Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Webb’s Taco Truck

BY NICK LEE ’22

Let’s go on a drive. Don’t worry, it’ll be short, only five minutes away from Webb on Towne and Foothill. In the northwest parking lot, illuminated by a fading CVS Pharmacy sign, you’ll spot a taco truck. Actually, you’ll probably hear the massive crowd before you see it – firefighters mockingly chasing toddlers gripping foil wraps and teenagers laughing in the back of pickup trucks – all huddled around a smoky grill and a pineapple-topped rotisserie. Tattooed bodybuilders line up with police officers and elementary students who cannot get enough of the jarritos. And on Friday nights, you’ll always see a group of Webb students there too. Tacos bring people together.

“Nick, you were and will always be an essential part of the taco truck. You brought the flavor of diverse perspectives and experiences, the spice of controversy, and the utility of a sturdy truck coming to do the hard work each and every day and serve its community. Students like you are the reason that the work of equity and inclusion is essential and why you have made such a powerful impact on the climate and culture at Webb. Best wishes as you bring a taco truck to another lucky

school community.” – John Choi, Director of Equity

This is community: folks of all backgrounds, ages, and identities finding common space and conversation. I attribute Mr. Choi’s office, and the DEI program, to be the “taco truck” of Webb. In that boxy Hooper office stocked with allyou-can-eat gummies, Webb students build community. DEI – diversity, equity, and inclusion – brings students together. I have never heard applause so loud as during a BSU open mic, nor experienced a space so raw as an affinity group. We keep it real.

The definition of DEI can get lost in the grand gestures of political fanfare and storefront advertisements, but here’s what it means to me: no matter who you are, where you are from or where you are going, you are welcome here. You will find your people. We want to be your people. At Webb, you have the space to be yourself, real and intimate and uncomfortably you.

So here goes. This is my attempt at DEI work, via this Webb publication. Hi, my name is Nick Lee. I am 5’11.5'' and despise that I cannot call myself 6 feet tall. I am terrible at pool, great at finding new taco stands, and harmfully competitive in all-you-can-eat competitions. I am learning to love my Korean heritage, but it is hard sometimes. Last week, an old surfer got in my face and asked if I could fight in kung fu or taekwondo. I didn’t need to be Asian to understand that those are fighting words. But tomorrow I leave for college, and in my last meal in California, my best friends and I are sharing Korean food, family-style. That’s the Korean culture I’m proud of, the part of myself I love to share. After all, Texas got nothing on our barbecue. See, it’s not that hard. DEI work is just keeping it real. And in keeping it real, you learn to have raw conversations. Webb is a living and learning community, and the DEI program transcends both. We’re a global boarding school, composed of hundreds of students from distinct and intrinsically disparate identities. We ask these teenagers to live together, to grow together, to not only share meals but also share opinions on the death penalty and creationism. It’s a tall task, and yet, I lived it every day for four years. Such conversation and proximity forges a powerful shared space. My best friends are from Rancho Cucamonga, Madrid, and Beijing. Webb’s DEI work protects both our students and our classrooms. DEI empowers the students to speak from themselves, for themselves – and in these moments, we produce truly educational dialogue.

This dialogue is the core of our Webb education. I was an Admission Fellow, and on tours, parents would always ask, “Was Webb a good education?” Yes. I have learned more at Webb than anywhere else because Webb takes learning beyond the classroom. Webb taught me the world is in my grasp, and called on me to change it. And so, Webb is built on DEI work. DEI education comes in two parts. First, it invites students to find intimacy and safety, to have tough conversations and look within themselves. Then, DEI asks us to pay it forward.

Look back on that taco truck one last time. Look down Towne and Foothill, and further than Claremont and Southern California. Here is the real world, outside of the rolling green hills and newly-renovated Hooper Center. The real world is beautiful and broken. When we graduate, shake the hand of Taylor Stockdale, and leave the sanctuary of the black Webb gates, every Webb student knows two things. One, it is our generation’s role to improve upon our world. Two, we always have a Webb community to come back to.