Catch Up With Chuck | Reshell Ray

Rural Futures Institute Author

03/15/2018 Added

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Reshell Ray, RFI Community Innovation Fellow

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[00:00:06.189]Welcome to the Rural Futures Institute
[00:00:07.976]at the University of Nebraska.
[00:00:10.120]I'm Chuck Schroeder, Executive Director
[00:00:11.784]of the Institute and this is our weekly
[00:00:13.943]broadcast of Catch Up with Chuck.
[00:00:16.524]I'm delighted to say that I have with me
[00:00:18.760]today an RFI Fellow as well as a really
[00:00:23.424]remarkable member of the university community
[00:00:26.769]who touches many many lives through the course of her work.
[00:00:30.384]Reshell Ray.
[00:00:31.644]Reshell, we're delighted to have you with us.
[00:00:33.125]Thank you Chuck.
[00:00:33.958]I'm really happy to be here today.
[00:00:35.839]Well, I think we'll have some fun.
[00:00:37.447]Well, listen you are a part of a really important
[00:00:40.523]team at UNL's Division of Student Affairs.
[00:00:45.591]You're responsible for Student Involvement
[00:00:48.503]on East Campus which is where we're located
[00:00:52.011]and where we run into lots of kids.
[00:00:55.368]But you know that sounds so academic.
[00:00:57.263]I happen to know that your life and career
[00:01:00.307]leading to this role has included some
[00:01:03.035]pretty far-flung adventures and I thought
[00:01:07.131]our audience might find it interesting
[00:01:09.083]to hear a little bit more about Reshell
[00:01:11.271]and what brought you here.
[00:01:12.470]So, tell us about it.
[00:01:13.567]Great.
[00:01:14.587]Well, actually I grew up in a small community,
[00:01:17.615]Pacific Missouri, about 45 minutes west of St. Louis
[00:01:23.675]and went to school at the in Springfield, Missouri
[00:01:27.607]in southwest Missouri State.
[00:01:29.075]I was a bear.
[00:01:30.380]And thought you know they don't tell you
[00:01:33.515]when you're in college that sociology
[00:01:36.831]and psychology without many many years
[00:01:40.654]of preparation will not lead you
[00:01:43.523]to a gainful employment.
[00:01:45.289](laughter)
[00:01:46.867]So, I figured that out fairly quickly.
[00:01:49.341]So, I actually came to Nebraska to pursue
[00:01:52.461]my master's degree in Community Regional Planning
[00:01:55.413]and Urban Development and as a result got
[00:01:58.925]very involved in campus activities
[00:02:01.233]and campus life during the early 80s.
[00:02:05.329]So, after graduating with that degree
[00:02:08.012]I worked in Community Development as a City
[00:02:11.045]Planner for multiple years working
[00:02:13.471]in land-use development, working
[00:02:15.378]with the city and our economic
[00:02:18.049]development organization in the community.
[00:02:22.413]I found that I would I missed the liveliness
[00:02:27.842]of campus life and that if I was going to have
[00:02:31.101]a lasting impact, my greatest contribution
[00:02:35.149]would be working with young people.
[00:02:37.579]And so I applied for a position that was
[00:02:40.145]open here at the University and I came back
[00:02:42.981]to the University in 1988.
[00:02:47.283]So, actually this year I will celebrate
[00:02:49.669]30 years here at the University of Nebraska
[00:02:54.620]working with young people and my last 15 years
[00:02:57.949]has been here on East Campus.
[00:03:00.573]Well you clearly found your calling
[00:03:02.301]because I love watching you work with kids.
[00:03:04.881]Well listen one of the things that really
[00:03:07.369]attracted us at the Rural Futures Institute
[00:03:09.981]to Reshell was when I learned that you
[00:03:15.003]certainly are not new to rural communities
[00:03:18.394]and rural community development and have played
[00:03:21.529]an active role in some of that work in a
[00:03:24.245]relationship with the Heartland Center
[00:03:25.789]for Leadership Development based here
[00:03:27.869]in Lincoln with whom we've had a relationship.
[00:03:30.349]Talk a little bit about that part of your history.
[00:03:32.825]Yes, well when I came back to Lincoln,
[00:03:36.037]Joe Luther was a faculty member.
[00:03:39.049]His wife Vicki was one of the co-owners
[00:03:43.401]of the Heartland Center, co-founders of
[00:03:45.381]the Heartland Center with Milan Wall.
