My season of yes
"I want to focus on student awareness and communication and also just letting the students know that I am here, and I am available. Come up and talk to me. I am open. I am all yours." – Student-Trustee Julius Dixon
Some 10 years ago, a friend asked Julius Dixon to accompany her to new student orientation day at HCC. “In sort of a supporting role,” he recalls. While she attended orientation events, he started exploring the programs HCC offered.
“It poked my interest,” he said. “A couple of weeks later, I signed up.”
Aside from a brief hiatus, Dixon, now 31, has been taking classes at HCC part time ever since, returning in 2022 with renewed determination. This fall, he is doing a three-credit internship with ALANA Men in Motion, a student support program for male students of color, while also serving as the student representative on the HCC Board of Trustees for the 2024-2025 academic year. He will attend his first board meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
You’re from Springfield?
Born and raised. I graduated from Roger Putnam Vocational Technical Academy.
You’ve been an HCC student for a while. Do you remember the first classes you signed up for?
Developmental math and developmental English.
Did you think then that you would get a degree?
Not at that time. I didn't know what direction I wanted to go in. A couple of years later, I took some time off just so I could get my head right. But when I came back two years ago, I said, ‘I'm not stopping until I get my degree.’ Now my path is clear. I know the direction I want to go in.
What direction is that?
My major is liberal arts, and right now I'm doing a three-credit internship through ALANA. I'm learning what goes into being a mentor, how to organize events, and all of that. I think my niche is leading in that direction. Giving people advice has always come naturally to me. So, I started thinking, Let me try to turn this into a career.
What else have you been up to for the past 10 years?
I started working as a personal care assistant for my mom through Stavros (Center for Independent Living). She's had multiple strokes, one major heart attack that's confirmed. It's a blessing she's still here. Other than that, I was in my 20s, and, you know, just enjoying life. But then life caught up, and it was time to settle down.
You've never served in student governent before. Why did you want to be the student-trustee?
That's a good question. I feel like I can make a difference for my fellow students. And what I mean by make a difference is the fact that I've been here for 10 years. I know about the struggle, and I can offer them advice: Take a deep breath. Keep going. I am here for you. My motto is this, Their success is my success. If they're not successful, then I'm not doing my job as student-trustee to make sure that they are okay, and something is off.
You mentioned “the struggle.” What was your struggle?
Part of it is, I have autism and ADHD, but people don't know that by looking at me. I can relate to students who struggle. I’ve attended a lot of tutoring sessions, really drilling in, trying to take in the information. There were times that I had to redirect myself, because I didn't take some stuff seriously. I tell my fellow students, “You are your best advocate. You choose the direction. If you have to disconnect for a quick second, breathe, go use the restroom. If you're not doing self-checks to make sure you are doing your best, that's a problem. I have been there before. That's something that I'm still learning. And, you know, it is OK to ask for help. It's not a weakness. Once I realized that, things started to go smoother.
Have any advisers or teachers been particularly instrumental in your journey?
Oh, yes. My mentor through ALANA, Miguel Velez, has been incredibly instrumental, getting on me when necessary and also giving me encouragement. And my disability adviser, Erin O’Brien, from Disability & Deaf Services. She also keeps me encouraged, and checks on me here and there, just to say, “Hey, keep going.”
How helpful has ALANA been for you?
It’s helped me to get out of my own way and think big, get out of my comfort zone, challenge me for the better, and I am thankful for that.
How have you challenged yourself?
Believe it or not, I wasn't really a fan of internships before, but then when I decided to learn about them, I'm like, You know what? I want to do an internship. And now that I'm in it, I am thankful that I pushed myself to do it, because you gotta be on your game. You can't slack off. What I've gathered so far: Focus is the key. But I’ve also learned not overexert myself, because then I lose focus.
Serving as student-trustee must also be challenging.
On a personal note, my election as student-trustee gave validation to that little boy inside of me. Because, when I was in elementary school, I was in a class called life skills, and that class I didn't need to be in. But one day, I was getting in trouble for something. I was the teacher's target, and she told me, “You won’t make it at anything, you won't be anything, and you won't achieve at anything.
And so when I was elected, I was in shock. But it was another milestone that I could tell that child inside, Look at all of this that you are achieving. That teacher was so wrong.
How has OSDDS been able to help you?
I have tons and tons of testing anxiety. OSDDS has made sure I have my accommodations in place, so that I can go to a separate testing area to go to to focus on the task at hand. That has been beneficial.
What are your priorities as student-trustee?
I want to focus on student awareness and communication and also just letting the students know that I am here, and I am available. Come up and talk to me. I am open. I am all yours. I want to be an advocate for them and the problems that they see, so that way our campus can be better, right? I am looking forward to building connections with my fellow trustees and learning from them, because I am new, but the vibe that I get so far is that they treasure the student perspective.
Do you have a plan for after HCC?
I'm thinking of going into the workforce after my associate degree. But, I'm taking in all information about four-year schools in the area and how the transfer process works in case I do change my mind down the line and want to transfer. I’d like to do some kind of mentoring work, and I know achieving my degree from HCC will help me make that happen.
But I'm not ruling anything out. I am open. As I go through my role as student-trustee and as I network, and make connections, a couple of months from now, my mind may change. But I'm open. I'm not closed. I say this season is my season of yes.
PHOTO: 2024-2025 student-trustee Julius Dixon
