A pair of geckos lazily lounge in their cage. Two cups of freshly steeped peppermint tea effuse a refreshing aroma. Past visitors smile from a wall of polaroids over several plush armchairs. Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Patricia Lai Burrows has carefully curated every detail of her office to make visitors feel relaxed, welcome and at home. The special attention Burrows places in her office’s interior reflects her goal to lead Harker’s DEI efforts with empathy.

Harker first formed the DEI committee in 2013 with a goal of creating a more diverse student body, but the position of DEI Director is only two years old. Therefore, with little historical precedent for her role, Burrows approaches her position by drawing on her own lifelong experiences.

“Growing up in the ’70s in Toronto, there wasn’t a lot of representation that mirrored me in school,” Burrows said. “But my weekend life, which involved Taiwanese church, was very much a representation of my cultural identity. Growing up, I didn’t feel like I fit in either [place]. So naturally, I’ve always noticed when people didn’t belong because I had those feelings myself.”

Burrows’ first job at Harker was within the middle school English department, where she taught for 14 years. That role gave her glimpses at how students often encountered issues with DEI. Burrows recalled reading a student’s narrative about their own culture and realizing the student was mimicking other literature they’d read. She advised the student to write with their authentic voice, due to the deeply personal cultural experience they were depicting.

“The stories she read were experiences that didn’t mirror her own,” Burrows said. “This was the first time I could see where she gave herself permission to be herself in her writing. I gave her permission to be herself, and she didn’t even realize that she wasn’t being herself.”

When Burrows became Assistant Middle School Division Head, she interacted with a larger and more diverse demographic than that within her classroom. Now that Burrows’s position tasked her with overseeing DEI across all three campuses, she spoke about the necessity to constantly facilitate connections between herself, students and adults.

“I see this role as one of building bridges,” Burrows said. “I don’t see myself being a figurehead. Through my role, I can network with other DEI directors and find out what curricula they have at other schools. I can listen in on department meetings about changing a book and share some ideas through the lens of DEI.”

Burrows aims to bolster Harker’s affinity spaces: discussion forums where students can bond with others from similar cultural backgrounds. To her, these cultural groups of students and faculty help facilitate her goal of making students feel safe, included and at home.

“We have affinity spaces so that folks who have some identifier in common can have a conversation and not have to explain anything,” Burrows said. “I don’t think having an affinity space is at the expense of anyone else. It is to lift someone’s voice not at the expense of another.”

Burrows curates own space, her office, to be as inviting as possible. Once a place for scheduled disciplinary conversations, her office now houses two pet geckos, Mint and Cream, as well as a tea station.

“Kids love animals, and when you’re in a high-stress situation, caring for something else just makes you feel better,” Burrows said. “I’m not the Assistant Middle School Division Head—I’m not responsible for discipline. I’m here about inclusion and belonging. So I have to invite people in, find ways for people to come and see the room.”

Throughout her time at Harker, Burrows has built up valuable experience working with teenagers and understanding their thought processes. Now, as she prepares to take on a cross-campus role for the first time, Burrows reflects on the lessons she has learned about the Harker community.

“My goal is to get young people to understand that you don’t have to be like other people in order to fit in,” Burrows said. “It would be amazing to create a community where our goal is to fit in just because that’s the right thing to do.”