Mamta Accapadi
There’s so many people, I think, who have paved the way for us that I think we can continue to chronicle those stories to remind us that not only are we not alone in this snapshot in time, but over an arc of time, we have never been alone. And that we’re part of a continuum of human consciousness.

Keith Edwards
Hello and welcome Student Affairs NOW I’m your host Keith Edwards. Today we are introducing our new host Dr. Mamta Accapadi. I’m also joined by Heather Shea to help me welcome Mamta to the team, pepper her with questions, and introduced her to all of you. As you know, student fares now is the premier podcasts and online learning community for 1000s of us work in alongside or adjacent to the field of higher education and student affairs. We release new episodes every week on Wednesdays find details about this episode or browse our archives at studentaffairsnow.com. As I mentioned, I’m your host, Keith Edwards, my pronouns are he him his. I’m a speaker, consultant and coach and you can find out more about me at keithedwards.com. I’m broadcasting today from the snowy Minneapolis, Minnesota was that the intersections of the ancestral homelands of the Dakota in the Ojibwe peoples over to you, Heather.

Heather Shea
Yes, and I am your other host, Heather Shea, my pronouns are she her and hers and I’m broadcasting also from the snowy, ancestral traditional and contemporary lands of the three fires confederacy of Ojibwe, Ottawa, Potawatomi peoples, also home to the campus of Michigan State University, where I work. And I’m really excited for today’s conversation. Mamta thank you so much for agreeing to accept our invitation, a little bit about how we got here. As many of you know, we have five amazing folks who contribute as hosts on the Student Affairs NOW channel and one of our hosts Dr. Susana Munoz is taking a faculty sabbatical from her role at Colorado State University. And as such is also taking a short sabbatical from her hosting role with us. So we’re really excited. Keith, back to you.

Keith Edwards
Yeah. Well, as we were thinking about and excited about Susana, as break and focus on her and some of the things she’s she’s doing, we wondered about adding someone and we, we feel like we have a great set of hosts. We’re doing lots of different episodes, doing lots of different things. But Heather, and I couldn’t help but banter around some different names and some different possibilities. And then Heather just kind of randomly throw it. I wonder about Mamta and we both got super excited for all that mom to brings in her humanity and our wholeness and her leadership and her role as an SSAO and leader in the profession and so many different things. And she’s been a guest on two episodes. She knows how this works. And so we just kind of were boldly and our star strictness reached out and she agreed to have a conversation with us. And I think we decided in about three minutes. Yep, this is a great idea. Let’s do it. So thank you for agreeing on our offer and for joining our host team. mopped has actually been a part of the conversations for almost two months now kind of behind the scenes. So she’s heard some of the silliness, as we have conversations with Glenn and Raechele. And I heard about some of the topics and some of the things we’re doing and learning some of the behind the scenes, but we’re excited to have your new episodes out. And have you joined the team. So Mamta, just tell us tell folks who would maybe don’t know you a little bit about you and why you’re excited to be here.

Mamta Accapadi
Oh my gosh. So first, I don’t even know how to thank Keith, you and and Heather, you as well and the entire Student Affairs NOW team, because you’re telling your version of the story, right? My version of the story is, oh my gosh, like, what an amazing opportunity. And I mean, I’m just so thankful to be a learner alongside all of you, I think. You You know, you all bring and amplify wisdoms that I think need to be amplified. And so to be part of a team that that is continually taking responsibility for our learning and growth and, and holding on to one another is super exciting. So um, gosh, about me, I don’t let’s see, where do I start? So right now. I will and I’ve always been this way. I’m a mom first. I’m always going to be a mom first. And I am back home in Austin, Texas. So my Texan accent is going to eventually come out and that’ll that’ll be fun. So when I say all y’all then you know that I’m in the zone. My entire family is here. And you know, quite honestly, and one of the I think candid conversations that we are all having and need to continue to have is just the what do you think about the impact of the pandemic? overall. And for me a couple of transitions, personal and professional. During that time, there was just a moment where I was like, I’m being pulled in too many directions I need, I need to center wellbeing, for myself and for my family. And I didn’t necessarily know what that looked like. And so it made sense to come back home to figure it out. And so as the young people say, I think I’m taking a gap year. And I, you know, just in full candor, I want to own the class privilege that allows me to be able to do that, I don’t think necessarily that we all get that opportunity. So I want to just just own that there’s a class privilege that allows me to do that. And I want to,

Keith Edwards
and not all with the privilege to do it, do it. So kudos to you on the wisdom and the action to claim what you need and make it happen. Yeah, oh, well, thank you.

