Speakers and Artists

Brandon Jonna Beck (he/they/thon), lifelong San Martian, recipient of Texas State masters and doctoral degrees in fields of education, literature and creative writing, former Texas State faculty in Curriculum and Instruction, and founding advisor of the Transcend Student Organization, currently serves the St Mark's Episcopal Preschool Board and works as Sexton at St. Mark's, reads tarot in exchange for ginger soda, writes and performs poetry, kayaks and swims the San Marcos River, occasionally appears on KZSM.org's Bookmarked, and serves the community in his vocation as a Monk - especially as an educator and doula of transformation at the intersections of mental health, recovery, gender, sexuality, and spirituality/faith/religion.

Maisha is an international student at Texas State University. Her home country is Bangladesh and she is of Bengali ethnicity. Currently, she is a second-year master’s student pursuing M.A. in Developmental Education with a concentration in Learning support. In 2020, she earned her bachelor's degree with a major in Political Science and a minor in International Studies from Texas State as well. In 2014, she earned a pre-university foundation degree in Commerce & Arts stream from an Australian university located in Malaysia.

Maisha has always been a strong-willed advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her experiences as an international student inspired her to reshape her passion for pursuing authentic leadership through involvement in numerous events to promote diversity and multiculturalism. She believes in leading by example and enjoys being committed to her professional journey as a higher education professional dedicated to student success initiatives. 

In 2020, Maisha was awarded the Texas State- Dean of Students’ Medal of Hope for being an outstanding student leader through representing diversity on multiple platforms and demonstrating extensive community engagement. In August 2021, Maisha was featured as a distinguished Texas State alumnus on the welcoming video of the New Student Convocation to share her experiences, leadership philosophies, and words of encouragement to over six thousand new students. In 2022, Maisha received an invitation to be a member of the Kappa Delta Pi international honor society for education. 

Maisha is ambitious and dedicated to continuing empowering others with hopes of making positive impacts around the world through her leadership. She believes that "Only a life lived in the service to others is a life worth living", as once said by scientist Albert Einstein.