Three Questions With … is an opportunity to celebrate and learn more about staff in the Division of Student Affairs. This month, get to know Ricky Blissett, associate director, Center for Democracy and Civic Life!
Name/pronouns
Ricky Blissett '11
they/them and he/him
Title/department
Associate Director, Center for Democracy and Civic Life
Years in Student Affairs
14 months as of March 2024 (As a student I was also involved in Student Affairs-related efforts.)
UMBC alumni information
2011 Bioinformatics and Computational Biology major
Computer Science minor
What is something you do as part of your position that people may not be aware of?
In addition to coordinating several of our major programs, one of the major functions I manage is our evaluation, research, and assessment work. To me, this work is about creating structured and systematic opportunities for reflection on what we do, where the "methods" are less important than the questions we ask ourselves about whether or not we are doing good. I greatly enjoy the opportunity to think creatively about how we can observe, track, and make sense of people's experiences and evaluate whether those experiences align with the type of future we're trying to build together.
I have a background as an academic and evaluator and this work allows me to make use of those experiences I've had, but related to social and human stories I care more about. As educators, a lot of the things we are trying to create are difficult to define in universal ways, and a lot of the experiences we hope people have as a function of our work are not easily measurable. But the work of being with colleagues who are committed to thinking holistically about what we are doing such that we can find creative ways to understand and reflect on how we're contributing to a better world ... that is what connects me to this community, and my role gives me many opportunities to do this.
What is one of the most important things you've learned during your time here as staff?
That there is a shortcut to the Apartment Community Center that doesn't require me to walk all of the way up that hill. Also, for context, I come to this position from a previous career as a professor, so one of the major changes I'm experiencing is much more basic than any broad moral lesson. Being on the staff side of university has been a really enriching experience where I get to learn from the thoughtful colleagues around me. In particular, I have found the team-centric aspect of staff work to be in perfect alignment with how I prefer to operate, and I have been surrounded by kind and caring people who have pushed me to take better care of myself as well, more than I've ever been pushed in this regard. Being a staff member is a whole different world from being a faculty member, and for me, I think I benefit much more and can work in healthier ways in my role now. The people I work with across the Division of Student Affairs have helped with this, and I'm grateful for that care.
What do you like to do for fun and/or is something you are passionate about outside of work?
I'd say I'm a video games person, and arguably I spend more time than the average person playing video games, but also, please don't ask to play video games with me because I am very bad. I also have the personal ambition to grow my mint garden and collect as many mint varieties as possible. I'm currently up to seven (it used to be 12, but I lost some in the move to Maryland). In addition, I spend some of my time outside of my work at UMBC volunteering with social change work in different areas, including working with the Just Education Policyinstitute and other communities working on educational justice as well as the Asian American Justice + Innovation Lab with a focus on those spaces needed for empowering Asian American communities to work toward justice. Finally, I may be a recovering academic, but I do have some research projects that I'm passionate about that I continue to work on. 