InclusiveVT Welcome: A Celebration of Inclusion and Belonging

Virginia Tech - Where Everyone Belongs - InclusiveVT Welcome

The Virginia Tech Weeks of Welcome are dedicated to ensuring that everyone finds their place at the university and has fun doing so.

Inclusive VT Welcome affirms this by focusing the week after Labor Day on belonging and community-building as important components of a welcoming, accessible, safe, and affirming campus environment.

Belonging. It’s a feeling we have when we believe we are accepted, noticed, and valued as part of a community. Yet—it's more than just a feeling. Belonging is the antidote to othering, which is the denial of the humanity of an individual or group based on their identity. This denial can manifest at every level of society—from the interpersonal to the structural.

According to research, belonging in the workplace is rooted in four elements:

Seen	Connected	Supported	Proud
When you are seen at work, you are recognized, rewarded, and respected by your colleagues.	When you are connected at work, you have positive, authentic social interactions with peers, managers, and senior leaders.	When you are supported at work, those around you—from peers to senior leaders—give you what you need to get your work done and live a full life.	When you are proud of your work and your organization, you feel aligned with its purpose, vision, and values.

Let’s make Virginia Tech a place where everyone belongs.

Learn More:

The Constructive Dialogue Institute provides activity guides that support trust-building and belonging among students. Here are three activities to adopt as part of the Inclusive VT Welcome:

Career Attire Donations Collected

In support of Virginia Tech’s InclusiveVT Welcome Week, the University Operations (formerly SVPCBO) Diversity and Inclusion Committee is sponsoring a clothing donation drive to benefit the Career Outfitters program.

This is the second year of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee has offered programming for InclusiveVT Welcome Week. Last year, employees were encouraged to view the documentary First Generation, and attend a panel discussion about Virginia Tech’s efforts to recruit, support, and empower first-generation students. One of the first-generation students on the panel cited the value of having a program like Career Outfitters.

Collection sites for the Blacksburg campus area have been established for members of the University Operations unit to donate. Employees in the Greater Washington DC Metro Area region can support the initiative by donating urgently needed items to emergency, family, and homeless shelters in the region. These organizations are Artemis House of Falls Church, Arlington Homeless Service Center, and Alexandria Community Shelter.

Since 2013, Career Outfitters has served Virginia Tech students by providing free, donated clothing appropriate for career fairs, networking opportunities, and interviews. Students can receive one outfit, free of charge, once per academic year, to support their professional development.

To learn more, please contact Jeneen Preston.

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