Mamta Accapadi
Beyond that, I’m learning all sorts of new things. So I’m even more in a dance studio and more on a field more about that later, that story will come out as we talk. But it’s, it’s truly grateful. I think, I can’t remember a time, like, you know, even hearing you, you describe a person when you attribute that identity to me, and I just feel like I need to come clean. And that’s not who I am. I mean, I am generally a disaster. And so but But what has made me realize is that the person you describe as a person that I’m striving to be, and I realized that I can perform groundedness I can, you know, air quotes perform groundedness. But Am I really that? And what is the hard work that is required to actually be that? Because I think it’s important for us to own that to get to that grounded place is very hard work. So I just want to own that. This group, too. And yea.

Mamta Accapadi
Well, we can argue about your groundedness if you want, I’ll just say people can’t she’s actually sitting on the floor right now.

Heather Shea
Right? I just want to say I so appreciate you and I it was, it was such a joy that you said yes to our, to our invitation to join us because you know, you and I met, I believe it’s a NASPA conference. But I like instantly gravitated to the energy that you bring. And we Keith and Raechele and Nat and Glenn and I really value the community of learners, and the ability for us all to kind of come to this space to talk about hard things. And I’m like, Oh my gosh, there’s anybody I want to have those kinds of conversations with. It’s with, it’s with Mamta. So I am so grateful that you that you agreed and that you’re you’re you have so many cool ideas. But I am kind of curious, like when we reached out to you. What, what made this something you were excited about? I mean, we feel grateful that you’re joining us, but what were some of the things that kind of came up for you, as you were like thinking and pondering this idea?

Mamta Accapadi
Yeah. So I think, you know, again, one of the things that I really have the many things that I love about Student Affairs NOW is I feel well, there’s a there’s an entire continuum. So in, in singular episodes, there are blooms, so to speak, there are blooms of consciousness that come in the singular episodes. And then in aggregate, there is a, there is the opportunity for consciousness to shift. And it’s through the constellation of stories, right. And so for me, storytelling is a big part of who I am. And so the invitation that I heard from all of you was, let’s add to the repository of stories together, because we all listen and tell stories differently. And so when we expand that repository of stories for our colleagues, and folks who are listening to the podcast, there’s just, you know, a different way of listening and telling stories and, and that just meant the world to me. And, and I think right now, in a time when we’re not holding on to each other as people and as a society, you create this space where we can hold on to each other. And that’s, frankly, the most important work we need to be doing right now. So, in this invitation, you’re allowing me to walk towards living my own purpose, which, you know, I need to do that self work. So just really grateful for that invitation. So yeah, that was that.

Keith Edwards
If you want to argue about yourself, the past few minutes, so go ahead blooms of consciousness, wisdom, and all of that. And I think you’re reminding me I mean, I love doing the podcast because I’m a learner, and we get to talk about things that worry us or concern us or excited us or bring us joy or bring us life. And then we get doesn’t have an excuse to say, who are three or four really smart folks, I get to talk about with this, invite them in. And then we get to have the conversations and they get to learn and get to do that. But then also, the relationship building, just getting to connect with people you haven’t connected with for a while and connect for the first time with people has been really great. And just getting to know people in the conversations before you hit the record button and the laughter usually after hitting the record button. And all of that has been really great. Yeah. Well, as we mentioned, you’ve been a part of the conversations with our host team, folks who don’t know we meet for an hour every Thursday morning, as folks are able. And we laugh and we catch up. And we talked about the snow. And we talked about our families, we talked about Heather’s cat, who often makes the starring debut. And we talk about the profession. And we talk about the newest things we’re learning. And we talk about the great things that people are saying, and we talk about the things that really worry and concern us. And those have been really great. And as you mentioned, you’re bringing a whole new perspective, a whole new network, a whole new set of conversations, a whole new set of folks who you want to be in conversation with for your own learning and the highlight. So just share with folks, some of the things I mean, there’s too many, we don’t have enough time. But some of the things you’re kind of thinking about that you want to bring together.

