Hi! My name is Alesia LeSane (She/Her), and I am Assistant Director for Multicultural Education and Student Success in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Education (ODIME). I have been working in this role for almost a year, but I have been working at WPI for almost two years as I was previously in Undergraduate Admissions. My current role focuses primarily on supporting and advocating for underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students at WPI such as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and African American, Latinx, Asian, and Native American (ALANA) students as well as first-generation students. I oversee many of ODIME’s success programs which include Connections Pre-Orientation Program, Graduate Connections, the LSAMP Scholar Program, and the First Generation Success Program.
At the core of my work is empowering, supporting, guiding, and advocating for students, so they can be on a pathway towards holistic success during their time here at WPI and beyond. This means being an additional resource for students’ academic, professional, social, and personal needs, so they can be equipped with the necessary skills to grow and be the best versions of themselves when they graduate. In this work, I am constantly thinking about how I can better understand and uplift voices from diverse backgrounds and overall, how I can celebrate and empower these various stories of our students. Through this, I help to provide functions and services that cater to an intersectionality of needs that include but are not limited to affinity month programming, social justice education, DEIB trainings, first-gen and BIPOC/ALANA resources.
To learn more about my passion, my work, and my vision, check out some of these additional resources such as my Q&A article, “Student Success Depends on All of US”, and the 2022 National First-Gen Day Celebration.
Student Success Depends on All of Us
A Look Back at National First Gen Day 2022
Be on the lookout for ODIME’s support networks and programs in an upcoming announcement!
If you have any questions or simply want to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at alesane@wpi.edu.
The Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Education (ODIME) promotes and oversees all student facing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) learning experiences, programs, services, trainings, and initiatives for WPI.