these resources from Career Services to learn more about making and building connections!

We thank our respondents for their time and contributions.