Vincent Barraza – Xavier University of Louisiana
Serving as Head of Archives at Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA), I find myself in a unique and potentially impactful position, not only in preserving a history that is culturally not my own, but also in shaping the experiences and futures of the student assistants I lead and manage. Understanding how to be an empathetic leader in this context involves a deep commitment to addressing the needs, challenges, and aspirations of my team, who are all Black female students, relying on their roles for financial stability, and educational advancement in male-dominated fields.
To deeper understand empathy in this context, you must first take a deep look into the community I serve. XULA, located in New Orleans, is the only Historically Black (HBCU) and Catholic university in the nation, and upon the canonization of Mother Katharine Drexel in 2000, it became the first and only university founded by a saint. As of 2024, the state of Louisiana as a whole ranks in the bottom two for Higher Education (#49) and Crime (#50)[1], and in a Georgetown study in 2020, looking at the areas of Justice, Inclusion, and Security in the U.S., Louisiana was ranked the worst state to be a woman.[2] Over 95% of the freshman student population attends XULA on some sort of financial aid, and a large population of students are the first in their family to attend college.[3] Speaking directly of the student assistants who work in the XULA Archives & Special Collections, without the assistance of financial aid, scholarships, grants, and/or the money they make working in the archives, many of these students would be unable to attend college at all. Alongside the challenges of these students, New Orleans suffered a terrorist attack on New Year’s Day 2025, killing fifteen people, three of which were local college students, amplifying the fears of a city on edge from the lack of support from our state and local government entities, and who still suffers from the long-term effects of Hurricane Katrina and the numerous natural disasters that hit the city every few years. Even with more than thirteen colleges in the city limits, notable areas of extreme poverty, a major distrust of local and statewide politics, and a lack of career options outside of the service industry mean local Black college students are having a hard time seeing the value of attending a private four-year college in a state that continuously doesn’t support them. Taking time to digest all of this information, as a manager, leader, and mentor in the archives, it becomes necessary to create spaces that students can feel safe, heard, and appreciated.
In creating an empathetic leader in this environment, emotional support becomes essential, particularly during challenging times such as end of year exams, elections, and environmental disasters. To address this, I have attempted to cultivate a space where my student assistants feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, concerns, and ideas around how to best preserve and translate Black Catholic history. Regular one-on-one meetings, or even group meetings with student workers, both formal and informal, can be a valuable tool for this, allowing me to understand their individual circumstances and challenges and the narratives that surround our collections. By actively listening and making changes based on their suggestions I can demonstrate that their voices matter and that we’re invested in their well-being. This approach not only builds trust but also empowers them to contribute more meaningfully to the work of our archives. Cultural sensitivity is another crucial aspect of my empathetic leadership, especially in a religiously diverse environment like an HBCU. As a Hispanic leader managing Black students, acknowledging and respecting cultural differences is vital. I may not completely understand the relevance of an archival collection, or cultural significance of preserving certain ephemera. Encouraging my student assistants to share their cultural perspectives and experiences, and taking into consideration how these responses can enrich our work of the archives becomes necessary. This not only fosters an inclusive environment but also enhances the relevance and depth of the historical narratives we’re preserving and presenting.
Lessons come in all shapes and sizes, and the hard ones have been the most effective for gaining better leadership experience. I’ve learned many things from working with these students, and their emotional maturity they’ve gained from their personal experiences stands above most. As a leader, showing empathy by acknowledging their circumstances or pain can help them feel less isolated, but it is a fine line you must walk. You might express concern by saying, “I can see how difficult this is for you,” or, “I can only imagine what you’re going through,” to convey your care and understanding. On the other hand, the education system has been known to be harsh to these students. They can very easily pick up on their teachers and leaders acting disingenuously, and they have a unique ability to know when someone is being condescending or patronizing to their plight; to put it mildly, these students aren’t stupid. Saying things like, “I know how you feel,” while meant to be comforting, can inadvertently shut down valuable conversation or, even worse, lead to distrust. In these areas, I’ve learned to not feel like I have to “move down to their level,” to understand them, or that I must always have some words of wisdom to instill in them. Treat them as equals, be honest, support how you can, and give them room to heal and overcome.
Out of this, building a sense of community within a team can also enhance our empathy and support. Alongside the work the students do for our archives, I’ve encouraged them to take time to build on their extracurriculars. The student assistants were instrumental in rediscovering, and restarting the XULA History Club which had a long history on the campus, and had ceased operations prior to the pandemic. Three of the students took on the leadership roles of President, Vice-President, and Secretary of the newly restarted club. Since their history club activities overlapped with the archives mission, I encouraged them to work on history club projects during their regularly scheduled work hours, and took an active role as a faculty member supporting the club. As well, we welcomed the history club into the archives numerous times for evening events, meetings, lectures, and donation drives, building a cooperative relationship with the XULA African American Diaspora Studies (AADS) Club. By taking an active role with the students, our student assistants feel more connected to each other, to the archive’s leadership, and to the mission of the archives, fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose.
One of the hardest, yet most critical, aspects of empathetic leadership is offering fair compensation for their work, especially given that my assistants rely on their earnings to support their education and living expenses. As we’ve all experienced in our home institutions, advocating for money is one of the trickiest things to accomplish. Over the last five years, the XULA library and archives moved into a “student led library” model which has put students at the forefront of our library services. Student workers handle daily work like assisting students with research questions, restocking library stacks, updating our catalog, and collecting data to evaluate our services. Within the archives, students assist patrons with general archival questions, retrieving items, creating finding aids, and hosting classes and clubs in the archives reading room. By having more student workers on the front-face of the library, the administration has seen the value of a student-led model, which led to higher wages for student workers, well-above minimum wage. As well, by also bringing in graduate students and international students who live on campus at an even higher hourly wage, we continue to support our students who have chosen to further their education beyond their undergraduate degrees, while providing them with accessible jobs that don’t require long commutes. This has shown to better motivate our teams, provide students with better skill sets, and demonstrates that we value their hard work and dedication to their continuing education. This has also encouraged our student workers to potentially look into graduate programs in the library and archival sciences, which as of writing this, an archives student assistant has recently been accepted into the Louisiana State University MLIS program. This encourages taking on a mentorship role with our student assistants. Being able to share my experiences and insights, offering guidance on career paths and opportunities in the field of archives and history, can make managing students significantly easier and more productive. By acting as a mentor, I can provide assistants with a valuable resource for navigating their academic and professional journeys, which can inspire and motivate them in their career path, helping them envision and work towards their future professional goals.
In my case empathy is to merely Understand: to understand the circumstances beyond the visible or discoverable; to look beyond the surface to the churning undercurrent below the waves; to understand that not everything can be “fixed” or needs to be. Empathetic leadership takes a multifaceted approach that must prioritize understanding, support, and empowerment. Active listening, respecting our historical and cultural differences, offering flexibility, providing different forms of emotional support, ensuring fair compensation, fostering community, and acting as a mentor can all create a nurturing and empowering environment for our student assistants. Different approaches enhance their experience and potential for success but also contribute to the overall mission and professional impact of our archives. With empathetic leadership, I hope to make a lasting difference in the lives of my assistants, helping them thrive both academically, professionally, and personally.
[1] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/louisiana
[2] https://giwps.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/US-Index-Summary.pdf
[3] https://www.xula.edu/opira/fact-book-2023-24.pdf