Rope Teams: Identity & Allyship

We are thrilled to welcome you to Excelsior University’s online community, including Excelsior’s identity/allyship communities or “rope teams” designed to support your Excelsior experience by enhancing your access to connections, opportunities, resources and experiences that can help you succeed based on the identities or allyships that matter to you.  

We call them “rope teams” because these communities, as many as you are interested in accessing, are here to support your student and alum journey, as well as to provide you with an opportunity to support the journey of those you want to help succeed. The term “rope team’ comes from the world of climbing, which can be dangerous depending on the height and kind of rock or mountain you are ascending. Climbing with a team in which all members are connected by a rope ensures everyone’s safety; if you fall, the team will hold you and, if a teammate falls, you and the rest of the team will hold them. All challenges, like climbing a mountain, are much easier to overcome if we are doing it with others, so as Gretchen Evans powerfully recommends, find your rope team to succeed and to support the success of others.   

At Excelsior University, we believe that we are in the business of working with our students and community members to facilitate and support your preparation as a member of our next generation or leaders. Unfortunately, many of our current societal challenges have become systemic and most of them seem to have come to a defining crossroads (think of global warming, social injustice, international relations, systemic poverty and many others). Based on research, we know that our ability to respond to these systemic challenges lies in our capacity to leverage our diversity of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, ideas and skills, and to leverage them as strategic assets to our organizational, social and governmental decision-making and performance. 

In response, Excelsior University has created identity/allyship and career “rope teams” for the following five purposes: 

• To level the plain and bring equity to the experience of underprivileged students and alums.  
• To curate connections, opportunities, resources and experiences based on the identities and allyships that matter to you, to community members and to those they are interested in supporting.  
• To further integrate the student experience, strategically linking the networks, experiences and support that matter them, to you and to the community around you. 
• To engage all community stakeholders in supporting the preparation of the next generation of leaders (one of our most important societal endeavors). 
• To offer you 365/24/7 access to connections, opportunities and resources related to your interests, needs and success, at your own time, place and pace. 

We are strongly looking forward to your participation in any of the rope teams that interest you and to interacting with you in their corresponding conversations and programs! Notice that, at the platform, you will also be able to log in and set your content and frequency preferences to receive an individualized newsletter with connections, opportunities, and/or resources in your areas of interest. See you in the rope teams that matter to you!