PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The Global Citizen Scholars program integrates
civic engagement,
US diversity,
and global learning
Three year
distinctive program
that bridges
the curricular and the co-curricular
Global Citizen Scholars have a civic engagement placement in Meadville
Global Citizen Scholars learn a foreign language
Global Citizen Scholars study abroad
Global Citizen Scholars meet twice a month every semester in a 1-credit course based on reading and discussion
Laura Reeck and Dave Roncolato
provide mentorship
for Global Citizen Scholars
and design and teach
all the curricular and
co-curricular aspects
of this program
Global Citizen Scholars
map and showcase their evolution in compelling digital portfolios,
some with the help
of Wende Garrison
This type of documented,
integrative learning
(that connects content with
experience through reflection)
is not only a high impact practice,
it is future of the academy
In the 2016-17 academic year, Global Citizen Scholars have discussed interfaith work, heard about social justice efforts in the Meadville community, worked in the community, learned from refugees in Buffalo and Erie, and have assessed their own intercultural position,
just to name a few highlights
Global Citizen Scholars
describe just some of their own learning
in their digital portfolios
We are social justice warriors.
We come from different backgrounds,
towns, cities, coastlines,
islands, countries, and continents.
We are here to lend our voices
to those who need it,
by starting small,
where we are locals,
and broadening our horizons
to work globally.
Allegheny Listens:
A Dialogue on Islamophobia
Allegheny Listens:
A Dialogue on Islamophobia
Islamophobia is created through lack of understanding. As Americans, there are a lot of things we simply accept, and there comes a point when we need to stop and figure out what of our knowledge and views are justified by facts.
Beginning with the events of a few radical extremists including the 9/11 attacks, brownness has become increasingly tied to terrorism. It is time people in a privileged position start to see this problem for what it is: a cancer in our society. It is time to act.
Integrating Global Learning
Vive Shelter, in Buffalo, New York,
is a program of
Jericho Road Community Health Center
and has a 30 year legacy
of providing safe refuge.
Vive assists those who wish to make a refugee claim in Canada or who are seeking asylum protection in the United States.
If we want to stop false narratives from being written about refugees,
we must share our experiences at Vive, and inform people that the majority of refugees pose no threat to our safety.
The Refugee Resettlement program at Catholic Charities Counseling & Adoption Services in Erie, Pennsylvania helps newly arrived refugees from all over the world.
Over the weekend I had the opportunity to participate in an informal 'interview fair' for refugees. This opened my eyes to the realities of language barriers. The difficulties which result from not understanding the English language as a refugee were more evident through this experience than any classroom lecture could have relayed.
The experience in Erie highlighted the importance of language acquisition, and the impact it has on the lives of refugees. I was made aware of my monolinguistic ability. Although I am in the process of learning Spanish, I felt inadequate in the presence of people who spoke six or more languages.
And now I know that I want to be able to learn more languages so that I am able to embrace their stories and their lives more fully.
It wasn’t until after I had been there for nearly five months that the language clicked and it wasn’t until the language clicked that I was able to make friends in school. I struggled more with understanding my surroundings and understanding myself in those five months than I had ever struggled with anything before.
As the evening continued I saw how so many of the children were extremely proud to stand up and talk about themselves. When they sang for us, the songs were sung in one of their native languages, in a vocal style I have never really heard before. By not allowing them to sing Beyoncé or other American music, Mr. Horton was pushing the students to be proud of their identity. To be proud of their cultural background and history.
Integrating Civic Engagement
In other words, large-scale social change comes from better cross-sectoral collaborations rather than an isolated approach of individual organizations.
The way our program will implement collective impact into our work locally is by working alongside certain programs to solve a specific social issue.
Something that surprised me was that they were looking at us as if we were experts and professionals. With a conversation that I had with one of the refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo who spoke a little bit of French and English, it was so hard for him to believe that we were college students doing this voluntarily with the good purpose of helping them.
By serving your community at home as well as abroad, you are placing yourself in a vulnerable state in order to understand someone else’s story. Listening to people’s stories and sharing your own are a huge part of developing deeper understandings of diverse perspectives.
The portfolio goal of this course is the latest factor into my development. Though initially I failed to connect it to my life earnestly now it has become fully incorporated. That is the story of our cohort for me at least: diverse, seemingly unrelated factors coming together in ways we never thought possible.
Integrating Across Distance
Summer 2017
India : Erin Zehr
Italy: Troy Elphinstone
Italy: Jacob Gagliastri
Moldova: Erblin Shehu
Nicaragua: Danny Larson
Thailand: Emily Evans
Fall 2017
Argentina: Danny Larson
Australia: Cristin Archer
Chile: Emily Smith
France: Jacob Gagliastri
Spain: Barry Tevrow
I will remember the encouragement we showed each other as we all stepped out of our comfort zones in one way or another. It is experiences like these that bring people together. The more we can rely on each other, the more we can accomplish both locally and globally.
The Global Citizen Scholar program:
a signature pedagogy at Allegheny College
