Dispatches of a San Francisco Liberal from Ogden, Utah and Des Plaines, Illinois
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In June, I made my seventh trip to Ogden Utah to visit my friends Ogden-Weber Technical College or OTECH for short.
On each trip — this one included — I appreciated the approach down a road lined with beautiful trees and lush grass. OTECH sits in a perfect spot with the campus framed by the Wasatch Mountain Range.
Two weeks later — with that image fresh in my mind — I made another trip about 1400 miles due east to visit some new friends at Oakton College in Des Plaines, Illinois. Oakton is a community college that sits in 100 acres of woodlands and prairies, with a lake commanding the center of the campus.
In spite of the geographical differences, I felt the approach to this campus in much the same way as OTECH. I sat a little taller and relaxed into the beauty of my surroundings. My heart filled with a sense of wonder and pride, and told me to expect good things.
My intuition did not mislead me!
I found that it wasn’t just the natural surroundings that inspired me. On each campus, I met two amazing and forward-thinking leaders –Dr. Jim Taggart, President and CEO of OTECH, and Dr. Karl Brooks, Vice-President for Student Affairs at Oakton.
Each strove, in their own unique ways, to build and sustain campuses where everyone can thrive. Here is how my story unfolds.
Ogden-Weber Technical College (OTECH) — Ogden, Utah
On my first visit to OTECH in June of 2023, I delivered a keynote address to the staff and faculty. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how well I would be received as a San Francisco Liberal in a decidedly red part of our country. No doubt, I had my preconceived notions of folks in Northern Utah and they likely had preconceived notions of me. President Jim Taggart promptly shattered those notions.
In his opening remarks, Jim talked about the values that he was raised with in this community — hospitality, helpfulness, and making sure everyone had enough. He talked about embracing the demographic and cultural changes that their community is facing.
He reminded his colleagues about their collective responsibility to fulfill OTECH’s mission — “We build a prosperous community by creating a technically skilled workforce one student at a time.”
And he closed by talking about belonging. In his remarks, President Taggart connected traditional values of the past with the present conditions to pave the way for the future.
Over the next twelve months, my team and I worked with 60 faculty and staff leaders at OTECH to establish and sustain a campus where everyone can thrive and belong. We facilitated quarterly seminars and Second Circles, along with leading cultural-, community-, and finally campus- mapping activities through the lens of belonging during the intersessions.
In our closing seminar, leaders shared how they will implement the recommendations from their campus maps of belonging. The construction team talked about how to improve the signage in their building to make it easier for students to find their classroom. The counselors unveiled their plans for improving access to their services, especially for evening students.
The Student Center staff talked about how food is the organizing factor in the commons, and even though the culinary students prepare outstanding meals for a reasonable $6, many people can’t afford that. So they will make sure that folks can buy a sandwich and a drink in the bookstore for $3. And if that is prohibitive, the pantry will provide food free of charge.
As for President Taggart, his campus map of belonging also involved food. On every staffer’s birthday, he sent them a greeting with a “have lunch on me” coupon for the café. However, the café closes at 6pm, so many staff couldn’t redeem their coupons.
“I realized that, in my good intention, I was excluding my evening instructors, night security, and cleaning team,” President Taggart said. So he now sends them gift cards to local restaurants.
Oakton College — Des Plaines & Skokie, Illinois
Oakton has two campuses, one in Des Plaines and a second in Skokie. People of Color comprise half of the population in these communities and immigrants comprise 30% in Des Plaines. For the past nine years, Dr. Karl Brooks’ has made it his job to ensure that all students and staff these diverse communities are welcome at Oakton.
He built a leadership team that reflects the community — 50% People of Color and 50% women. He asked me to teach The Five Elements as a means to diversify the frameworks and systems that they are applying at Oakton.
“While it’s important to assure diverse representation in our staff and faculty,” Dr Brooks said, “it’s just as important that we look beyond the ways that colleges have been administered for hundreds of years and incorporate diverse approaches. That will only make us more successful.”
I could clearly see and feel the school’s mission — By providing access to quality education throughout a lifetime, we empower and transform our students in the diverse communities we serve — everywhere!
Upon entering the Student Affairs office, a gender non- conforming student with perfectly manicured nails greeted me, a young woman in a hijab entered the office to begin her new internship, and Dr. Brooks welcomed me with a warm smile and handshake.
I reflected once again on the feeling I had when I entered each of these campuses. What connected OTECH and Oakton College and what made it palpable? It began with leadership. President Taggart and Dr. Brooks epitomize, from a Five Elements perspective, the archetype of The Visionary.
The Visionary is represented as a tall tree — deeply rooted in purpose yet reaching for the sky, exploring many different ways to expand and grow. Wonder and possibility motivate the Visionary. and they may seem to be three steps ahead of us. Their infectious positive energy can serve as a gift to motivate and mobilize teams toward a common goal.
Aspiring leaders everywhere can take a lesson from these two men with their clear and specific action steps on how to bring a positive vision to reality. Jim Taggart and Karl Brooks, not only present their grand vision, but lead their teams to realize them.
This fall, Ogden Technical High School opened its doors at OTECH allowing high school students to earn their diplomas and get a jumpstart on their college education. Oakton College just opened their new Learning Commons at its Skokie Campus, providing a host of academic and social resources for students.
Stay tuned for my next dispatch from Woodinville, WA, where I will introduce you to my teacher Katherine Metz, and we will take a philosophical journey back a thousand years.
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Kevin John Fong is an internationally recognized cultural translator, facilitator, and speaker in transformative justice, leadership development, and building beloved communities. Kevin is the Founder of the Kahakulei Institute, whose mission is to weave people and possibilities to cultivate communities of belonging.
Kevin is a featured host on the CNBC News series, Changing the Narrative, and the author of, “The Five Elements: An East Asian Approach to Achieve Organizational Health, Professional Growth, and Personal Well-Being.”
Most importantly, Kevin is the child of Bob and Mary; the spouse of Greg; and the parent of Rafael, Santiago and Conner. Kevin lives in the traditional land of the Ramaytush Ohlone people, now known as San Francisco, CA.
