When Natalie Walker Brown started working as the program administrator for the Center for Inclusion and Diversity in 2011, she found a job dedicated to supporting not just one piece of a student but the whole student. Walker Brown said St. Joe’s approach to education, rooted in Jesuit values, resonated with her.
Walker Brown, who students refer to fondly as “Ms. Nat,” is now the director of inclusion and diversity educational achievement for the CID.
“Every title, position, opportunity that I’ve had here has been in the support of resources for advocacy of underrepresented students on campus,” Walker Brown said.
Located on the second floor of Campion Student Center, the CID, formerly known as the Office of Multicultural Life, has been a hub for many underrepresented students. It’s a place they can feel comfortable and at home at a predominantly white institution.
“I attended a PWI, and I know what the experience is like to find yourself in a physical space where you don’t know quite where you fit into that,” said Walker Brown. “Everything that I do is guided by the spirit of welcoming, comfort, community and belonging.”
According to data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, 63.6% of the student enrollment at St. Joe’s in fall 2023 was white. The rest of the student body consisted of 10.2% Asian, 8.5% Hispanic, 8.2% Black, 2.8% who identify with two or more races, 2.5% race or ethnicity unknown, 0.1% Native American and 0.1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students.
Walker Brown said part of her work included the creation of Bridging the Gap, an organization created in response to underrepresented students’ needs. BTG is centered around promoting unity, rooted in support of diverse backgrounds.
“Instead of being focused maybe on one identity or one affinity, this is an organization that can bridge all the gaps between race, ethnicity, faith, tradition, language, all of those things,” Walker Brown said.
BTG also led to the creation of Taste of The World, a biannual event where affinity student organizations get a chance to represent themselves through entertainment and food.
Walker Brown has not only impacted campus organizations but also individuals like Gabby Stevenson ’21. During her time as an undergraduate, Stevenson said Walker Brown’s guidance motivated her to become an orientation leader and part of the University Student Senate.
“Specifically for students of color on campus, that need for finding a space is a lot harder,” Stevenson said. “The beauty is that Ms. Nat cultivates this amazing space that we all grow and love to learn in the CID.”
Stevenson now works as the program specialist in the CID, alongside her mentor, whom she calls “a wealth of information.”
Another of Walker Brown’s mentees is honey walker ’16, former president for BTG. walker is now the assistant director of well-being education and student support at St. Joe’s.
“I love being Natalie’s colleague, and I trust her so much because I know how it feels to be her student,” walker said. “I know Natalie shows up very fully for her students, and especially for underrepresented students on campus.”
With Walker Brown’s support, Sheridan Leak ’25 said she was able to get involved with the Women’s Leadership Initiative and the Black Student Union, both of which she now runs as president. Leak said it’s important for students of underrepresented racial and cultural background like her to have someone like Walker Brown on campus.
“I think that it’s really important for my mental health and my academic achievement and my student leadership abilities to have someone like Ms. Nat on campus that I can go to for anything, whether or not it involves my race or any part of my identity,” Leak said.
Community and belonging are important parts of Walker Brown’s work and the space of the CID. Walker Brown said her favorite part of the job is working with people that she helped and the individual relationships that she has been able to build over time at St. Joe’s.
“These students are the reason that we do all that we do out of this office,” said Walker Brown. “They are incredibly intelligent, resilient, wonderful, dedicated, intentional individuals that we’re lucky enough to be able to spend a few years with. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
