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Diversity Personal Statement

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In 1998, when my mother and I arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, I understood one thing about our big move. I understood that we had left our small village of Bogoso, Ghana to escape harsh conditions and to cultivate a better life here in the land of the free. I would be lying if I said that I immediately developed a genuine appreciation for my Ghanaian heritage. The truth is, it took several years for me to appreciate the cultural, religious, and ethnic aspects of who I was. Fearful that it would become an outcast amongst my American peers, I spent the earlier parts of my life resisting my Ghanaian heritage and running from diversity. As years went on, I realized that fitting into America meant being yourself and celebrating how you got to where you were. By high school, fitting in meant experiencing more diversity and determining what my convictions were. I joined the international baccalaureate program and challenged myself in the classroom while celebrating diversity. I also began working with The Hardy Trust organization in 2011 to construct and start the Simikade …show more content…

I was a student leader dedicated to facilitating conversations among the student body about various issues of diversity. I underwent extensive training that equipped me to facilitate small group discussions on issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia, classism and privilege. Though a small predominantly white Catholic liberal arts college in a rural area, Mount St. Mary’s University’s diversity was growing rapidly. As a MPE, it was essential that I facilitated the education of my peers about multiculturalism and develop ways to increase appreciation for diversity. Initially, I was involved in so many clubs and organizations because I wanted to learn as much as I could, but I found that my involvement was more edifying than I

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