Mamta Accapadi
So again, drawing from the wisdoms of past podcasts of the past, you know, one of the one of the educators, I think that’s had a strong influence in how I consider or think of, or my ability to open my capacity to think about things is Laura Renon, right. When you think about her concept of pedagogy. And so in her book, you know, she talks about this concept called or stories, right? And story, like testimonials, not quite a story. It’s a little bit like there’s more to that, like things get lost in translation. And one of my colleagues Vijay Kanagawa, who was, he’s my very much a brother to me. Vijay was one of her former doctoral students, and does his own research at Ashe guess it was, yeah, last year, maybe two years ago, we co presented on this concept of Ghattas, which is it’s a South Asian term in different languages, which also means stories, or if I could translate that, in my interpretation of the word, sacred stories or stories that are sacred over lineages, right? So those two words and any kind of notion of story and the expansiveness of that is kind of what is inspiring or challenging me to think about the types of conversations I want to or the folks that I want to learn from the past podcast and community with all of you. And so I’m really excited to connect with a couple of my indigenous indigenous identified educators to think about indigenous wisdoms that, you know, that that have informed our truths all along. And, you know, we may not think about that, or we may not think about how we name indigenous wisdoms in our daily practice. So that is really exciting. I think I’m really excited to think about how we think about social change. So educators that are looking at social change frameworks and different ways. You know, just, you know, wanting to bring those perspectives and I love when you always say, Student Affairs and Student Affairs adjacent or higher ed, adjacent, I think there’s a lot to be said for kind of drawing, you know, from people who are really trying to figure this thing out and be parts of healing across the board. The last reflection, there’s a I always keep this book in front of me, so you’ll often see me lift it up Victor Frankel’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning. I think this, this is one of the closest, I mean, I come from a spiritual tradition. But when I am often grappling, I’ve read this book many times I tab it all the time. But But this idea of right between stimulus response, there’s space, right? And within that space is our capacity to grow. And so I think we get to occupy that space, and we need to expand it. To, you know, to be part of that journey to freedom.

Keith Edwards
I love that because I think I often experienced these conversations as a step out of time. One, they’re not live. So we have the conversation and then people listen into it later. So there’s a step at a time. But oftentimes it feels like the conversations are people stepping out of the busyness of their emails, their class prep their next meeting, the student crisis, they’re being on call. And then for just an hour or less, they get to really think and be, and reflect and share. And it’s really interesting to me how many guests wrote a whole book, and then have new ideas in the conversation. Or I’ve never thought about it like that, or now I’m, you know, I’ve already said it on this. And now you’re helping remind me about this or connecting me with this. And so I love that, that you’re helping me think about it in a different way as sort of this that that space between, which I think is really lovely.

Mamta Accapadi
Well, I think, you know, as I was reflecting on my own, you know, the set of circumstances or journeying that brings me to this point, and community with both of y’all, I think about this is the I’ve, I’ve actually have never stopped to, like, I think, think I was pretending to be present. But I am now just now like in the past, otherwise, I just know, truly in the past, maybe four or five weeks, really understanding what being present actually means. I think I was performing what being present actually means. And so it’s been so restorative. And so if, you know, like, again, not if we do co create that in this space, as you mentioned, right, we can, you know, I can, I can look at the repository of experiences and decide, this is how I want to be present in this snapshot of my time. And I think it’s super, I just, it’s the kind of healing that I think we all deserve and can gift ourselves. And thankfully, to that y’all have created that space is really exciting.

