LaNae Plaxico, Assistant Director of the Intercultural Center, is saying goodbye to the Marymount community. For the past three years, she has been tasked with creating programs that allow students to interact with not only their culture, but different perspectives outside of their own. She wants students to grow, learn, and educate themselves about the world. She also ran a peer mentorship program for students to help them run and create their own events in the IC and worked with the student workers.

Plaxico pioneered many programs in the IC to promote cultural values. An example of this is the Native American Heritage Month Gallery Wall, which encouraged students to acknowledge the native land New York coexists on. 

“Being able to display some of the art from that culture here in the center, that not only speaks to some of the native students we have here, but I think to everyone,” Plaxico said. Students just really got into it.” 

She also received the Change Agent Award for the month of October. She was honored for her commitment to equity, inclusion and belonging as well as for building a community where students feel seen, heard and supported. 

Students Minty Nguyen and Zara Schneider describe Plaxico as inviting and attuned to the needs of the attendees in the IC. They expressed concern about how the Center will change without her. 

“LaNae comforted me when I got here,” Nyugen said. “She’s always down to talk about the ‘you’ outside of school.”

Stephanie Tovar, Director for Student of Development Activities, and Rakim Jones, a coordinator for Student Development and Activities, will be continuing Plaxico’s work. 

“They’re very open people and I think they also really appreciate and identify with cultural based work,” Plaxico said. “Some leadership opportunities might pop up for students, but there’s definitely going to be staff that want to listen. They want to learn and they want to hear from students.”

Kelly Chang, Assistant Director for Leadership and Involvement, will be taking over the IC Peer Mentors program, promises to “bring a focus on DEI to the Office of Student Development as well as the Intercultural Center, adding to the work of making the school a safe space.” 

Northeastern is already looking at holding cultural programs, such as a Diwali celebration. Plaxico also said that Northeastern wants to continue her work in the IC, finding affinity spaces not just for Northeastern-NYC Scholars but for students here at Marymount. Despite these promises, after pressure from the Trump Administration, Northeastern’s DEI office was renamed the Office of Belonging. It’s now a waiting game to see if Northeastern will continue the cultural education in the Center.

“Regardless of whether it’s named Diversity or Belonging or if it has no name at all, it’s still going to be there and happening,” Plaxico said.

Plaxico has provided a comforting space and leadership opportunities to many students in the short time she has been a part of the MMC community. She advised students who want to maintain the atmosphere by adamantly sharing her full confidence in the students to be able to advocate for their needs in the Center.

“People will continue to show that they care about these topics and continue to breathe energy and life into the Intercultural Center,” Plaxico said. “It was great before I came, and I know it’s gonna be tremendous and amazing, and continue to be awesome well after.”