Graduation Speech: Prince George's Community College

What I learned about this topic that I didn’t know: Some strategies for increasing diversity on campus include cluster hiring and adding additional training

Along the years we have built a close-knit community solid in principles and values that persue excellence, not only in the academic outcomes, rather than in the process of building the future leaders of tomorrow. An annual re-enrollment rate that average around 96,5%, and a record enrollment of 301 students this year putting the school at capacity for the building, support our quality and commitment

This new value for diversity has led institutions to increase in the amount of minority faculty and staff on college campuses. Furthermore, there is a need for funding of minority students to colleges and universities. Colleges and universities have seen the end in having the diverse populations

Over the past few months I have visited with students, faculty, trustees, benefactors, alumni, parents, community leaders and elected officials. During those meetings nearly everyone has spoken about their pride in the university’s progress and development over the years. It is also apparent that people are keenly aware of the challenges

Campus diversity cannot be a priority just for those who are hurt by a lack of it. The entire campus benefits from an array of viewpoints and backgrounds, and this can best be achieved through working together and communicating to improve the diversity climate on

The problem that can be seen in these findings is the number of participants in this qualitative study represented a very small of number of 500 student veterans at the University of Kentucky in 2011. Larger samples that would capture more of the diversity of student veterans would help point out more of the strengths, challenges and characteristics of programs and services.

In the light of this, one often ponders how do we reflect, discern and commit to diversity and inclusion in all the functions of university? We recognize that in order to work effectively across differences at the individual level, we will need a new set of skills and a new framework for change. As the world becomes more complex, less predictable and more culturally interdependent, we need processes which are based on the principles of social justice, participatory and adaptive.

The Morehead State University Honors Program opens the door to many great opportunities which include, but are not limited to, a semester-long internship with a legislator in Frankfort, a summer research program for aspiring physicians and dentists, and a year-long volunteering experience working with children in an after school program. Although all of these would allow me to develop many new skills, along with relationships across our great commonwealth, I feel as if the summer research program for aspiring physicians and dentists would be the best fit for me. As an aspiring physician, I believe that this experience would allow me to challenge myself with new concepts that will be critical to my success in medical school, as well as allowing me to better my research skills. This program would assist me unbelievably as I transition into my future.

In United High School, my community’s interconnection is especially highlighted. It is a delight to personally know the majority of my class. My school’s environment is welcoming and supportive so much so that I feel comfortable conversing with anyone in the building. When the morning announcements are read, specific students’ and sporting teams’ recent achievements are shared, and students continue to commend their fellow students’ accolades through the day. Moreover, I have the great privilege to have teachers who are deeply concerned with the success of their students and thus will go out of their way to help them (it was one of these very teachers who informed me of QuestBridge.) Although my school district houses members dispersed across four counties, everyone comes together as a whole. My school is aptly named; our community is truly United.

Far beyond the obvious ethical and humanist reasons for increasing diversity, the literature is replete with evidence that a more diverse student body or workforce produces creative and competitive advantages while also enhancing a sense of belonging. In social, academic, or professional groups, diversity enhances creativity and competitiveness and positively impacts organizational culture (Surowiecki, 2004; Chavez & Weisinger, 2008). Specific to the context of higher education, research has repeatedly concluded that increasing the diversity of a campus “leads to a broader collection of thoughts, ideas, and opinions…and a wide range of perspectives on a particular issue” (Milem, Chang, & Antonio, 2005, p.7). Chang (2001) examined the relationship

Diversity is an intricate part of any collegiate experience. Diversity is about the complexity of an individual’s background and how that background is represented in a larger group. During my undergraduate experience I noticed that there was a lack of African American males on campus, and little resources for this group. This was problematic because the experiences and cultural richness that these individuals were not bringing to the campus. This results in young African American men not having strong voices to advocate for their needs on campus, and they were less likely to interact with individuals of their own race at UNC. I understood this problem as an African American male and I was determined to change it. Being a change agent, I helped

Diversity is defined as a broad variation of backgrounds and life experiences. Diversity expresses the differences between individuals based on their religion, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, race, geographical area and viewpoints. Therefore, I have a great deal of experience working with diversity with an assortment of goals and needs. As a professor, it should be understood that every student will bring a different perception into the classroom. Furthermore, diversity should be respected and demand a great deal of discussion and observations that will increase the learning scale in the classroom. Committing to and having an acceptance for diversity creates a stronger learning environment and prepare students to

Today our University is a vivacious, fiery and worldwide group, in which devoted and skilled individuals are reckoning, working towards and molding what 's to come.

• Students will recognize and be able to leverage their diversity as an asset to both their personal future and the wellbeing of their communities.

As federal government has set a precedent to enhance diversity that become a great catalyst to promote diversity discourse through research and programs in higher education. In 1998, the Ford Foundation had sponsored a national opinion poll in the U.S. regarding diversity initiatives on campus, which shows that more than ninety percent respondents think that higher education has an important role to endorse diversity (Smith & Schonfeld, 2000). Moreover, diversity initiatives have been focused on improving academic experience and institutional environment for diverse student groups; specifically, aimed to make the environment inclusive for the underrepresented students (in the paper also interpreted