DEI Articles

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Tuesday, December 14th Student Services and the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion hosted the Jingle & Mingle.  A wonderful time was had by all, and the event could not have happened without the involvement of the following individuals who made up the Jingle & Mingle ensemble: Alex Hazen, Dr. Alicia B. Harvey-Smith, Marsha N. Lindsay, Lisa Michaux, Leigh Moss, Frank Schurter, and Crystal Wamalwa.

Special thanks are also extended to Jaclyn Smith, Melissa Gnoth, and Mark Bellemare for setting up the Gallery, Eric Joseph & Multimedia students for AV support, and Ethan Mansberger for photographing the event.

Of course, we appreciate the support of students, staff and faculty who participated in the activities.

We are a small, but mighty institution, leading with our hearts. We strive to create an authentic culture of communication, collaboration, and care. Kindness is demonstrated daily, and we should all be proud to be part of the PTC Magic!

When I started at Pittsburgh Technical College in February 2021, I never expected to accomplish as much as I have in one year.  Under the illustrious leadership of President, Dr. Alicia B. Harvey-Smith, and a supportive Board of Trustees, the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion emerged as a beacon of light, support, and encouragement for the PTC community.

New employees often experience anxiety and apprehension about transitioning to a new job. In addition to starting a new job with PTC, I also relocated from Houston, TX to Oakdale, PA. However, I can say my experience at PTC has inspired me to do more and be more to those who have entrusted me with cultivating relationships and launching initiatives to further strengthen our mission, vision, and values.

The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is committed to providing leadership, guidance, and resources supporting the institution’s commitment to develop, implement, measure, and transform our culture to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for all.  

It is with pride, passion, and persistence, I will continue working diligently to promote PTC as an institution and employer of choice.

We have some exciting things happening in 2022!

One of the core tenants of digital accessibility is that all meaningful visual information (photos, artwork, videos, etc.) should have equivalent text. Most often, this comes in the form of alt tags—a hidden field that contains information about the image being displayed on the page—or in the form of a written transcript that describes both audio and visual information from a multimedia presentation or video. Alt tags and transcripts are readable by screen readers, allowing people without sight to hear the information read aloud.

According to the CDC, more than 4 million people in the US alone have an uncorrectable vision impairment, so these tools are vital for many people, but the benefits of text equivalency extend far beyond the blind community in some surprising ways. Drivers often benefit from the power of audiobooks or hands-free voice-activated calling. Children who can’t yet read can look at the pictures while an electronic narrator reads the story in a picture book. Students who are learning a second language get a more comprehensive understanding when they see a picture of an object, can read its name, and hear the word spoken aloud.

But the biggest benefit of alternate text may be searchability. Videos and images, until relatively recently, were completely unsearchable. If you wanted to share a funny line from your favorite sitcom with a friend, you would have to fast forward and rewind the video until you found the right spot. With text equivalency, you gain the ability to search for a keyword or phrase and be instantly taken to that precise moment in the video.

Google Image Search was introduced twenty years ago in 2001 after search queries for a dress worn by Jennifer Lopez overtook the Internet. Developers soon realized that not all web searches could be answered with text content and so the value of image captions and alt tags grew. Now, through the power of artificial intelligence, computers can even begin to understand what might be in a photograph. People, trees, and other common objects are recognizable to AI after averaging millions of images and their associated text. The alternative text that we write manually now helps to inform tomorrow’s technology.

Learn more about how to write good alternative text for searchability and accessibility with the following resources:

Moz.com – Alt Text

Accessible Images in Microsoft Word

Official Kwanzaa Website

Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States that honors African heritage in African American culture. Kwanzaa is observed from December 26 to January 1 and culminates in gift giving and a big feast.

Kwanzaa has seven core principles, or Nguzo Saba, as follows:

Learn more about Kwanzaa – HISTORY.

One of my favorite groups is TLC.  Their song, “Waterfalls,” was released in 1995.  I remember hearing the song and listening to the lyrics.  And in 1996, I recall listening to an interview during which the performers discussed the lyrics to the song and its relevance in bringing attention to the issues of illegal drug sales, promiscuity, and HIV/AIDS.  The video was a poignant visual statement to help bring awareness to an illness initially considered the disease of those living alternative lifestyles. 

HIV/AIDS, or human immunodeficiency virus, is considered by some to be a global pandemic. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) currently describes HIV as a global epidemic. As of 2018, approximately 37.9 million people world-wide have been infected with HIV and approximately 770,000 individuals died from AIDS.

Today, celebrities such as Charlie Sheen, Jonathan Van Ness, Magic Johnson, Billie Porter, Javier Munoz, and Danny Pintauro, are open about being HIV positive, which has significantly increased awareness and improved education surrounding the virus. Unfortunately, we’ve also lost celebrities to this disease: Rock Hudson, Freddie Mercury, and Eazy-E, to name a few.

“I’m not saying this because I’m looking for a soft cushion wherever I’m heading. I just feel that I’ve got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what’s real when it comes to AIDS.”

