Building a Culture of Belonging Through Cultural Humility

Rebeca Paz
Assistant Director
Office of First-generation Students

Dr. Graciela Beruman
Assistant Director
Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs

Karina Moncayo-Michel
Program Assistant
Staley School of Leadership Studies

Rebeca Paz, holds a master’s degree in Counseling from Missouri State University. A native of Bolivia, she is proud of her Latina heritage and committed to the advancement of under-represented students at K-State and to the work of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. She enjoys traveling with her family and learning about other cultures.

Rebeca is one of the five founding members of Alianza, the Latinx faculty/staff affinity group at Kansas State University. Throughout her extensive career in higher education, she has served in several capacities working with retention programs, specifically programs that support first-generation and underrepresented students. She continues to serve in university committees and being a consistent student advocate. She is a recipient of the 2008-2009 Commerce Bank Award for Distinguished Services to Under-represented students at Kansas State University. Rebeca currently serves as assistant director for the Office of First-generation Students at K-State and leads the 2019 First-gen Forward Midwest Cohort in collaboration with NASPA, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Dr. Graciela Berumen is the Assistant Director of Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs for Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs at Kansas State University. She received her Bachelors in Spanish and Master in Second Language Acquisition and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Kansas State University. She has a graduate certificate in Teaching and Learning and is ESL certified. Dr. Berumen's research interests include first-generation college students, global education outreach, language acquisition, culture, equity, inclusivity, access, and identity in Education.

Originally from California, her interests stem from her upbringing as well as her love for language, education and raising two bilingual sons. Graciela considers her work as an educator and as a board member for the Tonantzin Society, Harvesters, The YWCA and her membership in Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., as a way to give back to the community and encourage others who like herself are proud children of immigrants to embrace their heritage, pursue their academic dreams and join the fight for social justice. Her passion for equity in education and her love for her students inspired the birth of her non-profit: BE F1rst. BE F1RST is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to offering one-on-one support, mentoring and scholarships for first-generation students and families.

The belief in the transformational power of conversations surrounding equity and inclusion also led to the creation of Becoming Equitable, LLC. Becoming Equitable offers onsite and virtual consulting, lead by women of color who focus on facilitating discussions around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

In her free time, Graciela enjoys spending time with her sons, family and engaging in social activism.

Karina Moncayo-Michel is a graduate of Kansas State Universities College Student Development, M.S. program. Still early in her career in higher education, Karina serves as a program assistant at the Staley School of Leadership at Kansas State University, coordinating multiple student focused programs. Through her graduate work, she had the opportunity to connect with and assist in programming specifically for first-generation and underrepresented students at K-State. Karina hopes to continue creating spaces of understanding and learning throughout her career.