Mikayla Buford

2nd Year Graduate Student, MDes in Integrative Design

Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design

Being your best DEI self: Think of a time when you were at your best at advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. What happened? Who was there? Why did you feel at your best?

I was taking notes for an interview with a art therapist from Boston. My cohort and I traveled to Boston this pas summer to observe two BIPOC-led design firms who worked for community-engaged design projects. She invited my cohort and I to do her interview on the MIT campus where her ex-husband used to study. It was a hot day in Cambridge but we were able to sit at a cool bench under a tree. She told us her entire story under that tree. How she ended up in Boston, her divorce, her work on installing art in hospitals, starting a diversity education program, and her current work with the design firm. She after we ended the interview she took us on a long walk around Cambridge telling us the history of the city and her favorite spots. I felt the best just listening to her talk. This was the first time I had visited MIT since I spent a summer there 3 years ago. That summer struggled severely with imposter syndrome. It was hard for me to fathom that I was given the chance to work at MIT on my own project tied to my experience as a Black woman. That campus was a place of great joy and sadness. Tears and laughter. So to go back and sit down under a tree and talk about radical design practice was incredibly powerful. I think I felt the best because I was being the most authentic listening to someone’s story and considering the context that brought them to DEI work in art & design.

What does it mean to you to be a recipient of the MLK Spirit Awards?

It’s a surprise and an honor. I didn’t expect to be nominated for an award because I feel so small on this campus. My program is very small and I’m very isolated from the campus life that I don’t even know who would notice and also appreciate the work that I do.