Eazy-E

To learn more about HIV prevention and general education:  Prevention | HIV Basics | HIV/AIDS | CDC

PTC’s student ambassador program has been refreshed. Under the guidance of Marsha N. Lindsay, Crystal Wamalwa, Sloan Spinks, and Mercedes Major, PTC Ambassadors will serve in a variety of capacities including assisting with open houses, orientations, and private campus tours, as well as serving as greeters for special events, and more. They are trained leaders who represent the unique student experience at PTC.  Additionally, they serve as student liaisons representing the PTC student body when speaking with our professional staff. We expect to empower them more in the future. 

Current PTC Ambassadors:

Robert Booker, Electronics Engineering Technology
Ryenn Brady, Welding Technology
Kacie Brooks, Business Administration
Katheryn Coates, Culinary Arts
Tia Egli, Electronics Engineering Technology
Madison Forry, Surgical Technology
Harleigh List, Surgical Technology
Abram Mellott, Welding Technology
Kolton Orendi, Welding Technology
Ryan Shields, Welding Technology

November is Pancreatic Cancer and Gastric Cancer Awareness month: I wear purple and periwinkle in November but carry hope for the cause every day.

The world is in chaos as people continue to struggle to make sense of the global pandemic. However, the pandemic is not the only illness that is taking people’s lives. Since the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic, thousands of people lost their battle with various other diseases, including cancer.  

While most of us associate November with our Thanksgiving festivities, it is also the awareness month for Pancreatic and Gastric cancer. So, for me, November is the month I associate with the two most profound losses in my life. On November 19th, 2012, my grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer. It was unexpected, and for my family, it was a loss we struggled to reconcile for years.   

We were fortunate to all be with my grandmother when she took her last breath. Five years later, on November 17th, 2017, my father was diagnosed with gastric cancer. His arms comforted me, and his words encouraged me when my grandmother passed away, and the thought of losing my father was inexplicable. There was no one to console me when he passed away. 

I believe that losing these two people helped shape me into the woman I am today. Before their cancer diagnoses, neither of them was ever sick and they both ate well, exercised regularly, did not smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs of any kind. They took care of themselves, yet cancer still took their lives. I grieve losing them every day, but especially in November, and even more so around the holidays. And so, as I strive to serve PTC in the role of Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, I hope the biggest impact I have is to encourage people to love genuinely and authentically, regardless of differences.  

We divide ourselves by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, abilities, disabilities, socioeconomic status, and many other things. But cancer does not discriminate. It does not care if you are young, old, rich, poor, black, white, mean, or kind. It ravishes your body, and no amount of money, chemotherapy, radiation, or prayer can save you from the inevitable if it is your time.  

If you are fortunate to survive cancer, it continues to live with you in the mental, emotional, physical, and financial scars. You and your loved ones live every day with the fear that, at any time, cancer could rear its ugly head and once again render you helpless. This fear and helplessness should motivate and inspire us to do good, to treat others with kindness and compassion, and most of all, to remember that we are all susceptible to becoming a victim of a life-altering diagnosis, no matter who we are.

I want to believe that we have more in common with our perceived enemies than the inevitability of death. Just as cancer and other life events render us vulnerable, I want each of us to love without limits and see people as people rather than a color or cause. We should do more than mourn the loss of our loved ones or donate to causes during a particular time of the year. We should strive to learn as much as we can about things that not only affect others, but at some point, directly or indirectly, could affect us, too.  

I never knew about pancreatic cancer or gastric cancer until they robbed my family of its matriarch and elder. My Grandmother and Father exist today because of the life they lived and the legacy my family honors. There is not a day that goes by when I do not think about them, hear their voice, of feel their gentle touch when the air kisses my cheeks. I strive every day to be a better person than I was yesterday and to honor them with my actions by demonstrating kindness, compassion, empathy, patience, humility, and love.  

As you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving and gather with family and friends, please share the gift of knowledge. Please take time to learn more about pancreatic and gastric cancer. Choose a cause and support it. Remember, cancer does not discriminate.

Pancreatic Cancer – Purple Ribbon

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month – Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research

Gastric Cancer – Periwinkle blue Ribbon

Stomach Cancer Awareness Month — No stomach for Cancer

The City of Asylum is a unique place in the North Side, their mission is as follows:

“City of Asylum @ Alphabet City is a hub for Pittsburgh’s readers and writers, jazz and small-scale music and performance, and artistic experimentation. It is a home for diverse voices from around the globe—a place where Pittsburgh meets the world, and the world meets Pittsburgh. And it is also a home for many partnering artists and organizations in our own community.

By establishing a haven for writers and artists who voice ideas that are new, different, or provocative in a diverse urban community, we encourage new lines of communication, cultural exchange, and collaboration. Sharing one another’s narratives can transform the lives of both residents and artists and combat intolerance and exclusion.”

Visit alphabetcity.org for more information.