[00:03:47.945]And Joe encouraged them to contact me
[00:03:51.905]about working with the Heartland Center
[00:03:54.469]and doing some of their training
[00:03:55.941]and consulting and they did.
[00:03:58.309]So, for over a span of about 20 years
[00:04:01.369]in addition to my work at the University
[00:04:04.177]I worked with the Heartland Center
[00:04:06.289]which took me all across the nation
[00:04:08.557]from Washington DC working in the inner city
[00:04:12.378]to Tunica, Mississippi on a casino boat
[00:04:16.296]doing community development.
[00:04:19.925]And then across the state of Nebraska:
[00:04:22.189]Holt County, Atkinson, Bassett, O'Neal,
[00:04:25.357]McCook, just a variety of places
[00:04:29.181]where we did community development work.
[00:04:31.742]So, it was really important to me to stay
[00:04:34.217]connected to the profession community
[00:04:36.709]development alongside with my work here
[00:04:40.368]at the university.
[00:04:42.141]Sure, well I know you've really developed
[00:04:44.194]a great deal of respect from folks that
[00:04:46.565]have worked with you in that realm over time.
[00:04:48.949]So, thinking about that background tied with your
[00:04:53.686]responsibilities for student involvement here at UNL
[00:04:58.821]you were a natural to be a part of a team
[00:05:01.056]that launched a program under the auspices
[00:05:04.641]of the Rural Futures Institute in 2013
[00:05:07.865]that we now call Rural Serviceship.
[00:05:10.041]We've been in about 38 community
[00:05:12.605]19 communities with over 35 students.
[00:05:17.241]Talk a little bit about the thinking
[00:05:18.814]that went into the creation of this program
[00:05:22.367]that's now had such an impact.
[00:05:23.857]Sure.
[00:05:24.742]Well the, going back to my work
[00:05:27.937]with the Heartland Center, time after time
[00:05:30.515]being in rural communities we would
[00:05:32.405]have strategic planning or meetings
[00:05:35.721]talking about the futures of rural communities.
[00:05:39.362]And that the need for young people
[00:05:42.125]to move back into those settings.
[00:05:44.557]And when they would return, what would
[00:05:47.177]that look like for them?
[00:05:50.434]And a lot of data, a lot of research
[00:05:53.001]about high school students but there was
[00:05:55.085]not a lot of information about college students.
[00:05:58.100]These are the students that I worked
[00:05:59.405]with on a daily basis who become extension
[00:06:02.435]educators, ranchers, farmers, individuals
[00:06:06.585]who go back, entrepreneurs who start businesses
[00:06:09.381]within the rural context, AG teachers.
[00:06:12.963]So, it was very important to me to think
[00:06:15.589]about how can these two pieces of my life
[00:06:19.369]come together.
[00:06:21.004]And working with the Heartland Center
[00:06:23.015]and then working with faculty and staff
[00:06:25.009]here on campus and the Rural Futures had the grant
[00:06:27.709]it seemed very natural to put together
[00:06:31.201]this concept the Center for Civic Engagement
[00:06:34.837]with Dr. Linda Moody and to define kind of
[00:06:39.541]what that service would look like.
[00:06:41.809]And then Tom Field and Lindsay Hastings
[00:06:43.881]and Milan and myself and Kurt it was just
[00:06:46.907]a very synergistic team to conceive
[00:06:50.901]this possibility of how can we send
[00:06:53.525]young people out to rural areas for
[00:06:56.017]them to have an experience to say rural
[00:06:58.549]is an option for me after completing
[00:07:01.325]my graduation and that there are opportunities
[00:07:05.017]in the rural settings and that I can make a difference.
[00:07:09.037]And so we wrote the grant and was funded.
[00:07:12.877]The first year students went out had great experience.
[00:07:17.437]They learned so much and the students
[00:07:19.713]can do far more in a very short period
[00:07:22.685]of time than a professional who's on the ground
[00:07:26.057]doing the work and may not have time
[00:07:28.245]to separate out to do a project.
[00:07:30.827]So, our students here at the University
[00:07:33.617]went in, did amazing things that I think
[00:07:37.025]that exceeded expectations the first year.
