Amid Vacant Director Position, OMISS Leaders Have Hope For Future of Program

Maya Walker stepped down as director of Point Loma Nazarene University’s Office of Multicultural and International Student Services (OMISS), as of Aug. 15, 2024. Her impact on the office is evident through the many new changes in operational organization, as well as the friends and colleagues who reflected on the mentorship she provided. OMISS continues to plan events this year while they search for a candidate to fill the vacant position.

OMISS includes a wide variety of campus groups and services, such as the Diversity Leadership Scholarship (DLS), Cup of Culture series and the MOSAIC (Multicultural Opportunities for Students Actively Involved in Community) affinity groups. 

The term affinity groups is used to distinguish from ASB-funded clubs. The OMISS affinity groups include Black Student Union, Asian Student Union, Middle Eastern Association, Association of Latin American Students, Hui O Hawai’i, Uniting Nationals and Internationals Through Education and Team Barnabas Mentoring. 

Amber Nakamura, the assistant director of OMISS, said the leadership transition has been relatively smooth. 

“Maya let everybody know the official news of that about a month before she actually left,” Nakamura said. “Because she was pregnant, we knew that she would at least be on leave for the fall, so we were prepared for some type of transition.” 

Before Walker moved to Virginia, Nakamura said that she hired alumni Miya Rutz and Annika Chong as OMISS associates to help work with the different programs the office offers. 

Rutz was a student at PLNU when Walker was hired in April of 2022, and remembers that transition well.

“When Sam [the previous OMISS director] had left, as students we were kind of pulled in toward the end of the interview process,” Rutz said. “So I actually sat in on Maya’s last or second to last interview.”

Rutz said that she is hoping the next director is adaptable, as PLNU is already going through leadership changes with a new president. 

Sophie Choe, a fourth-year nursing major, is involved in MOSAIC student leadership as the intern for Asian Student Union (ASU). MOSAIC interns oversee the leadership board of their subjective affinity group as they plan campus events. 

“[We try] to fulfill the needs of minority student groups at Loma, where there is a dominant culture, and cultivate space for them,” Choe said. “Our role is to facilitate connections for students.”

MOSAIC groups used to be categorized as clubs under the associated student body (ASB), but before Walker left she helped implement structural changes that moved MOSAIC and other OMISS groups out of ASB and under one office. Choe said that after this transition, affinity groups were encouraged to continue collaborating with ASB groups across campus. 

“It’s been really awesome having ASB communicate with us more directly,” Choe said. “They’ve been supportive and respectful toward MOSAIC. I think MOSAIC has the voices, but ASB has the power to amplify those voices, because they are such a core and integral part of our campus.”

Choe said that MOSAIC has partnered with ASB for events like club fairs, and the Celebrating Us event that will be returning September 18. 

“This is something that Maya really wanted for us — not just with ASB, but with other student groups—  she really wanted MOSAIC groups to collaborate so that we have more outreach on campus,” Choe said. “With ASU, we are planning a medical discrimination [awareness] event that will be with our school of nursing and hopefully other healthcare majors.” 

Choe hopes the next director will continue to bridge the gap between OMISS and the rest of PLNU. 

“Obviously we’re here for minority students, but we don’t want to feel alienated or like we are on the outskirts in a space for outsiders,” Choe said. “[We need] somebody that will advocate for us, and find opportunities for us to collaborate with the core student groups and campus meetings so we feel like a core part of Point Loma as well.”