August 31, 2023
Accinno Award winner Saaid Mendoza, Ph.D. describes life-changing power of allyship at Academic Convocation
Saaid Mendoza, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, won the 2022-23 Accinno Award, Providence College’s highest teaching honor. He presented the following address at the college’s 2023 Academic Convocation. In 2021, Mendoza was recognized with the MLK Vision Award, which honors individuals or groups who exemplify the teachings and spirit of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Good afternoon, everyone. And to the Class of 2027, our new transfer students, our new faculty members, I would like to welcome you to Providence College. I also want to welcome my children who are here today and my beautiful wife. You don’t need to clap, I appreciate it.
You are all Friars now. And that, by default, that also means whether you like it or not, you are all Swifties. As I began my 10th year a PC, I can tell you that this can be a very special place. For some, that special feeling may come from playing or for cheering or playing for sports teams. For others, it may come from the classes they take or the clubs they join. But for everyone, it should come from being part of a Friar family that looks out for one another. And that’s what I would like to talk to you about today.
You see, I’m a social psychologist by training, which means I scientifically study how people’s environments influence their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. And though I now conduct research and teach classes in this area, my desire to understand the world around me came at an early age when my family left Mexico in search of more opportunities.
Because I didn’t speak English right away. I learned how to navigate social settings by instead listening to people, paying attention to their tone and non-verbal behaviors, and most importantly, examining how people treated each other. Through these observations, I came to realize that I was often othered, but I didn’t quite understand why.
That all changed when I went to college and took a social psychology class from a professor at Rice University named Mikki Hebl. Dr. Hebl was well-known for being smart, funny and full of energy. She also had a reputation for being passionate about social justice issues and for caring about her students. So despite her 8 a.m. classes, I decided how to take one. And by the end of the semester, she had come to take me under her wing. To be honest, I didn’t quite understand why someone so important would invest time in me. But I knew I was grateful for her unwavering support. This is when I first appreciated the value of being an ally.
Being an ally is something that sounds like a trendy thing, something we believe is important for us to be, but are not always sure how. We think we need to possess power or status like Dr. Hebl did, or that it must be loudly expressed and publicly displayed. And yes, sometimes that type of overt allyship is critical and necessary. But being an ally can also be a set of more subtle actions. It can mean listening quietly to some silenced voices, privately learning more about unfamiliar perspectives, and advocating for dismissed or ignored identities behind closed doors. All allies still recognize and use their relative privilege to lift others up and bring them in when others don’t or simply won’t.
In today’s world, young adults are often made to feel powerless. Powerless to social media. Powerless to climate change. Powerless to rampant gun violence. But the one thing we all have the power to be and do is to be an ally. So, I urge you to use that power to validate the feelings of your peers, to raise, not replace their voices and to believe in them when they struggle to believe in themselves. If it wasn’t for those who did that for me, I’m not certain that I would still be standing in the same spot today. It changed my life forever and it gave me a very different purpose as a professor.
Over the next few years, I hope that you will move through your journey with faith and confidence, but also have the courage to help others along the way. I promise you won’t regret it, and the impact that it will have on others won’t be forgotten. Thank you and go Friars!