[00:07:40.189]Second year it wasn't just a whim because again
[00:07:44.269]it was the good fit with the students,
[00:07:47.329]the teams that went out, the communities
[00:07:48.930]that they worked with, excellent things occurred.
[00:07:52.609]And now to think that we're this far
[00:07:54.949]and it has continued and the success
[00:07:57.529]continues to be demonstrated through the work
[00:08:00.977]of the students that we have going.
[00:08:03.362]Well, you do such a great job of preparing
[00:08:05.765]these students to go make a difference
[00:08:08.673]and by the way learning skills that will
[00:08:11.542]allow them whatever community they end up in
[00:08:13.877]to be leaders in that community.
[00:08:17.417]And it's a part of the fun for me with that project
[00:08:21.528]is every year without fail the mentors,
[00:08:25.969]the community leaders that have worked
[00:08:27.797]with our students will call me at the end
[00:08:29.849]of the summer and say "Gosh, those kids
[00:08:33.333]got things done in eight weeks that we
[00:08:36.993]couldn't do in five years and by the way
[00:08:39.005]would you mind sending them back here next year"?
[00:08:40.821](laughter)
[00:08:42.668]Absolutely.
[00:08:43.501]They've had such an impact.
[00:08:45.081]Absolutely.
[00:08:45.914]The students have a capacity to rethink, re-envision.
[00:08:49.684]When you're there for so long, there
[00:08:52.352]are little things that you overlook
[00:08:54.109]or that you might walk past many many days
[00:08:57.185]and think there's nothing that can be done.
[00:08:59.885]And so one.
[00:09:00.718]Or be a little intimidated.
[00:09:01.813](crosstalk)
[00:09:04.421]One great example was the students
[00:09:06.013]that were in Red Cloud.
[00:09:07.857]There was a house and an area and everyone
[00:09:11.861]in the community knew that there was an opportunity
[00:09:16.403]there to make it better.
[00:09:18.161]It was an entrance to the city.
[00:09:20.545]The students worked with the homeowner
[00:09:23.141]and the churches and the community members
[00:09:26.830]and the city to do citywide cleanup days
[00:09:30.297]and improve properties and things.
[00:09:32.921]And the one thing that was really important
[00:09:35.217]was to preserve the dignity of the people.
[00:09:38.425]So, that ability to go in and work
[00:09:41.245]with individuals in the community
[00:09:44.245]and the level of respect and dignity
[00:09:47.113]that had a great impact you know in that area
[00:09:50.893]and people appreciated that.
[00:09:53.018]And those stories got repeated everywhere
[00:09:56.005]our students have been.
[00:09:57.657]The University of Nebraska, the students
[00:10:00.098]who were here in our programs are exceptional
[00:10:03.117]young adults who have a lot to contribute
[00:10:06.581]to our rural settings.
[00:10:08.277]Well, it's been fun to create that opportunity.
[00:10:11.069]Listen on some other episodes of Catch Up with Chuck
[00:10:14.429]we've discussed our core beliefs
[00:10:17.609]at the Rural Futures Institute
[00:10:19.273]and those include things such as,
[00:10:22.393]we believe in people's capacity to shape
[00:10:24.837]their own futures.
[00:10:26.441]We believe that diverse and inclusive
[00:10:28.839]leadership is critical to a successful
[00:10:32.129]rural community particularly in today's environment.
[00:10:35.173]And you know your work with students
[00:10:38.141]here at the University of Nebraska
[00:10:40.469]really delivers on those beliefs right
[00:10:44.037]at the ground level as we're preparing
[00:10:46.106]young people to go out into communities.
[00:10:48.881]I want you to talk a little bit about
[00:10:50.577]the strategies that you employ here
[00:10:53.533]with our students to help build those core
[00:10:57.117]beliefs in them that they can take
[00:11:00.013]with them to communities when they go.
[00:11:03.029]I think at the fundamental level
[00:11:05.561]that every individual is deserving of respect.
[00:11:10.649]And so my ability to communicate that
[00:11:14.517]to them when you're whether it's a person
[00:11:17.157]that's older or younger, that looks
[00:11:19.949]like you, that may be different than you,
[00:11:23.069]they are deserving of respect.
[00:11:25.213]And oftentimes we have more things
[00:11:27.057]in common than the differences that separate us.
