Rachel Ross: Week 2 with HCDC

 Activities

1. Participated in two orientation fairs to promote HCDC.
2. Sat in on and participated in a Diversity Conference planning meeting.
3. Finalized the flyer for the 2014 International Student Orientation.
4. Finalized the 2014 International Student Orientation schedule.
5. Reserved all the rooms for the 2014 International Student Orientation.
6. Created a contact list for speakers at the 2014 International Student Orientation.
7. Estimated the budget for the 2014 International Student Orientation.
8. Drafted a 1-page document in summary of the 50-page PAWS Handbook.
9. Conversed with supervisor about the addition of Safe Zone under the HCDC umbrella, and ways in which to program in support of and for this student group.
10. Conversed with supervisor about the opportunity to join the Safe Zone Advisory Board.
11. Created the 2014 Pre-Departure Guide for International Students prior to the 2014 International Student Orientation.

Experiences

        

This past week of working with the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center has given me a lot of hands-on experiences. Initially, I was concerned that these hands-on experiences would be limited, due to the season and classes being out. However, I have found opportunities to still interact with students, their families, faculty, and staff. I have participated in two Orientation fairs this past week, which has given me a lot of exposure to parents and incoming students. I was also able to attend a meeting to plan this year’s upcoming Diversity Conference with faculty and staff. Lastly, I have had numerous conversations with my supervisor about the addition of Safe Zone to the office, and how HCDC can serve this student population. I initially thought that summers were an easy time for departments on campus, considering students would not be needing their services as much. Having had these hands-on experiences, I have gained a lot of insight that summers are not easy. Summers are the opportune time to do a lot of work. Especially with the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, I have learned just how much work is done and thought is put into each task during the summer months.

A lot of thought has particularly gone into adding Safe Zone under the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center umbrella. My supervisor was very intentional with wanting to represent this student population in the office; he truly wanted to encapsulate all types of diversity, not simply racial or ethnic diversity. The process of adding Safe Zone took a lot of patience and perseverance, and now that they are a part of the office, my supervisor wants to be intentional with programming to and for this student group. Our conversations consisted of ways in which to approach this topic, because this topic can be met with resistance. The word ‘intentional’ comes up a lot, but we truly believe we must be intentional in every action. We have discussed taking a gentle approach, and planting one seed at a time. We don’t want to bombard people who are uneducated about this topic, but we also don’t want to neglect our student population. So, we are learning to balance the way we advocate and support this student group very delicately. Coming from the Midwest, I have an assertive approach with these types of social change, but through conversations with my supervisor, that approach will not be well received in the South. I have learned a lot through these conversations about how particularly social change is better received in the South when approached slowly.

        

Lastly, a lot of hard work has gone into creating and finalizing a schedule for the 2014 International Student Orientation. I knew that creating an orientation had a lot of details, but when you are doing the majority of the planning, you understand that missing a detail could cause a lot of issues in the future. I have worked hard to create this schedule, on top of fliers, pre-departure guides, and to-do lists to ensure every base is being covered. I have become much more detail-oriented through these tasks, and my communication skills have improved tremendously. I have learned a lot about creating an orientation schedule now, but I think I will learn even more about the nitty-gritty details of truly finalizing an orientation schedule after I start trying to contact speakers.

Though I have had more experiences than I have explained here, I think these examples have given me the most insight into what it takes to run a multicultural office, and what kind of work needs to go into every action in order to make the office successful. In the reading for this week, it talked a lot about what it takes to become new professional, and one thing that was mentioned was to have a lot of experiences in a lot of different departments. Especially when looking for a job, the diversity in the departments for which you have worked make you a more attractive candidate to employers. I have gained so many skills within the first two weeks of working with HCDC, and I believe these experiences and skills will set me apart from other candidates in my future job search. I continue to be amazed at what happens in the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, and I am so thankful I have chosen this site for my practicum!