Q&A with Tiburcio Lince, new director of GVSU's Office of Multicultural Affairs

Tiburcio Lince joined GVSU in September as the director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA). Having grown up in Mexico before migrating to Texas, Lince brings with him firsthand experience as a first-generation college student, as well as a master's degree in Spanish and Iberian studies from Texas State University and years of experience in diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. Learn more about Lince's background and his passion for the work being accomplished through OMA.

Can you tell me a bit about your life growing up?

I grew up in a small, rural town called San Antonio De Guadalupe before I migrated in 2002 to a small town in Texas. It was really fascinating because we perceived America very differently from the exterior. I remember my first time going to school here and seeing the yellow school bus coming to pick us up. My brother and I were like, "It's just like in the Simpsons!" So the bus turns onto our little dirt road at our dairy farm and everything becomes super real. We got on the bus and I remember the driver trying to tell us something, but it was in English, and we didn't speak any English. So we just sat down. That whole first day was memorable for me because this was what my family had been yearning for, right? But I struggled a little bit in high school. My parents wanted to help and support us, but there was no communication available for them. But I got into a TRiO program called Upward Bound and that made a world of difference in me going to college. I had the educational values that my parents instilled in me, but not the means to get there. Upward Bound stepped in and provided that opportunity.

I decided to go to Tarleton State University, but was struggling as a first-generation college student. One of my friends mentioned that we could just hang out in the Upward Bound office there. So I'd go there and then I just wouldn't leave. So the director said, "Well, we might as well pay you." And, I became a student worker in my first year of college. That's really when my passion for higher education began because it's one thing to go through college, but to really understand what's at play is another. Sitting in that space and looking at the barriers that rural Texas was going through and what our first-generation college students were going through was super formative in my experience.

You have a very dive-in, can-do attitude. Where did that come from?

There's a lot at stake for our students. When you think about all the sacrifices that they have to make to be in college, particularly our first-generation students or our undocumented students, it shouldfeel scary, right? Because it is our responsibility. How do we set up the learning environment for them to thrive? When you have the ability to influence that, you're going to do it right. You're going to fight for it, advocate for it, and seek a way to do it effectively. You have to be fully present, fully cognizant of what you're advocating for.

Do you have a mantra or stand-out piece of advice that guides your work?

Early on in my career, I traveled to the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education. At the conference, a professor who spoke said that diversity is a fact. Often, the work stops institutionally because we see that we have a diverse class. But no, that is just a fact. Inclusion is the practice. That is something that we need to continuously readjust, because DEI approaches from 30 years ago or even five years ago won't meet our needs today. Then the third piece of it is equity is a goal. But the goal keeps moving because so many things are happening. But as an educator, that's always something I have to center on. Again, compositional diversity is often what stops the conversation. But then we have the inclusion piece of asking those questions: OK, we have students here, but what have we not provided for them? Where are the inequity gaps in achievement? The equity piece is that everybody has a fair game, a level field for playing the game. That's something that always stuck with me.

Outside of work, what else do you like to do?

I've been getting closer with my family and practicing a lot of our family recipes. I'll call my mom or sister and ask them how to make this or that. Cooking helps me a lot. Once I go home, I just truly try to disconnect from the world. I also love watching foreign films. With Upward Bound, I would teach a foreign film class. It was so cool talking to high school students about concepts in these movies like gender, types of love, social justice, gender equity and how men can advocate for it. We talk about feelings and really empower students to achieve some sort of emotional intelligence through it.

What is something that people wouldn't guess about you?

I am painfully, painfully introverted. But in education, you learn how to mask and how to be there for students. But once you get home, you're so tired. If you observe me carefully, all the signs of being introverted are there. I would say the other thing is I'm kind of an emotional hoarder. So, I like to bring along my journey little things for mementos, items my students have given me, things I've picked along my travel, or just little things I value a lot.

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