My Experience Of Diversity

I have come to realize that diversity allows students to polish one another, leading to the depolarization of students and thus more rounded individuals. I have traveled a rather non-traditional path, and feel strongly that I can benefit others and feel just as strongly that I can benefit from them. The challenges I have faced, the community where I grew up, and my work experience all contribute to my individuality.

I was very excited when I saw this essay prompt because diversity is actually one of the main criteria that drew me into NC State. All throughout my schooling life, for as long as I can remember, I never attended any schools that were diverse. There was always one extremely predominant race or gender, and it’s something that truly disturbed me. I am excited to attend a college that is so diverse in many aspects, that I will be able to benefit from in multiple different ways. I will be able to learn and understand new perspectives which will help me gain an open mind and heart to be able to accept different kinds of people. I will be able to familiarize myself with different backgrounds and cultures, because I am so accustomed to my own, I

How Diversity Consciousness Will Change the Way People View Differences and Aid Me in a Successful Future

1. When I first heard about this conference last year in the diversity club event, I thought of it as essentially a vacation in Atlanta. It sounded fun, but I wasn’t particularly interested in it. Still, I thought it might be worth checking out, so I decided to look online to see what its website said. What I found painted a picture very different from my first impression. It gave the impression of a legitimately powerful learning experience, which coupled with Ainsley’s testimony began to sound extremely worthwhile. I like to think of myself as a fairly culturally sensitive person, but I began to realize how little diversity I’ve been exposed to, growing up in New England. How much could I really understand cultures I had never even come

“The multicultural training movement has indeed contributed to a greater and much needed understanding of the differences among various racial, ethnic, and cultural groups (Speight, Myers, Cox and Highlen, 1991).” In looking at this statement counselors will need to expand their thinking outside of the Western European contexts. There is a difference between Western culture and other cultures. Sue & Sue, 2012 states “ each cultural/racial group may have its own distinct interpretation of reality and offer a different perspective on the nature of people, the origin of disorders, standards for judging normality and abnormality, and therapeutic approaches. (p. 45).” As we are brought together with more cultures it is imperative to understand the differences, which will enable counselors to become culturally competent.

The idea that "diversity" is one of the country's great strengths is now so firmly rooted that virtually anyone can evoke it, praise it, and wallow in it without fear of contradiction. It has become one of the great unassailably American ideas, like democracy, patriotism, the family, or Martin Luther King.

The experience that I encountered with Tim Wise’s lecture will stick with me forever. Before this lecture I didn’t have any idea about how big of a problem diversity is and how people face it everyday. The example that he gave should me real life experiences that people face and made me open up my horizons on how diversity is experienced differently for everyone.

My diversity experience began on November 12, 2016 in Wilmington, North Carolina at the Jamaica’s Comfort Zone restaurant. I chose this experience because I feel I need to learn more about Jamaica, Jamaicans and their culture. Also, because there appears to be a large number of Jamaicans residing in various parts of the United States, particularly in New York, Florida, and Georgia (Atlanta). Prior to searching for an authentic Jamaican restaurant, I decided that I needed to do some research regarding the culture of Jamaica; and, as a result of my research, I discovered that the culture of Jamaica is quite interesting to learn about. In fact, Jamaica is a mountainous Caribbean island just south of Cuba (see Figure 1) with a population of approximately

I believe that the perspective I have to offer this medical school is unique. From my Black uncles to my Arab aunts, I feel lucky to be able to call so many cultures my own. Furthermore, my experiences during college have been vital to my understanding of diversity. Veterans, the LGBTQ community, the disabled, and variation across the spectrum of political opinion or in body shape are but a sample of the diversity that I have witnessed. Diversity goes beyond race or religion and this has been made evident to me during my undergraduate career. Thus, I wish to bring my culturally competent outlook to the student body and look forward to gaining from the viewpoints of my peers as well. Exposure to a wide breadth of the human experience has helped

As I reflect over my life, I appreciate the many diverse experiences I’ve came to encounter. My experience with diversity dates back to birth. I am from a small rural town, Moss Point, MS. and notably the last state to abolish slavery. The town currently has a population of 13,704 people and consists of 73% Blacks or African Americans, 23% Caucasian, 1% Hispanic or Latino and 1% bi-racial.

I always marveled at how Joshua’s Yakama managed to stay on. Sweat dripping and curls bouncing with each exercise, Joshua listened for my instruction. I had to be very articulate and an extremely good demonstrator when correcting Joshua with his exercises. A practicing Hasidic Jew, Joshua was not allowed to touch or be touched by a female.

Going into Diversity I wasn’t for sure how the class would go. Considering I grew up in a more northern state and not the deep south, I did not thinking going into this class, people would be as open minded about the subject as I am. By no means is Missouri, as progressive as say Washington or California, but I do believe we are a few steps ahead of the south. When I first met my roommates they, would use terms in conversation that I would never ever use. I was explaining to my friend’s mom about how they would use certain terms. She was clearly astonished, she had not heard those terms used that since the 1970s. That conversation made me realize how something as simple as an individual’s geographically location can mold and shape how you perceive the world. Not only did my location change my perception, but what my mother and father taught me morally. My father was in the Navy and lived overseas in multiple counties. He was the minority, he learned the ways of different people. Some of his best friends were people he met over there. Both my mother and father taught, us to accept everyone, don’t judge people because of their religion, skin color, or background. We are all humans, just trying to make it in this world, make it harder on them because they are different? The third biggest influence is taking the time to learn and research diversity on my own.

The diversity that I feel I can bring to my medical school class is my ability to adapt to change. Because of my parent’s careers, my family has moved a lot. Each time I had to learn to adjust to a new school, make new friends and adjust to difference customs. Because of this experience I have learn to face new challenges and new situations open minded. I have learned that change or differences in places or people are not necessarily bad. In fact change teaches us how to adapt and helps us become more resilient. It forces us to revisit our beliefs and helps us understand our own capacity for growth and learning. It challenges us and teaches us how to face difficult situations and it fosters creativity, new knowledge and new skills. I realize

Universities in the present globalized world have a diverse student population. I believe this aspect has an important role to play in the overall educational experience of students. Diversity has many forms such as gender, race or ethnicity, nationality or place of origin, disability, etc. When students interact with fellow students who are different from them, they learn to value and respect differences. I feel it helps in developing students who are more open to new ideas and willing to experiment. Ultimately, this creates a more tolerant society. Growing up in India surrounded by cultures different from my own, I was encouraged to value both the commonalities and differences of the human experience. As a graduate student at McGill, and while living in Montreal, a vibrant multicultural city, the experiences that I gained further shaped my worldview. To demonstrate how I will employ my competency in a diverse academic setting I will focus here on the approaches that I used during my graduate years at McGill.

We live in a society where people come from different countries, they belong to different cultural, religion, ethnic groups, and races. All these factors come together and contributes to differences that make us unique from each other. Hence, a multicultural country with huge diversity. This reflection journal will cover what “human race” is and what role it plays in ones’ personal life and in a nursing profession. Moreover, what bias, assumptions and judgements are, and how to avoid them. Lastly, what caring is and what role does it play in nursing.