Bankhead-Week 2- Holmes Cultural Diversity Center

"We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams." - Jimmy Carter

Activities:
- Drafted, discussed, and signed learning contract with supervisor
- Met with representatives from several MSU departments, such as the English as a Second Language (ESL) Office and the International Institute to plan International Student Orientation
- Updated HCDC postcard to send to International Students
- Compiled tentative itinerary for "First Day as a Bulldog" International Student Orientation
- Met with Director and Assisstant Director of HCDC to discuss research initiatives for the fall semester
- Updated Pre-Departure Guide and Resource Manual for International Students

Reflection:
This week was a great learning experience! I realized how important it is to collaborate within a Student Affairs Division. Since we have begun to plan the International Student Orientation, we have communicated with several different offices via email to either see if they would like to join in our efforts or whether they were already planning a similar activity. For example, ESL provides immigration workshops twice a week leading up until the international students arrive. (Fun Fact: One interesting thing that I learned is that an international student is not permitted to be in the United States until it is within 60 days of their enrollment at MSU.) Another office that hosts a similar activity is the Graduate School Office; though their event is only geared towards graduate international students, it encompassed several of the components that we planned to incorporate into our International Student Orientation.

To get a clearer picture of the ideas that had been floating around via e-mail, we held a meeting with several representatives. Prior to the meeting, I had shared my ideas with my supervisors, and they allowed me to speak on behalf of HCDC in the meeting. At first I was intimidated because I was the only person in the room who was not a full-time professional, except for the student worker who happens to be my former RA. As I shared my ideas and input, I was pleasantly surprised at how receptive and supportive they were of my vision. It made me feel really good that professionals outside of HCDC respected my knowledge and actually considered me to be capable of leading this initiative. So empowering! This experience taught me to really trust my knowledge. I think we, as graduate students, never really realize just how much we know until we interact with other professionals and realize that we are fairly competent in comparison to them. It definitely gives me confidence as I proceed through the rest of this practicum.

The BEST is yet to come!!

- Tekita Bankhead