Bankhead - Week 3 - Holmes Cultural Diversity Center

Activities:
- Attended a planning meeting with STEM faculty members
- Finalized first draft of International Student Orientation
- Continued working on previously mentioned tasks (Pre-Departure Guide & Resource Manual)
- Met with site supervisor
- Met with Assistant Director and Director of HCDC

Reflection:

This week was relatively slow because there were not many things going on in the office. One exciting thing that I did get to experience was a planning meeting with HCDC staff members and some of the STEM faculty members. The committee has been researching a grant that is offering approximately 2.3 million dollars for an institutional initiative that helps increase minority enrollment and retention in STEM majors. Members tossed around several ideas and are considering developing a living-learning community specifically targeted towards first-year underrepresented students in STEM majors and could possibly last 2 to 4 years. I thought this was an excellent idea, and I definitely think it will be well received at MSU.

In our Student Affairs courses, we always talk about building the bridge between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs. It was really refreshing to see such an effective collaboration between these two in a real-world setting. It was interesting to see that though professionals from different divisions may hold some student needs in a higher priority than others, we are all interested in fostering the holistic development of our students. I am also excited to be a part of HCDC during this time because they are building bridges not only with Academic Affairs, but with several other departments. I am learning the importance of building nurturing relationships within Student Affairs; they can definitely take us a long way!

Have a wonderful week!!

- Tekita Bankhead