Trina Lynette Gabriel is no stranger to small communities similar to Guilford. She was born and raised in Sherrill’s Ford, N.C, a town large enough for traffic to be directed by two flashing caution lights.
Gabriel holds the newly created position of Africana Community Coordinator. The former position title was Director of African American Affairs and was held by Santes Beatty until this past spring. Beatty now serves as Africana Retention Coordinator.
As the Africana Community Coordinator, Gabriel’s responsibilities include “(providing) administrative leadership in the development, coordination and delivery of social, cultural and education programs and activities intended to support students of African descent and promote the education of the college community as a whole on issues of diversity and equality,” according to the Guilford website.
The search committee for the position composed of students, faculty and staff, selected Gabriel from a nation-wide pool of candidates. Committee member Beatty said that Gabriel was the best fit due to “(her) experience in higher education and (her) passion of equality and justice”.
Since Gabriel started in August she hasn’t encountered any large problems. She says she is still getting acquainted with the students, but overall she “(feels) like (she) was given an adequate description of her responsibilities.”
Of the Multicultural Resource Center, Gabriel says that she, “definitely (sees) room for growth … there is room for a coordinator of Latino students and strengthening the connection with International programs. The office will need to expand to address the myriad of concerns for different populations.”
One of Gabriel’s goals is to punctuate diversity with quality care. “It is critical for faculty and staff to be involved in that process because of our interaction with students,” she said. She wants to make diversity meaningful. “You can’t quantify diversity; you can’t just look at it statistically. It has to be a quality relationship.”
After graduating high school with a letter in track and field in 1990, Gabriel chose to pursue her undergraduate education at Wake Forest University as part of the institution’s then-largest class of African-Americans. While there she “(sat) under poet Maya Angelou and (took) courses taught by writer Michael Eric Dyson,” she said.
These experiences, compounded by “having the opportunity to get an education,”were some influential turning points in her life.
Upon finishing her undergraduate studies, she continued her education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was at UNC for two years, then left to work as an admissions counselor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. There she continued her education, finding time to finish her Master’s degree in liberal studies.