{"id":112385,"date":"2026-10-26T13:08:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T17:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=112385"},"modified":"2026-10-26T17:13:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T21:13:00","slug":"changemakers-small-gesture-sparks-big-conversations-on-belonging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/10\/changemakers-small-gesture-sparks-big-conversations-on-belonging\/","title":{"rendered":"Changemakers\u2019 small gesture sparks big conversations on belonging"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is part of a series celebrating students, staff, faculty or alumni who demonstrate a commitment to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) on campus or in ways that meaningfully connect back to the Brock community. To read other EDI Changemaker features or learn more about the series, visit\u00a0<\/em>The Brock News<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0<\/em>Office of Human Rights and Equity website<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Emily Hammond and her teenaged son, Griffin, visited the Earth Sciences Department this summer, they were greeted by a colourful rainbow mineral display that made a deep impression on the pair.<\/p>\n

Hammond, an Administrative Assistant with Brock\u2019s Facilities Management team, said the bright display in D-Block of the Mackenzie Chown Complex immediately caught their attention.<\/p>\n

Housed inside a wall-mounted cabinet, the display features a rainbow banner backdrop with the message \u201cEveryone is welcome in Earth Sciences!\u201d in bold lettering. Colourful minerals found in nature sit in the forefront, each one matched to a colour of the rainbow.<\/p>\n

While Hammond and her son started out discussing the minerals, their conversation quickly evolved into something deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about how displays like this send a message that inclusivity matters and that creating a sense of belonging doesn\u2019t always require a big announcement or grand gesture,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes, it\u2019s a simple colourful display that makes someone stop, smile and feel welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

The display\u2019s creators, Professor of Earth Sciences Mariek Schmidt and graduate student Kael Doomernik, are being recognized as October\u2019s EDI Changemakers by Brock\u2019s Office of Human Rights and Equity (HRE) for their efforts to create a welcoming, positive and inclusive space.<\/p>\n

Schmidt was inspired to create the display after a conversation with her daughter over an unfolding situation at her elementary school. She wanted to demonstrate to her daughter the positive ways a school can promote inclusivity while also creating a show of support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at Brock.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a way to help, to bring awareness and prompt important discussion. In Earth Sciences, we\u2019re always pushing for more inclusivity,\u201d Schmidt said.<\/p>\n

When it came to designing the display, Schmidt looked to Earth Sciences graduate student Kael Doomernik, who had previously used her artistic talents to help the department. Doomernik didn\u2019t hesitate to help. As someone who identifies as queer, she said it\u2019s meaningful to have this type of representation,.<\/p>\n

\u201cInclusion isn’t separate from science. Science is a human endeavour, and building an inclusive scientific community is part of making sure everyone has the opportunity to participate and contribute,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive, Schmidt said. Recently, a former doctoral student reached out to say they had been very moved by it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they were first starting out at as a geology student in their undergraduate studies, having a display and show of support like this would have never happened,\u201d said Schmidt. \u201cNow, that\u2019s changed \u2014 for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

This display is part of a larger effort by the department to enhance diversity and create a culture of inclusion<\/a> inside and outside the classroom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Emily Hammond and her teenaged son, Griffin, visited the Earth Sciences Department this summer, they were greeted by a colourful rainbow mineral display that made a deep impression on the pair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":112387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,41,1],"tags":[885,7909,13915,11326,348,8166,852,5502],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112385"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112394,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112385\/revisions\/112394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}