Global Citizenship: Upon graduation, honors students will have demonstrated the ability to exhibit second language and communication competencies and exhibit cultural competency and awareness.
Global Citizenship Synthesis
When I started college at MNSU, I was not very cognizant of my unique culture, or very welcoming to other cultures as a Global Citizen. However, throughout my time at Minnesota State, I have learned, through many different experiences, how important it is to be a well-versed Global Citizen: open to unique experiences, beliefs, and always willing to challenge a preconceived notion that may not be true. As I developed, I learned about my own culture, the culture of others, and how those two things don’t have to be at odds. I then moved on to applying my knowledge as a Global Citizen in my studies and travels.
I started learning about other cultures and how to have open, civil conversations with people who are different from me in my Honors FYEX class. This class helped me to be more aware of other people’s cultures and developed a strong base for more growing experiences. This helped me be more open and honest in the Cultural Autobiography I wrote for my Human Relations in a Multicultural Society class. This paper introduced me to reflective writing and allowed me to meditate on the privileges and drawbacks that came out of my unique experience growing up. I was also able to think about how I’d been treated for having beliefs that are different from the majority growing up, and the consideration I should give to others who fall into that category too in the future. This reflective experience helped prepare me for my Service-Learning Project. I was able to learn about a community I didn’t have much experience with, those who have memory-loss diseases – like Alzheimer’s or Dementia – and learned about the similarities and differences we had. I also got to combat some preconceived notions I’d had about this community, and learned about different types of verbal and nonverbal communication depending on someone’s exceptionalities.
After developing some skills of being a Global Citizen, I was able to start applying it through several experiences. In my Spanish class, I was able to learn about different cultures, and see how difficult it was to integrate into a new language and its culture, especially if you were not in the forgiving and friendly environment of a classroom. I also learned how much of a connecting force language can be. I then got to learn about a new culture during my Trip to London. I was able to see some of the cultural differences between London and my experience in small-town USA, as well as learn about the culture of people from several different European countries. All of these experiences helped prime me for my Comparative Religions Class, where I got to learn about religious from all corners of the world. In this class, I was awed by just how similar every religion seemed to be, with many having similarities with aspects of Christianity that I had always thought were unique to that faith. I learned about faiths that I already had baseless thoughts about, and was able to examine the devotion and faith that seemed to be universal across religions.
From day 1 to graduation, I have seen tremendous growth in my ability to meet and relate with different cultures, as well as realizing that my ethnocentric view of the world may not always be correct or accurate. Being a Global Citizen doesn’t mean you have to agree with somebody who has different views; it is being able to have open and honest conversations with people to get to know their beliefs, values, and culture, as well as who they are. It is also being able to admit you were originally wrong when you learn more information about a culture. As I graduate and move into the rest of my life, I will always be growing and learning, tweaking my worldview as I continue to grow as a Global Citizen!
I started learning about other cultures and how to have open, civil conversations with people who are different from me in my Honors FYEX class. This class helped me to be more aware of other people’s cultures and developed a strong base for more growing experiences. This helped me be more open and honest in the Cultural Autobiography I wrote for my Human Relations in a Multicultural Society class. This paper introduced me to reflective writing and allowed me to meditate on the privileges and drawbacks that came out of my unique experience growing up. I was also able to think about how I’d been treated for having beliefs that are different from the majority growing up, and the consideration I should give to others who fall into that category too in the future. This reflective experience helped prepare me for my Service-Learning Project. I was able to learn about a community I didn’t have much experience with, those who have memory-loss diseases – like Alzheimer’s or Dementia – and learned about the similarities and differences we had. I also got to combat some preconceived notions I’d had about this community, and learned about different types of verbal and nonverbal communication depending on someone’s exceptionalities.
After developing some skills of being a Global Citizen, I was able to start applying it through several experiences. In my Spanish class, I was able to learn about different cultures, and see how difficult it was to integrate into a new language and its culture, especially if you were not in the forgiving and friendly environment of a classroom. I also learned how much of a connecting force language can be. I then got to learn about a new culture during my Trip to London. I was able to see some of the cultural differences between London and my experience in small-town USA, as well as learn about the culture of people from several different European countries. All of these experiences helped prime me for my Comparative Religions Class, where I got to learn about religious from all corners of the world. In this class, I was awed by just how similar every religion seemed to be, with many having similarities with aspects of Christianity that I had always thought were unique to that faith. I learned about faiths that I already had baseless thoughts about, and was able to examine the devotion and faith that seemed to be universal across religions.
From day 1 to graduation, I have seen tremendous growth in my ability to meet and relate with different cultures, as well as realizing that my ethnocentric view of the world may not always be correct or accurate. Being a Global Citizen doesn’t mean you have to agree with somebody who has different views; it is being able to have open and honest conversations with people to get to know their beliefs, values, and culture, as well as who they are. It is also being able to admit you were originally wrong when you learn more information about a culture. As I graduate and move into the rest of my life, I will always be growing and learning, tweaking my worldview as I continue to grow as a Global Citizen!