School of Business DEIB staff spotlight: Morgan States
Morgan States (she/her) is the school’s DEIB student program coordinator.
From pre-collegiate programming to workshops and summits, the KU School of Business Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) staff support students before, during and after their time at the School of Business and KU.
Morgan States (she/her) joined the school in fall 2023 as a DEIB program coordinator. States leads the school’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access and Leadership Summit (IDEALS, a conference held each spring to give students an enhanced understanding of DEIB through different lenses and develop powerful networking skills in an increasingly diverse world.
Read more to learn about States and the school’s DEIB student programs and services.
First off, introduce yourself.
I‘m Morgan States (she/her), and I serve as a DEIB student program coordinator in the School of Business, focusing on alumni engagement and professional maturity. I am a St. Louis native and KU alumna with my bachelor’s in business administration with minors in entrepreneurship and English.
How did you get involved with DEIB at KU School of Business?
As an undergraduate, I was an active scholar and student assistant for the MSP Scholars Program in Business Program (MBSP). MBSP developed my interest and passion for DEIB as I became more involved in the program through my strong friendships, mentors and leadership positions. I wanted to get more involved by being a student assistant because I felt the positive impact that DEIB work had on my college experience.
What’s your favorite part about your job?
The students I get to connect with! Hearing that a program from our office, a one-on-one meeting or them simply just seeing someone in the building that holds similar identities positively impacted their experience means the world to me. I also enjoy the overall program planning process and making intentional ideas come to life.
How does the DEIB team and its programming help students?
One of the DEIB team’s goals is to promote growth and learning opportunities for students in the School of Business. By being a source of information, support and development, we work to help curate the best experience possible for students to gain relevant skills to be successful at KU and beyond. My role specifically focuses on the beyond, helping students feel prepared to effectively engage in an increasingly diverse world and workforce.
What’s one thing that you want people to know about the DEIB team?
We are a resource for the School of Business community. Our programming, initiatives and staff support are open to all business school students, staff and faculty and we want to be tapped into. We are happy to encourage and support further exploration in DEIB as it pertains to the development of our future business professionals.
If you could give students any piece of advice, what would it be?
Get out more! Diversify your experiences to create more memories and build a larger network. Your time at KU is going to go by a lot faster than you think, so take advantage of every single opportunity you can to make the most of your time. You never know where life will take you, so don’t leave anything up to chance; at least be able to say you tried it.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Be on the lookout for registration information about IDEALS and stay connected with our office for more DEIB initiatives or ways to get involved!
Registration is now open for the 2024 IDEALS Summit, on Friday, March 8. All KU students are encouraged to attend; learn more at business.ku.edu/ideals.
Visit business.ku.edu/deib for more information about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in the School of Business.
States can be reached at mstates@ku.edu or in room 1030C in Capitol Federal Hall.
By Lauryn Zebrowski
