From Access to Belonging: Building a New Blueprint for Engagement and Equity

John Turntine, Director, Student Engagement, Weatherford College

I began my career in 2008 at Weatherford College as the Director of Talent Search, a role I held for seven years before becoming the Director of Student Life and Career Services in 2014. In that position, I oversaw daily operations of the Student Life and Career/Transfer Center, ensuring resources were accessible to students, alumni, community members and visitors. I built relationships with local businesses and educational institutions, pursued partnerships that supported students and developed campus-wide student life activities. I also managed Articulation and Memorandum of Understanding agreements.

In 2019, I became the Director of Student Engagement, tasked with developing guided pathway initiatives related to academic advising and collaborating with academic departments, transfer partners and local businesses. Since 2018, I have also served as a DSO for International Admission at Weatherford College. I am a proven student success and engagement administrator who values all aspects of leadership and thrives on change. With nearly 16 years of higher education experience, I have consistently advocated for opportunities for low-income, first-generation and traditionally underserved populations. I am a relationship builder and collaborator who enjoys innovative environments and motivating others. I also work as a consultant, workshop facilitator and fundraiser committed to service, quality, growth, excellence and strong ethics.

How Lived Challenges and First-Gen Perspectives Shifted an Entire Engagement Philosophy

One moment that permanently shifted how I approach student engagement happened a few years into my work with first-generation students. While reviewing mid-semester data, I noticed a group of primarily Black and Hispanic students who began the semester engaged and academically strong but were suddenly disappearing from classes and advising. On paper, they were prepared, yet they were carrying invisible burdens like transportation issues, food insecurity, family responsibilities and a lack of belonging. Meeting with them individually revealed what data alone cannot capture, students rarely step away because they can’t do the work, they step away when they feel unseen or unsupported. In that moment, student engagement stopped being about programs and became about relationships, access and persistence. That experience led me to redesign how we support students, building culturally responsive systems, integrating case-management approaches like CIS, using real-time data and creating spaces where Black and Hispanic students feel affirmed and heard. Since then, persistence has improved not because students worked harder, but because the institution changed around them.

I also know engagement isn’t participation, it’s belonging. My approach is shaped by my own upbringing. Throughout my life, people cared for me not just as an athlete, but as a person, providing emotional support and even basic needs when I had none. Some early experiences were traumatic and I work intentionally to protect my students from similar harm. When engaging students, I strive to see the whole person, their background, fears and goals. Each day, I give back the same compassion once given to me, knowing many of my students need it just as deeply.

Educators should be leaders and trendsetters in meeting industry needs, but we are not and in my opinion, this is largely because we are still trying to use an antiquated (Baby Boomer/brick and mortar) model to address varying generations. Lack of engagement leads to lack of retention and ultimately completion. I believe what the industry continues to miss is that retention is about relationships and students want to engage with everyone at every level.  While this is an educational enterprise the success of our enterprise is largely built on relationships that are forged with students. It is imperative that we create spaces where students feel that they belong.

“I strive to see the whole person, their background, fears and goals. Each day, I give back the same compassion once given to me, knowing many of my students need it just as deeply.”

It is also equally important that we recognize that underrepresented and first-generation students have different needs (food insecurity, childcare, parent care, transportation issues) and we must be willing to address those needs by developing collaborative opportunities with community partners. These students need to be nurtured like no other generation I have ever seen before.  They want mothers, fathers, aunts, grandmothers, big brothers and sisters and you must be versatile enough to have those types of conversations with them.  We seem to have more of a responsibility with helping them grow and with helping their parents let them grow as well.

Human Connection, Retention Gaps and Where Colleges Should Start

The biggest missed opportunity in community colleges when it comes to long-term student engagement and retention is capitalizing on the campus social media influencers and creating additional social media spaces to engage.  Whether we choose to admit it or not, this is where a lot of our students are, especially the younger generations. We also take several things for granted that we assume students know their soft skills, social skills, etc., and then wonder why we’re frustrated with them. A lot of things were missed during COVID and some of these skills must be taught to them, even in a college environment.  I think another thing that’s missed at community college is creating a culture of engagement throughout the college including faculty and staff. The human element should remain non-negotiable everywhere! I think we must redefine what “human element” looks like.  For example, in online classes most CRMs have a video function that most faculty do not use. Sending a video response to students or having student occasionally submit video responses to discussion questions creates and maintains connection.  Again, how are we defining “the human element” on our campus, and it is part of our campus culture?

Ask the students!!! Focus groups, surveys, one-on-one conversations with the students (again this requires relationships). And I’m not talking about the SGA or Honors students. They are already engaged. I’m talking about the students who are struggling, the ones who are constantly walking around with headphones on. How do you get your introverts to connect?  How do you engage on social media? What would be eye-catching on flyers? Also, look at the timing of your events.  If they are low attended, it could be the wrong day/time. Tracking attendance at events will provide data to help determine the best days/times for in-person events. You can do the same with online events as well.