On September 27th, 2019, the Office of Global Leadership within the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement launched the inaugural Beyond Borders symposium, which highlighted the unique personal benefits and professional opportunities international education provides for Black and Brown students. The event started with an intimate fishbowl conversation, where students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds talked about their experiences “going back” to the homelands of their ancestors.
Next, symposium participants had the opportunity to choose breakout sessions that spoke to their specific interests. Breakout sessions included,
- Put It On Paper: Adding your study abroad experience to your resume.
- World Citizen? Race, Sex, and Travel
- FLI Around the World and Live to Tell Your Story.
- Modificado las normas tradicionales para optimizar nuestro potencial global: Strategies on Latino family communication.
Following the breakout sessions, there was a networking reception where undergraduate students who participated in DDCE’s Costa Rica program had the opportunity to do poster presentations on the servant leadership research projects they conducted while abroad.
All attendees came back together for the Globalization and Entrepreneurship panel which highlighted young entrepreneurs whose international experiences empowered them to launch businesses with a global outlook.
Our esteemed Keynote speaker, Dr. Natasha Gordon-Chipembere, followed the entrepreneurship panel with a powerful and lively retelling of her story. After her highly influential study abroad experience in Kenya, Dr. Gordon-Chipembere went on to earn her Ph.D. in South Africa in the midst of the downfall of the Apartheid regime. Her experiences ultimately led to her to Costa Rica where she is a professor and conducts research on Afro-descendant communities in Costa Rica.
After dinner catered by locally owned Black business, Lucille’s, students had the opportunity to tell their stories and experiences from abroad through spoken word, musical performances, and poetry at the 6th annual Diversity Abroad Showcase hosted by the talented Jarvis Dillard.
Overall, the event was a huge success and falls in line with DDCE’s vision of providing all students with access and exposure to global experiences.
