Brandon w88, former Washoe County School District employee, is the The w88 sports betting app Center new Black w88 Coordinator. He has held the position since August 2022.
In his old position, w88 worked in a disciplinary role alongside the dean of students at Wooster High School, where he often had to handle situations with patience, empathy and accountability in order to ensure that the student’s best interest was always the top priority.
“My time working for the school district enhanced my desire to serve all students, especially the underrepresented populations, in ways that are effective and impactful,” w88 said.
The lack of black representation in both secondary and higher education is one of the primary reasons why w88 chose to work in education.
“Working in w88 Life Services as the Black Student Service Coordinator, it is my job to create spaces that allow students to feel and know that they are valued,” w88 said. “To know that I have impacted a student in a positive manner, whether it is simply having a conversation to get to know a student or connecting a student to a source that they need – those are the rewarding moments for me.”
Sanders’ biggest goal in this position is to increase the level of productive impact that the Black w88 Program provides for the University’s Black students, staff and faculty.
“At a predominantly white institution, too often, students of color feel engulfed in isolation and do not feel welcomed in most settings,” w88 said. “Sense of belonging and community is extremely important for any person to thrive within the journey they are on.”
To address this goal, w88 has been focusing on building the Black community on campus, as well as helping to bridge the Black Reno/Sparks community to the University.
“The purpose of the Black w88 Program is to create spaces and opportunities for our students to feel safe, heard, empowered and have a sense of community – a space that cultivates connection and growth for all who engage,” Sanders said.
For w88, the hardest part has been the transition from secondary education to higher education, which has a different bureaucratic system.
“K-12 education is extremely different from higher education in many different aspects,” w88 said. “Learning the University bureaucracy and how to maneuver within it, has certainly been a learning curve, but my heart and passion for students has been the driving force that has allowed me to be successful thus far.”
Although the Black w88 Program honors Black history and culture every day of the year, for Black History Month, Sanders emphasized creating events specifically so that students could feel empowered.
“There were a series of events that created opportunities to enjoy quality engagement within the Black community,” w88 said. “The month was full of successful events regarding building community and connection for our Black student body, and for all who participated. Each event provided an opportunity for students to speak on their individual lived experiences, while empowering one another by sharing their stories.”
w88 History Month events started off with a free screening of the film, “Just Mercy,” a true story about Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson who travels to Alabama to defend wrongly convicted inmates.
“Although this was an emotional movie considering the circumstances, this story also shed light on the resiliency and greatness of our Black ancestors,” w88 said. “There was a powerful brief discussion after the showing of the movie, in which the conversation created a sense of empowerment and upliftment.”
