No Place for You Here

I loved theatre. Ever since I was in middle school, I was drawn to performance. I loved being on stage and hearing the applause. I had a small part in a middle school play and caught the acting bug.

I joined the theatre class at my high school, finally getting my big break in my sophomore year. I was cast as Maria in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. I was elated as I had to beat out two other girls for this role. My first high school production. The show didn't go on without hiccups. Wherever there are theatre kids, there is drama. This post isn't about that. It's actually about inclusion.

During my experiences in high school theatre, I always had to bring my own makeup. I attended a small school in Arizona, and our theatre department was underfunded, but we did well with what we had. I noticed early on that all the Black people had to bring their own makeup. There was never a shade for people of my complexion.

My theatre teacher proudly announced that she was going to get more makeup, and I asked if that meant more shades. She replied awkwardly, obviously startled by me having the gall to ask. She responded that she would get more shades, just not mine.

That is why I started working in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. I didn't know then, but my experiences in high school theatre planted the seed for me to be inclusive in my practices. I didn't have the words to describe what I wanted to do, nor did I know what working in DE&I even entailed, until I started working at The Walt Disney Company.

It was there I got more experience working with marginalized populations, understanding their pain points, and coming up with solutions to make employees feel heard and valued. I never wanted employees to feel what I felt as a 16-year-old in theatre.