Cover Story
By: Ariana Wiggins (’19), Staff Writer
When adversity, trials and societal barriers go against her, she bends but does not break. Jordan Bermudez is the epitome of a Black woman determined to persevere, and she displays this perseverance on a day-to-day basis. From her dreams of becoming a professional in the male-dominated field of athletics down to her reality of holding one of the most powerful student positions on campus, Bermudez combats her societal limitations proudly and firmly.
Bermudez is on the executive board of the Carolina Union Activities Board (CUAB), one of the largest student-led organizations on campus, which plans various events and programs for students throughout the year. Her current position is concert committee co-chair, and she is CUAB president-elect for the 2017-18 academic year. These positions were not handed to her; Bermudez had to prepare herself to take on these roles, and rightfully earned each of her titles.
In an interview, Bermudez shared the traits that made her the best candidate for her positions in CUAB. She emphasized the connections and relationships she built with members of the CUAB executive board who, over time, came to know her as a reliable and driven worker. She also shared that having fresh, applicable and concrete ideas for the organization proved that she was fit for the role.
As a former concert committee member, Bermudez is able to see concert planning from various perspectives. She shared that the experience is much more different as a co-chair. She was responsible for many different jobs including delegating tasks, consulting with professionals from a plethora of departments and companies, and being the primary contact for such a large-scale event, to name a few. It was a new experience for Bermudez, and gave her a perspective of leadership that she had never experienced before.
“When people have questions – including advisors and higher-level people – they’re coming to you,” she said. “So it’s a major responsibility.”
She and her fellow co-chair, Ashley Westbrook, had a lot of challenges in planning Jubilee 2017, at which 2 Chainz performed on April 1, 2017. Bermudez notes that the greatest challenge was in regards to budget.
“Most people don’t know that CUAB only gives us about $150,000 for our concerts for fall and spring [combined],” she said, “and that amount really depends on how many students enroll since we’re a student-fee based organization.”
Concert committee opted to have a comedy show, featuring DeRay Davis and Chris Redd, in the fall to save money for the spring concert. Even in doing so, however, choosing an affordable artist remained a difficult task. It was not until late in the fall semester that CUAB was able to finalize a venue for Jubilee, and this inconvenienced their ability to select several smaller artists who had already announced tours and nearby performances.
“We were in between the pressure of people announcing tours and also winning Grammy’s, which can make artists’ prices go up,” she said.
Ultimately, Bermudez and Westbrook, along with their committee, were able to come up with an affordable and popular artist that appealed to many segments of the Carolina community at large.
Throughout her journey as co-chair, Bermudez has developed the experience and leadership skills that made her the strong woman that she is today. She had to hone new forms of leadership, often needing to make decisions without consulting others as she was used to doing. She also grew more confidence in her strengths, with confidence being one of the most valuable attributes to effective leadership in her opinion.
Bermudez’s vision for CUAB next year revolves around collaborative relationships throughout campus. She plans to reach out to other organizations, seeking to collaborate, rather that waiting for them to contact her first. She also wants to develop an organizational structure that is based upon student ideas and has specific opportunities for students to share their opinions on what they want to see from CUAB. In order to accomplish this goal, she plans to revamp CUAB’s marketing strategy and modify the way the organization uses social media. This plan should result in CUAB being an organization that is much more representational of the diversity on which the university prides itself and one that appeals to the needs and desires of all different groups throughout the Carolina community.
Being selected as CUAB president as a Black woman has been a humbling experience for Bermudez. Her friends have given her support throughout the process, and she is also appreciative of the support she is receiving from the Black community.
“It has been really great to have support from the Black community at large,” she said. “They’ve been really supportive of me doing this and it has gotten a lot more people interested and involved in CUAB, which is a thing we really need.”
She feels that her presidency has encouraged members of the Black community to step their feet in the door and be a part of CUAB. This boosted involvement can lead to increased representation, amplify the voice of the Black community in spaces that have often been submerged in whiteness and limited in diversity and inclusion. As long as Black students remain interested in joining CUAB, the organization can more effectively ensure that it meets the needs of the Black community.
Bermudez is indeed a modern day Wonder Woman, but that is not to say that she is the only Black woman with the ability to reach such ranks of success. She believes that any black woman who is not afraid to speak her mind despite an oppressor’s desire to silence her voice, can come out at the top. Having a strong support system is another recommendation of hers, as she constantly absorbs the energy from the positive people in her life, who keep her driven. Bermudez also emphasizes the value of being confident in the abilities you hold. Her personal mantra is that if she applies for a position and gets an interview, the position is already hers because of her ability to sell herself.
“Really have that confidence in selling yourself because if you believe in yourself, everyone else is going to believe in you, too,” she said. “It’s all about confidence.”
