“Keshia, Keshia, Keshia!!” First year students can be heard religiously chanting this during Schulich FROSH week. But who is Keshia? Is she the all-powerful wizard that has the key to defeat the Dark Lord? Yes, if happily graduating from Schulich is the Dark Lord standing between you and a bright future.
Keshia Gray, who to many is the face of Schulich, has been working at York University for over 15 years and joined the Schulich team 11 years ago. She started at Schulich as an Exchange Coordinator, and her dedication to her work has made her the current Acting Director of Student and Enrolment Services and Associate Director of Undergraduate Program Services at the Schulich School of Business. She believes that while there are many paths available, “the easiest way to success is education.” Her dream is to help students achieve their goals and dreams.
While she has been passionate about working in post secondary education since she was a student herself, she would have been an actress if she had not pursued this path. However, it is clear to all that helping students is where her passion lies. Many advisors can be seen struggling (sometimes even complaining) to remember students’ names, but Keshia seems to remember every student’s name. She humbly admitted that she doesn’t know the names of all 1700 students under her care; she does remember the faces, names and details of all the students she interacts with (and that’s probably around 1600 students, give or take a hundred).
But why does this woman keep going above and beyond her job requirements? Simply because she wants to. “To be successful, you have to do what others won’t do. It’s about doing the things that are unexpected.” Her motivation comes from caring for the well being of her students. Students appreciate her genuine care for them as well, as she received the first annual Schulich Undergraduate Staff Award in 2014.
Keshia’s favourite part of her job is improving the environment and policies to help support students. Her hard work has made the Undergraduate Programs Unit (UPU) a very inviting place for students where they receive the help that they need. Despite the fact that maintaining relations inside and outside of the university can be a challenge, she approaches it with a positive attitude for the betterment of students’ experience at the university. Every year the students are able experience an improved service from the (UPU) because of this dedication. “[I try to] just mak[e] the student experience the best that it can be, and recognizing that it’s never going to be the best. There’s always room for improvements.”
When asked what students mean to Keshia, she seemed to be at loss for words. “They are amazing, that’s why it’s so easy to spend all of my Sunday at orientation with them.” To her, students bring hope and optimism, and to simply help them through their highs and lows makes her job worthwhile.
As an educator, she believes that success has to be defined personally and it’s not always about money. “Success is if you’re able to achieve the goals you set for yourself. And to succeed you need to set realistic goals for yourself.” She went on to say enjoying one’s job gives one the motivation to do better, and once one puts more effort in, the money will follow overtime. “Work never stops because you want to make sure the best service is provided.”
As a final word for our interview, Keshia was kind enough to offer the following advice, “Surround yourself with the right people, because you can learn something from everyone. Always make your choice so you can own your own failure and success. If you don’t own your own failures, you can never succeed.”
“Her Campus is a great initiative, I love to see all these young women just doing so much, being right at the table, in these leadership roles holding their own. I’m very proud of the young women coming through this program that have a voice and are not afraid to show it.” – Keshia Gray