“Inclusion” by Kyron A. — Western Oregon University, Business Administration

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My life experiences have added an extreme sense of diversity not only within my educational life
but my personal life as well. Growing up biracial, I always felt somewhat in between the societal
norm. I wasn’t always black enough or white enough for certain groups of kids. I tried my best to
see past the racial divide as a child but the underlying barrier continued to remain in front of me.
My white mom has supported me throughout my life and nurtured me when nobody else was
there. But as she was white, I didn’t always have that understanding of my black culture. As I
grew older and placed myself into the world of sports, I was finally introduced to more kids that
looked like me. For the first time in my life, I had friends and peers who understood how I was
feeling and exactly what I had gone through. My culture was no longer in question as I had
made my own, and surrounded myself with people who supported that culture. I realized then
that I didn’t have to be black enough for the black kids or white enough for the white kids but
that I had my own culture and own support system that I could rely on regardless of my skin
tone. Football guided me through this time and has supported me like a brother when I felt
cornered and alone. My diverse experiences are similar to my biracial peers and I find so much
comfort in relating to those like me.

Honestly, I haven’t always had a passion for school. I grew up with a speech impediment and a
learning disability. I faced many days of other kids in my class laughing at me when I spoke. I
struggled to grasp a liking of school because of how others treated me at school. This made me
stop trying. In elementary and middle-school, I only had a passion for playing sports. It wasn’t
until high school that I began to work through my learning challenges. I was placed in the IEP
program and received some of the IEP accommodations due to my learning disabilities. Working
with the teachers, I realized that if I use my resources and study more, I can actually get good
grades. I started to become very proud of myself. I started to enjoy school and enjoyed learning
new things. I started seeing my grades improve over time. My high school counselor tells me
that I am a “success story” for Beaverton High School. I stayed focused to maintain good grades
because I always knew I wanted to play college football, if I slacked on my grades the slightest
bit, my dreams of playing football at the next level would ultimately end. The more my focus
started to gear towards my education, I began to realize that getting a college degree is my
ultimate goal.

Due to the experiences I have faced in my life, I feel I can better connect with so many more
groups around me. I understand the point of view and the importance of representation more
than ever because of the life I have lived. My high school’s Black Student Union has greatly
impacted my high school experiences because I can closely listen and learn from my black
peers’ involvement during their teenage years. Most of our work mainly consists of the building
of representation and inclusivity amongst clubs, classes, sports teams, and schools in general.
Surrounding myself with black content creators on social media and sports broadcasting are just
some of the ways I boost the representation around me. With that said, I know that as a bi-racial
person I am representing a large portion of minorities within my different ‘bubbles’ of people.
Within my football team, I try to be as best of a leader as possible for the younger grades as
well as the youth programs because I won’t point out that I felt as if I didn’t belong and was
confused at their age. I want to be that teammate that they look up to and feel they have a
better understanding of themselves and their culture because of the impact that I created. I
believe this starts within the youth because they are most impressionable. Seeing older and
successful black men gives them someone to look up to and especially someone that they can
say, “Hey, he looks like me!”

My responsibilities as a black man within my sports teams and family remain the most important
aspects of my life. As I continue my football career at Western Oregon University, I intend on
getting involved with the youth programs and starting camps to spread my love of football and
skills as a successful black man who also has a learning disability. I am changing the stigma
and utilizing my knowledge and skills to better myself and those around me. These experiences
have shaped who I am today and I now know that my representation matters.

Inclusion is not only important for ourselves to feel a sense of self satisfaction in this world, but it
is also important to make sure that the other people in our lives, even others we cross paths
with, also feel that sense of belonging. Whether you are shy, have learning challenges,
physical disabilities, mental health challenges, or low self-esteem, everyone deserves to feel
happy and confident about themselves. The next generation deserves to live in a society where
they can express themselves verbally or visually. They deserve to not “feel judged” or “made
fun of” by their family, teachers, other kids, or strangers, just because they are not what society
thinks is “normal”. I want to show the youth population that they are unique and special in their
own ways. I want to help them build their self-esteem. If I can have an influence in their lives,
their own self-confidence will grow and grow each year.