S tudent L ife Welcoming the New Dean of Student Affairs: Dr. La’Tonya Rease Miles By Jessica Berger, Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Experience, with Jordyn Sanico ‘22 Menlo College is proud to welcome Dr. La’Tonya ‘LT’ Rease Miles as its Dean of Student Affairs. Rease Miles earned her Ph.D. in American Literature in 2004 from UCLA, where her research focused on the representation of Black masculinity in African American literature and pop culture, with a special emphasis on sports. She went on to hold leadership roles at top-rated California colleges, serving as the Director of the Academic Resource Center at Loyola Marymount University and, most recently, the Executive Director of First-Year Experience and Strategic Initiatives at UCLA.
Dr. Rease Miles congratulates senior class president Devon Nemelka ’21.
Dr. Rease Miles is a nationally recognized authority on first-generation students and the first-year experience in higher education. Drawing on her expert knowledge as well as her personal experience as a first-generation college student, Rease Miles regularly serves as a consultant to institutions of higher education across the nation. Her expertise in this field “adds important depth in ensuring our large contingent of first-generation students thrive during their studies at Menlo,” said Menlo College President Steven Weiner, when asked about her appointment; “She will be an effective advocate for our students and a valuable addition to the Menlo leadership team.”
At the heart of Dr. Rease Miles’ professional vision is her drive to support students as individuals – a view that will be at home in Menlo’s tight-knit environs. “One of the reasons I chose Menlo College was because of its close community; its small size gives me the chance to get to know students on a more personal level,” she says; “I look forward to creating a lasting positive impact on the college and increasing social equity through education. I am very excited to join the Menlo family.”
Empowering First-Generation Students to Succeed By La’Tonya ‘LT’ Rease Miles, Ph.D., Dean of Student Affairs
Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs and Lilian Rincon are just a few notable innovators who also happen to be the first in their families to go to college. Here at Menlo, nearly one out of every three students is considered a first-generation college student. Being educational pioneers often means that first-generation students are resourceful, resilient, highly motivated and entrepreneurial. Since I did not come from a college-going background, I picked colleges based upon what I did know: sports. I enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill because I knew that it was a “good” school and, more importantly, because of its powerhouse basketball team. I arrived on campus eager to learn and ready to explore, but I was surprised by the many things I did not know about college—things I couldn’t ask my mom. I know now that what I experienced was culture shock as a first-generation student. And like many of my fellow first-gens, I was thwarted by school policies and customs that students are expected to know but are not taught directly. For instance, I had no idea that I could drop a class. Instead, I stuck it out in biology—afraid to speak with an academic advisor and wanting to make my mom proud. As Dean of Student Affairs, I have a unique opportunity to pay it forward and to be the person that I needed when I was in college. It brings me tremendous joy to connect a student with a resource, to help them through a crisis situation or to celebrate their accomplishments. I also support other campuses nationally as they develop their own first-generation college programs and initiatives. For instance, I founded and moderate a national Facebook group; I co-founded the Black First-Gen Collective; and I am co-editing a book about the unique relationships between campus service workers and first-generation students that will be published later this year. All of the things that make Menlo College special—small class sizes, hands on learning, caring faculty and staff—are the things that make it ideal for first-generation students and their families. In fact, Menlo is primed to be a leader in the national first-generation movement. In the near future, there will be special outreach for first-generation students during orientation and at Open Houses for admissions. And the campus now has a chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha, a national honor society for first-generation students (and alumni). As the saying goes: Tall oaks from little acorns grow! 43 SUMMER 2021