Heather Shea
Again, what what you’re saying really resonates with me and, and I am, I am really conscious of the fact that this podcast was born during the pandemic, when I think all of us I, you know, speaking for myself, felt really isolated from my community and my support network. And like, as I’ve reflected on that journey, over the past several years, as Keith said, some of our conversations are very timely, others of them kind of span time and are kind of infinitely useful. But when I think about the most important lesson I’ve learned, it’s that ability to slow down and be in community and conversation with folks and explore topics that I think, you know, are issues of our time, there are issues of our field of of those who work in alongside or adjacent, right. But who are who were, we’re all trying to, I think, figure out like, what is it? What is it that we need as people to be effective both with students on our campus, but also effective as humans? Because we all live our whole lives, right? We have, we have children, we have, you know, other things that are that are calling us. And so building this as a part of that has been such a fantastic and exciting thing to be a part of. So I love every new iteration. And I’m so excited for you to be a part of this next chapter Mamta.

Mamta Accapadi
Well, it’s, you know, how the you get you have me thinking about just how necessary this was in general, but even more so over the pandemic. And again, we talked about that in that snap, you know, like, the the time and the timelessness. Right, we’re in time, but we snap out of time. Both of y’all have kind of reference that. And I also have to tell you, you know, going back to Keith, one of the you know, when you talked about like, oh, you know, what are some conversations we’re looking forward to, I think about I’m not sure there’s a space, I’m not saying it doesn’t exist. However, this space feels for me, very accessible to hear and listen from the wisdoms of people who’ve also come before us. i I’m going to frame it this way. And I don’t I’m not trying to sit in a space of ageism in my culture, aging and respecting and honoring elders right there that that happens in many spaces. But but when we listen to elders, we hear that some things have repeated right that there in the human experiences, there are repetitions of things. So you know, when you hear a restorative set of reflections from Larry Roper, like where’s that recorded anywhere? So, if somebody wanted to learn and understand those wisdoms many years down the road, we’ve, we have that right. As a repository. There’s so many people, I think, who have paved the way for us that I think we can continue to chronicle those stories to remind us that not only are we not alone in this snapshot in time, but over an arc of time, we have never been alone. And that we’re part of a continuum of human consciousness. And that, I think sometimes we forget that too. So I, he hasn’t committed but one of the people that I’m actually really excited to make sure that we can have him on Student Affairs NOW is Pat Hiyashi. He, quite honestly is one of the most courageous educators I have met in my life. And every time I hear him reflect on journeys ahead, when I am feeling that I don’t have enough courage or enough time, you know, I listened to him and I can breathe better. And I also have a reminder that the courage will come because it’s part of who it’s an infinite part of who we are. So those kinds of amplifying just kinds of stories.

Keith Edwards
Just say a little bit more about who Pat Hiyashi is, for folks who don’t know, because until you mentioned, I had no idea who that was.

Mamta Accapadi
Yeah, so Well, no introduction that I offer is going to be adequate to describe a patent I actually, the way that I bet he is currently retired, although he would probably say he’s not retired because Pat Hiyashi has invented, reinvented himself over time, many, many times. But at the point of his retirement, he was the senior most Asian American administrator within the state of California, right. And he played a significant role in conversations related to affirmative action and admissions. He has engaged in tough conversations with the College Board. But his his entire perspective has always been around access, equity, inclusion, and making sure that the that people have access to opportunities in higher education, which leads to personal freedom, I believe. So he’s, he’s done so much more since then. But I’ll save that for his for him to reveal and

Keith Edwards
I’m excited for that conversation. And you know, you’re talking about, and our very first conversation before we even launched the podcast, Susanna said, she talked about being restorative and rejuvenating, and the rest of us latched on to that and have really centered that. And here you’re talking about groundedness, and consciousness, and healing and timelessness. So it’s sort of funny that the conversations that guided us before we had even recorded a single megabyte are yours kind of circling back as our newest host. Coming back to some of those same themes of importance, and while obviously, talk with different people about different things, and have the conversations in different ways, which is really, really great.

Mamta Accapadi
Yeah, I think the thing is, is that I think we we are bringing up things that we’re probably looking for ourselves, not because we figured it out, right? It’s because we’re like, I’m seeking this. And so as I seek, you know, I want to share. Yeah,

Heather Shea
The best conversations, I think, too, and it’s partially sometimes. And Keith, you alluded to this a little bit, like when you’re having a great conversation, and then you realize, oh, my gosh, this could be a whole nother episode in the middle of it. So there’s also a generative quality to this conversation. The other piece that I think they were also pushing back against is that we can form true connection through a virtual medium and through virtual space, right. And we can we can have, we can have authentic conversations, and really, I think individually learn and grow, but also provide something, you know, to the larger to the larger world. And so I also love hearing from people like, oh, we should host an episode on this, or oh, we should, you know, think a little bit about that. And I think some of the episodes that have really transcended time have been those that have been suggested by folks. So for those new things I’ve like, oh, Mamta. Oh, my gosh, you can host it. Let me great.