[00:11:31.481]But last week I was doing a presentation
[00:11:33.550]for one of the AG leadership classes
[00:11:36.433]and I said when I'm driving through Nebraska
[00:11:39.149]and I might have been doing a training or a workshop
[00:11:42.761]I said and if I'm driving my car I know that
[00:11:45.518]if I just go like that as I pass by
[00:11:48.637]and the students just begin to nod
[00:11:51.461]because you know it's a communication method.
[00:11:56.309]It's a way of giving honor to.
[00:11:58.469]It's learning about where people are in places.
[00:12:02.053]And I think that my background in community
[00:12:03.853]development also that you become kind of a part
[00:12:07.393]of a community by listening.
[00:12:10.212]So, don't rush in to try to make people
[00:12:13.333]do something or do something on people
[00:12:17.457]versus do things with people.
[00:12:19.949]And so how do you establish good communication skills?
[00:12:23.653]How do you think outside of the box
[00:12:27.041]and envision new ways of doing things?
[00:12:31.829]But then also developing relationships
[00:12:34.873]is really really really a critical piece of that.
[00:12:37.707]And I hope that my work with students
[00:12:40.917]coming in from various communities
[00:12:44.849]when I've been here on the East Campus
[00:12:46.871]for about 15 years now.
[00:12:48.793]When I first came to East Campus,
[00:12:51.748]I didn't know about the various calving seasons.
[00:12:55.933]I didn't know duck hunting or deer seasons
[00:12:59.489]and I learned a lot from the kids here.
[00:13:02.368]You know, anhydrous ammonia.
[00:13:05.186]You know I learned a lot about different things.
[00:13:09.073]And so what I learned is that my ability
[00:13:13.541]to take that information and then when
[00:13:15.973]I'm in various places in rural communities
[00:13:19.213]share some of those things with the members
[00:13:22.333]it helps to ease that relationship
[00:13:25.857]and helps to put people at ease.
[00:13:28.181]Because diversity is not going to go away.
[00:13:30.657]As our nation changes people will see others
[00:13:33.613]in their communities.
[00:13:35.053]And so we have a responsibility
[00:13:38.021]I think at the university to equip them
[00:13:40.513]to go out wherever they are; urban, rural,
[00:13:44.053]and to be ambassadors for the University of Nebraska
[00:13:48.177]and demonstrate that caring and those competencies
[00:13:53.233]when they're working with others.
[00:13:54.897]Absolutely.
[00:13:55.915]And we see communities going through
[00:13:57.553]that transition in some very positive ways today.
[00:14:02.457]And we've had some other RFI projects
[00:14:04.189]focused on diversity and we start seeing
[00:14:07.360]communities celebrating those differences
[00:14:11.009]and taking advantage of them and creating
[00:14:13.241]a more dynamic future for themselves.
[00:14:15.401]Yes.
[00:14:16.234]Well, listen I want to follow up on a piece of that.
[00:14:18.989]Another of our core beliefs is that
[00:14:21.268]our complex future requires mutual respect
[00:14:25.497]and collaboration between rural and urban sectors.
[00:14:30.417]Reshell, you work with students from the
[00:14:32.801]broadest array of backgrounds, from the
[00:14:35.893]largest cities to the smallest towns.
[00:14:39.237]Talk a little bit about how you try
[00:14:41.489]to bridge that rural urban divide
[00:14:44.574]that we hear about so much.
[00:14:46.271]Yeah.
[00:14:48.133]There is. We're connected.
[00:14:51.941]So, what Lincoln does, what Omaha does,
[00:14:55.153]what other large cities do, it cannot occur
[00:14:58.781]without what happens in rural Neb..
[00:15:01.153]I'm gonna say rural Nebraska because it supplies so much.
[00:15:06.490]Whether it is garment industry, food supplies,
[00:15:11.681]and things of that nature.
[00:15:13.658]We're all connected and so seeing ourselves
[00:15:17.037]as interdependent is really important
[00:15:21.957]and we can learn from one another.
[00:15:24.208]We can resolve issues collectively.
[00:15:27.209]Collaboration is so so vital because none
[00:15:31.181]of us can resolve things in a bubble.
[00:15:34.660]So, being able to create that connection
[00:15:37.393]between urban and rural is really really important
[00:15:41.173]and very critical as we continue to move forward.
[00:15:44.277]Well, I just know that your preparation
[00:15:46.033]in the training program that we do
[00:15:48.253]before we send our students out is.
