Bucket Manyweather
The Student Becomes the Educator
BA '16, Ethnic Studies
Bucket Manyweather (BA '16) began their academic career in Computer Engineering till an Ethnic Studies course showed them their true passion. Bucket quickly realized that they wanted to become an educator to teach underrepresented students their true histories. Following the completion of their Masters program at University of San Francisco, they began teaching at their alma mater, Cal State East Bay. The ever-lifelong learner, Bucket is currently pursuing their Ph.D. in Higher Education at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Q&A with Bucket
Why did you decide to attend Cal State East Bay?
I attended a charter school formerly on the Compton/Carson border, which took interested students on a Bay Area College Tour. This weekend-long tour introduced me to colleges I had never considered for the school being a Southern California student. CSUEB was one of the schools we were able to visit. The campus environment was welcoming, but I was very much drawn to the Computer Engineering program, which was somewhat of a rarity in the other schools I was looking at.
How has your education at East Bay helped you with your endeavors?
I have so many people to thank who worked both inside and outside of the classroom to support me as a student. My education at East Bay really provided me with a compass that continues to point me in an authentic direction. Although I was drawn to the Computer Engineering program, I soon realized my passion for Ethnic Studies as I took a “Worldview of Malcolm X” course that literally changed my academic values. I soon realized that I wanted to study the histories of powerful Black people that had not been mentioned in other educational contexts. After taking this class, I decided to switch my major to Black Studies in the Department of Ethnic Studies. I also took many courses in the “Genders and Sexualities in Communities of Color” option because as a Queer, Non-Binary Black person, I felt represented in the curriculum and it was a delicacy to learn about so many things that had been hidden from me. This switch was a symbol of my broader life path changing from being an engineer to deciding that I needed to become an educator to teach underrepresented students their true histories.
Tell us about your career journey and your job. What is something that you love about your profession?
My career journey began at East Bay! I remember being engaged with the programming at the Diversity Center ( now called the Diversity and Inclusion Student Center/ DISC). I loved engaging in difficult conversations around “controversial topics” and learning so much about socio-political realities. As a sophomore, I began working at the DC as a student coordinator. I took great pride in designing programming for my peers, including the annual Drag Show, Tunnel of Oppression, and facilitating some of those same difficult conversations.
At this point, I felt that my academic experience and work experience were colliding into one. I was coordinating co-curricular programming that were informed by my major’s courses, yet I could create an intellectual community outside of the classroom. It felt right to go into diversity work as a profession. Once I graduated, I decided to attend the Higher Education Student Affairs Masters program at University of San Francisco to pursue this kind of work full time. After the Masters, I began teaching as a Lecturer in Ethnic Studies at CSUEB, and at that point I realized that I wanted to support students in the classroom as an educator who is also an advocate for their students. Around the same time, I began work as a Student Engagement Specialist at a Black Unity Center at San Francisco State University (SFSU) to develop and create programming for students across the African Diaspora. I was able to teach in the Department of Race and Resistance Studies in the very first College of Ethnic Studies at SFSU. I taught Coloring Queer: Imagining Communities, which allowed me to teach a room full of students about QTBIPOC “theirstories” that are buried deep under colonial curriculum.
The pattern of engaging via curriculum and programming has continued far into my Ph.D. journey as well. Whether it is in the classroom, or as a program coordinator I am an educator. The love I have for sharing knowledge, histories, perspectives, and philosophies of marginalized people remains consistent.
You graduated in 2016 with a BA. Fast forward 5 years and you are already working on your Ph.D.! What inspired you to continue pursuing higher education?
It has been a whirlwind, yet it is difficult to believe that I am about a year away from finishing my doctorate coursework. Quite honestly, there is infinitely more to learn to best support my students, and I never want to stop learning post-Ph.D.
Virtual modalities due to COVID-19 have provided me with yet another opportunity to learn how to make curriculum more accessible in my remote instruction. The more I learn, the more I learn that there is more to learn.
What is your fondest memory of CSUEB?
There are so many!!! I hold introducing the former Black Panther affiliate, Dr. Angela Davis amongst the top of my fondest memories! I recall nearly fainting when my supervisor at the Diversity Center asked me to introduce her for a campus lecture in 2014. It was an honor and a privilege to act as Dr. Davis’s personal assistant for the evening. My fondest memory from that evening is when the lecture was over and I was walking Dr. Davis back to her car and I asked her what her favorite quote was. She provided a quote from Italian Scholar-Activist Antonio Gramsci from 1929: “Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will”. I mulled over that quote for a very long time.
If you can share one piece of advice with Pioneer students, what would that be?
My best friends are the people I roomed with on campus during Freshman year. We all agree that reflection was a very important part of our journey. It seems counterintuitive to think of the past to help you with your current situation or even your future, but it helps us to understand our selves throughout the years and to think deeply about what we’ve overcome.
What's next for Bucket?
I look forward to finishing school, securing a full-time teaching position, and living happily ever after. Whether or not this happens, I am glad to be on this journey and experiencing all that life has given me.