Becoming something…

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Edit: [Links to some related posts elsewhere: Fred Phelps at EMU | Fred Phelps To Protest At Eastern Michigan University | Be on the look-out for a hate group disguised as a church on campus today | Fred Phelps To Protest At Eastern Michigan University]

Gathering at the Eastern Michigan University (EMU) Student Center, supportive members of EMU’s campus and surrounding community showed their support for the LGBT community concerning issues of “inclusion and diversity,” stated Dan Burns, Chair of the LGBTRC Advisory Committee. The group, numbering over fifty, was in response to a charge to protest (see press release) by Westboro Baptist Church. They are commonly associated with Fred Phelps, their minister, and GodHatesFags.com. Per the press release, Westboro Baptist Church was choosing EMU as a way to voice their opinion against Campus Crusade for Christ’s, a national organization, decision in some areas to semi-support (Golden Rule Pledge) Day of Silence, a national movement to speak out through silence. EMU has a student organization representing Campus Crusade for Christ, but is not known to have participated in the pledge.

Their picketers did not show, to our knowledge. I was happy to participate. It was again a showing of support on campus (not to mention the $2500 raised for the EMU LGBT Emergency Fund through a $2 donation per Westboro Baptist Church protest minute, matched by Coors).

It reminds me of people’s varying opinions. In a lot of ways, it is daunting. Speaking of the silence we can feel as members of the LGBT… community, this is another example of a voice that keeps me from acting completely freely on a daily basis. In high school, my car was keyed with the word “FAG.” This served as a intense platform of empowerment but in reality did more damage than good. These voices are due for silencing not through limiting free speech but through supportive voices being louder. I encourage you to be the loudest in support as examples to your friends and communities. Examples of love and care need to be louder than those of hate.

PDF Version (last updated - May 8 2008) - Download

**Objective**

Combine current cultural, social and economic knowledge with new ideas and concepts in a rigorous learning environment exposing new solutions for today’s businesses and organizations.

**Education**

Kalamazoo College Bachelor of Arts Kalamazoo, MI 2003-2007
+ Major in Economics and Business - Minor in Chinese - 3.4 GPA
+ Senior Individualized Project - English Department - “Couches”

Capital Normal University Intensive Mandarin Study Beijing, China 2005-2006
+Cultural/Sociological focus
+Intercultural Research Project: observed local restaurant business

**Employment**

MI Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA MI 2007-2008
+Is national service fighting poverty through student empowerment and departmental development via service at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) to the campus and surrounding community.
+ Administered scholarship; 250% increased enrollment
+ Created and/or facilitated over 25 professional level trainings
+ Established department standard for tracking Learning Beyond the Classroom, a general education requirement
+ Developed training curriculum and new recruitment system
+ Helped recruit over 600 volunteers who served over 2,700 hours

Kalamazoo College Computer Lab Assistant Supervisor MI 2004-2007

Y.M.C.A. Professional Rescuer & Swim Instructor MI 2003-2006

Times Ledger Newspaper Subscription Telemarketer NY 2005

**Other Experiences**

Community Records Volunteer
+Attend board meetings and vital to recent recording project

National Collegiate Athletics Association Swimmer
+Teamwork, led underclassmen, time management, goal setting, Most Valuable Freshman

Answers for Students with Sexuality Questions (ASSQ) Founder
+ Campaigned successfully for gender neutral restrooms; peer-counseling

Human Rights Campaign Statistical Analyst
+Introduction to statistical results, pre-coursework conceptual application

Manpower Inc. – Externship Executive Assistant
+Presented customer intake analysis, front-desk, assistant to Vice President

ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES AND SKILLS

**Professional Development**

MCC Solutions Summit –
+A collaboration between groups/educators with similar missions who want to encourage the greening of service-learning, volunteerism, community-based research and place-based education
National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) conference -
+Focusing on precision in experiential education outcomes, assessment and promising practices
IMPACT conference -
+The largest campus community conference on service, activism, politics, advocacy, and other socially responsible work across philosophical and ideological lines
Pre-Service Orientation -
+Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA; community partnerships, identity and privilege, recruitment and volunteerism
The Institute -
+Tackling issues and exposing best practices in service-learning and civic engagement
EMU Office of Research and Development grant writing workshops –
+Topics included an introduction to and funding sources
MCC AmeriCorps*VISTA trainings –
+Fine tuning the skills of collaboration, meeting facilitation, problem solving, and youth outreach

**Trainer Experiences**

ASSQ and EMU’s PRIDE Education Coalition - sexual identity and peer counseling
EMU students and staff - general education system
EMU Emerging Leaders - citizenship and service
EMU New Student Orientation Advisors - diversity issues and awareness
Life-size Game of LIFE reflection activity - social privilege
EMU student program coordinators and staff - program development, delegation
Michigan Service Scholars - cohort development
One-on-one student development and mediation; including web-based group surveys and team building activities

**Professional Skills**

+Scholarship administration
+Job description development
+Volunteer recruitment
+Workflow and staffing systems
+Staff orientations, student/staff meetings, and classroom presentations
+Conflict facilitation and resolution
+Program presentations and promotion
+Hiring and interviewing systems

This entry is coming from an interesting experience I had yesterday. Shedding light on my cultural background and growth I realized that your environment can really influence impulses. I found myself wondering why I picked oranges over minorities.

I’d just enjoyed some nice gulps of water, post workout. I was waiting for my fair weather friend to change. I say fair weather because she ditched driving me home because the roads were getting poor and I was left to wait for a fair weather bus that was a cycle late. I digress. While waiting, I looked at a photo representing the writing/academic center for the campus I work on. I noticed something peculiar. What do you notice?

I saw oranges. I was so tickled by my discovery that I asked the same question of miss fair weather. Turns out everyone is white in the photo, this being what she noticed. Stumped, I asked her to look harder. By time the oranges were of mutual discovery, she was antsy to leave and I was fumbling for my own explanation of our differing perspectives.

Was it that I came from a college with beyond Caucasian diversity around 15% (not to mention other missing groups)? Was it that I don’t remember seeing much color in my suburban environment? Why did I choose oranges over minorities?

It hit me though, in one of those I got it before but now I really understand it kind of ways, that our life experiences are unique. Not only unique, but they are the molders of how you see the world. It was important to realize that all the education in the world hadn’t taught me to see, instead I was blind. We will see things differently, all of us. Your boss or supervisor that just doesn’t seem to make sense, probably isn’t doing it on purpose. This experiential intelligence is hard to measure because it has as much to do with how much you experience as it does with the quality and variety of an experience. In the work setting, the ability to recognize this is the biggest step in being able to manage up (7 ways to manage up or Managing Up: An Overlooked Factor in Career Success). In your personal life it can help relationships grow and drama dwindle.

Can we challenge ourselves to see things differently? If you saw white people, begin looking for the oranges, and vice versa. I think too often we find ourselves in conversations where we are more concerned about the other person not seeing the oranges that you did. Instead, why not notice that they saw something different and wonder why you didn’t see it at all.

Life is one big learning opportunity. If you aren’t listening you might just always end up with a bunch of white people or oranges for that matter.