[00:15:50.249]You know, we've had kids from Chicago
[00:15:52.737]as well as Omaha as again as well as
[00:15:55.707]some small communities and I know you
[00:15:58.601]really have helped build in that mutual respect
[00:16:00.895]and they've come out of the program dear friends,
[00:16:05.141]great respect, learning from each other,
[00:16:07.061]respecting each other for what they bring
[00:16:10.031]to the table from their own background.
[00:16:11.757](crosstalk)
[00:16:12.913]So, our first year there was a student
[00:16:15.085]from urban area and they had a lot of trepidation.
[00:16:18.133]You could see it on their face almost every time
[00:16:21.281]we talked about the journey.
[00:16:24.701]And at the end of the serviceship the student
[00:16:28.661]said they would not do anything different
[00:16:32.592]and they had such a high regard for the rural lifestyle
[00:16:37.241]that they could see themselves now potentially
[00:16:40.137]living in a small community that maybe not
[00:16:44.021]where they were but in a small community
[00:16:46.601]and that they had never give consideration
[00:16:48.913]to that prior to that experience.
[00:16:51.207]So, it really does open them up to the.
[00:16:54.749]In the small community how people know
[00:16:56.997]one another by name, you know.
[00:16:59.173]They know the store owners.
[00:17:00.837]They know the person at the lumberyard.
[00:17:03.717]They know who, you know, are in the community
[00:17:06.594]and in civic life.
[00:17:08.997]And I think we introduced them to the rural setting
[00:17:12.689]in such a way that it really does help them
[00:17:15.913]to see that it's okay that I'm not 10 minutes
[00:17:19.854]from every store but, you know, that our drive
[00:17:23.369]and what I see, you know, that's okay
[00:17:25.633]and I can manage that.
[00:17:27.070]So, I think that that's a real important part of it.
[00:17:30.537]Sure.
[00:17:31.709]Listen, we're running out of time
[00:17:33.433]but I just have to say I have so enjoyed
[00:17:35.937]over the last four years or so watching you
[00:17:38.799]work with students from such a broad array of backgrounds.
[00:17:43.032]Helping them find a home within the
[00:17:47.069]University of Nebraska and that really
[00:17:49.539]prepares them to live productive lives
[00:17:52.977]as citizens, as community leaders, going forward.
[00:17:56.741]So, I just think it's important to tell
[00:17:58.992]parents that are considering where they might
[00:18:01.857]send their kiddo's for that life preparation
[00:18:05.053]to know that there's a Reshell Ray at
[00:18:07.408]the University of Nebraska that takes
[00:18:09.433]very seriously those students one by one.
[00:18:14.577]So, anything you'd like to add today?
[00:18:16.719]Well, you know, and it doesn't end
[00:18:18.279]once they leave the university.
[00:18:21.057]I have been to weddings all across the state.
[00:18:24.281]I did.
[00:18:25.601]I heard you checking up with a mom here earlier.
[00:18:28.649]Absolutely.
[00:18:30.029]I get Facebook posts of babies when they're born.
[00:18:33.537]There's a lot of, you know, young parents,
[00:18:38.053]young families that have stayed in
[00:18:39.853]the state of Nebraska that I stay connected to.
[00:18:45.115]And I can honestly say there is no place like Nebraska.
[00:18:49.481]You cannot send your son or daughter
[00:18:50.925]to a better place to get an education,
[00:18:54.417]to be well grounded in their field
[00:18:58.481]but yet develop the skills necessary
[00:19:00.938]to be successful in their lives beyond the university.
[00:19:04.693]Well, I just have to tell you that we're
[00:19:06.010]so proud to be associated with you as an RFI Fellow
[00:19:09.297]and as a colleague here at the University of Nebraska.
[00:19:13.289]Well, listen we want you to stay in touch
[00:19:14.893]with the Rural Futures Institute through our website,
[00:19:17.789]through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
[00:19:20.189]LinkedIn, all of those tools.
[00:19:22.873]We try to communicate in a variety of venues.
[00:19:25.990]And join us again next week for the next edition
[00:19:28.753]of Catch Up with Chuck where we're going
[00:19:30.689]to be talking with real people about real places.
[00:19:33.689]Demonstrating that thriving rural communities
[00:19:37.153]are a legitimate best choice for worthwhile living.
[00:19:39.913]Thank you.

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Catch Up With Chuck | Reshell Ray

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