Keith Edwards
Well, I’m super curious, because you mentioned dance studios, and feel free to come back to it. So before we before I can’t let that go.

Mamta Accapadi
So I pretty sure I have my daughter’s permission. I’m big on consent. So I’m pretty sure I have my daughter’s permission to tell the story. And I promise this is 100% accurate air quotes accurate. In full candor, this is how this is how I my rendition of the story, perhaps, you know, she should have been sitting next to me to, you know, chime in and correct. But since she’s not

Keith Edwards
I think I think we’ll get her on here. So, yeah,

Mamta Accapadi
it takes some creative license here.

Heather Shea
Kids episode.

Mamta Accapadi
We really do. So I kid you not. It felt like it was six weeks ago. But now that you’ve reminded me that I’ve been in our community for about two months, so maybe eight weeks ago. I swear she woke up one morning and she was like, I think I want to play lacrosse. My inside voice said, Can you catch a ball? I have a student affairs. Yes, yes. And my outside voice said, Hmm, tell me more. That’s really interesting.

Heather Shea
Student Affairs helped me understand. Yeah.

Mamta Accapadi
I want to hear more about this. Um, and she said, You know, I just I think I want to try something different. And so I’m like, okay, like, try something different lacrosse. Like, how is that there’s something different that you got to right, there’s painting, there’s all the things and and I’m this is not about my resistance to lacrosse at all. I have no resistance to that. It was just so different from the journey that she and I have been along together. So I was like, Where did this come from? Because mind you before that. It’s all been dance studios, dance classes, you know, over 20 hours a week and some form of some kind of dance. So this, you know, a team sport has not been part of her like what I’ve seen her express interest in. And so I was sure the goddesses of the universe, were going to handle this for me. So I was like, Yeah, let’s go to the lacrosse clinic. That’s great. And lacrosse is not big in the South, as it is in the Northeast, and certainly, you know, in kind of different geography. So it’s an emerging thing here in Texas. But anyway, to fast forward a bit, we go to the clinic, she looks like she’s doing plies on the field. All right. I am

Keith Edwards
Bringing the dance to lacrosse.

Mamta Accapadi
Yes and I was the parent who was laughing at not with her child. And I was like, Oh, thank you, Goddess is the universe you have handled this for me. She’s gonna get like, we’re gonna be done. This is gonna be done. She comes off the field. And so I’m sitting with her and my purely, very sarcastically open mind itself. And I say to her, so you know, what do we think? How are we feeling? And she was like, I feel so alive. I want to keep doing this. Yeah. So I noticed that, I was like, Okay, I was like, so we’re doing this? And she said, Yes, we have to do this. And in fairness, my daughter is 14, you know, I there, right? There’s always going to be a power dynamic and growth moments, right between any parent and then their young person. So I’m really proud of her because she I think she could obviously sense my skepticism. And she looked at me and she said something that I’ve said hundreds of times. And she said, Mama, she was like I can hear, you know, I can hear that you have questions about this. But what if this is the moment that changes my entire life? Wow. Right and so and so, again, like as we come full circle to our reflections, this conversation, I actually do have very critical reflections for myself, Where do I practice what I say? Because that was a moment. That was a reminder of you need to like our work is not just about these delivery of learning moments. It is an active practice, towards liberation. That means we have to practice and do like not do we have to practice being all the time. Because we can get rusty in that so so yes, lacrosse. So we just spent the past weekend she played her first games of lacrosse ever. And it has been fun watching her. Just as she will say it. She’s like, I’m terrible. But it’s so much fun.

Heather Shea
Wonderful. There is something about that kind of learner moment though, too, right? It’s that really smart. I think we should do an episode on that at some point. Like the first time you do something new. You just have this like, oh my gosh, this is really, really fun. It also reminds me and as a parent of a of a 15 year old and a 17 year old like the as, you know, and children, like, our children are not our children, right, like their reflections, but like, we only have so much influence and I wasn’t about to go to college. And I’m like, Oh, my gosh, have I have I done enough, right? And then there’s also that kind of like letting go. moment, but whenever they test something, right tested new concept and new ideas, a new sport, a new identity. I’m like, yeah, oh, my gosh, this is so exciting. And also, like, never would have guessed that that was going to emerge, you know, like lacrosse.

Mamta Accapadi
For me, I don’t think it has to be this way. But for you know, if I’m holding myself accountable, I would say, as I’ve gone on my own journey, my desire for certainty, has probably increased over time, right? Like I need, I feel like I need that more. But in that desire for certainty, maybe I’ve lost. Like, that’s, maybe it maybe I’ve lost my creativity and not lost it. But it’s, it can be it’s just nice to have reminders around you. Right, that okay, like, you know, there’s so much beauty in the uncertainty. And so play in that. And that’s, I think that’s how I’m feeling kind of as we joined this community, right, like, I don’t know what I’m doing, but we’re gonna get there.

Keith Edwards
Well, here you are craving a certainty and taking a gap year and hosting a new podcast and going to lacrosse games. I think you’re doing great getting in touch with that. So here’s the new things and new adventures. Well, that’s folks know, we’re running out of time. And we always end with the podcast Student Affairs. Now, what are you thinking, troubling, pondering? Now? Heather, what’s with you now?

Heather Shea
Oh, my gosh. I’m just thinking about all of the wisdom of the people who we need to talk to. Right. And, and your point Mamta about capturing that moment, because I do think there’s something really valuable as we considered the history of our, of our work and roles. So yeah, what I’m thinking about is like, I gotta get on the phone with some of those folks who have been my mentors and see if I can schedule time with them. Their formative formative moments, that’s what I’m thinking about. Keith, what about you?

Keith Edwards
I’m thinking, I’m thinking about death is what I’m thinking about. We’re recording this a day after shootings in Virginia, University of Virginia and University of Idaho. And I’m, and I’m also thinking about I’m thinking about some of the people who we wanted to have those conversations like, and who we won’t be able to, because they’ve passed. And so I’m feeling that kind of sense of urgency, as we’re talking about some of the wisdom, wisdom of elders and mentors and people who have formed the field to make sure that we, we jump on that while we still have the opportunity and don’t get so busy caught up in, you know, the newest book release of the moment, but, and do some of those things. So I’m, I’m thinking about death as a catalyzing force, the grief and also the motivation behind that. What about you Mamta?

Mamta Accapadi
Well, I, one of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot, so it’s in this moment, but it’s it’s been iterative, is how do we hold on to each other? Amidst all of these things that continue to happen? How do we stay present, hold sacred, those moments for what they are, and hold on to each other? I think I am somebody who cooks, probably by going back into the busyness that is kind of my natural tendency. And what would it mean, to really feel those moments that are happening fully, as a way to connect with one another differently, because those moments are, it’s, you know, with the moments that are written or written, and so they will continue to happen. What we have the ability to do is shift how we hold on to each other and lift one another up during those times.

Keith Edwards
Beautiful, beautiful. Well, thank you. Thank you, both. Mamta, we’re so glad you joined the team. Thank you. And you’ve been brilliant and wise contributors to our conversations as a host team. And I feel a little selfish that we haven’t been able to share that out with everybody else. So we’ll get to that we can’t wait to listen to your episodes and share what you are thinking and asking the people you want to be in conversation with so many more folks, it’d be a great gift to the profession. Thank you. And as always Huge shout out to our producer Nat Ambrosey who does all the behind the scenes work to make us look and sound good and is uncomfortable every time we say this and she has to listen to it. So thank you Nat. We love you Nat. And if you’re listening today and not already receiving our newsletter, please visit our website at studenaffairsnow.com. Scroll to the bottom of the homepage to add your email to our MailChimp list. While you’re there, check out the archives. I’m Keith Edwards with Heather Shea and Mamta Accapadi , our newest host, thank you all so much and to everyone who’s watching and listening. Please make it a great week.

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