A diversity awareness project. Office for ... - Virginia Tech · VIRGINIA TECH A diversity...
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COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION “In my lived experience, diversity is way more than an institutional buzzword that its often reduced to. I saw the importance of diver- sity early in my career, as I was the second African-American to graduate from the Landscape Architecture program at the Univer- sity of Arkansas and I graduated in 2002. The program started in 1976. So for me, a kid from Memphis, Tennessee it was a chal- lenge at times to cope with being the only minority in my cohort, to make it even more difficult I did not have anyone on the faculty who looked like me, who grew up in a similar place like me, or even had similar lived experiences like me. My undergraduate ex- perience was pivotal in my decision to become a professor. It is important for me to be the person that I needed in undergrad, be- cause that person did not exist for me. So for me, particularly with my ethos of engagement, diversity is essential to my teaching, scholarship and research. I feel like diversity provides all of us as a community to expand our world view and learn from our difference to make the world a better place.” C.L. Bohannon COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION “Growing up in a multi-ethnic society in Malawi, Africa, and through my academic sojourns in the Far East, and now, here in the USA, I have come to understand that diversity exists enriching all man- kind. It presents itself all around us. To be sure, we all surround it. We cannot take away from this totality without taking away from the essence of humanity: variety, reason and emotion. This is what nature has intended for us." Amos Kalua COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION "Diversity creates unknowns which intimidates people immensely. However, by embracing it, we can expand the scope of our experi- ences and live an adventurous life without regret. On the other hand, we can shun it, and thereby chose to live in a tiny bubble of existence with the whole world out there waiting for us to enjoy." Yuki Tsujimoto COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION "Diversity may be considered the same as difference, but in my life experience diversity means uniqueness. Even within a homoge- neous population exists uniqueness to personality, expression, thought, and belief. I grew up understanding that I was different because I am half-Swedish, left-handed, and struggle with dyslex- ia. My life experiences have taught me to notice the differences making up my uniqueness which I otherwise ignored, that I am a cis, white male from a working class family who celebrated a prot- estant version of Christianity. My pride in being a Swedish-Ameri- can, gay, a two-time Hokie grad, these become part of the multi-faceted uniqueness of my own being. But diversity also means accepting that some people will only see one or two of my facets and so each day teaches me the ways each part of my whole impacts intersections with others along their own differenc- es and similarities. It is these interactions between us which enrich our lives and create the diversity we need as members of the human family." Vern Ferguson COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION T H E Q U I L T O F A S O C I E T Y Based on your lived experiences, what does diversity mean in your life? COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION “It can neither be measured nor quantified, yet its effect can be recognized in the awe, inspiration, or fulfillment experienced when an interaction with an Other expands our horizon, moves us to revisit our convictions, changes us.” Paola Zellner Bassett COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION "We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull. Some have weird names and are all different colors, but at the end of the day, they all exist very nicely in the same box. I believe diversity is a unique factor in our society. Not everyone in this world thinks the same or looks the same. We need different minds to solve issues. We need different opinions. We need differ- ent values and cultures. Diversity is what makes this world work. We need diversity." Marshall Jones COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION “My parents are Spanish and Korean and I straddle these two cultures while still trying to figure out who am I. Bailemos juntos. 같이 노래해. Let us celebrate together. Let us find strength in one another. Let us find beauty in our similarities and differences. I am proud of both my heritage and my culture. I am /an/ embodi- ment of diversity.” Starla Couso COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION “Its seeing that even though we all come from different back- grounds, we are all inherently the same.” Rachel Leonardo COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION “When I moved from my hometown of Kerman, Iran to Tehran for college, it opened my eyes to many different languages, traditions and cultures, even in my own country. From there I moved to Japan for my Ph.D. studies, and truly discovered how diverse cultures can share common interests and con- cerns through the common language of humanity. In summer 2014, I received the most culturally impactful gift ever: I met my husband, an American educator at Virginia Tech. Being an immigrant is not easy, but I had faith in what I knew to be the most diverse, multicultural country in the world.” Elham Morshedsadeh COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES VIRGINIA TECH
Transcript of A diversity awareness project. Office for ... - Virginia Tech · VIRGINIA TECH A diversity...
A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall.
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“In my lived experience, diversity is way more than an institutional buzzword that its often reduced to. I saw the importance of diver-sity early in my career, as I was the second African-American to graduate from the Landscape Architecture program at the Univer-sity of Arkansas and I graduated in 2002. The program started in 1976. So for me, a kid from Memphis, Tennessee it was a chal-lenge at times to cope with being the only minority in my cohort, to make it even more difficult I did not have anyone on the faculty who looked like me, who grew up in a similar place like me, or even had similar lived experiences like me. My undergraduate ex-perience was pivotal in my decision to become a professor. It is important for me to be the person that I needed in undergrad, be-cause that person did not exist for me. So for me, particularly with my ethos of engagement, diversity is essential to my teaching, scholarship and research. I feel like diversity provides all of us as a community to expand our world view and learn from ourdifference to make the world a better place.”
C.L. BohannonCOLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall.
CO
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“Growing up in a multi-ethnic society in Malawi, Africa, and through my academic sojourns in the Far East, and now, here in the USA, I have come to understand that diversity exists enriching all man-kind. It presents itself all around us. To be sure, we all surround it. We cannot take away from this totality without taking away from the essence of humanity: variety, reason and emotion. This is what nature has intended for us."
Amos Kalua
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
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"Diversity creates unknowns which intimidates people immensely. However, by embracing it, we can expand the scope of our experi-ences and live an adventurous life without regret. On the other hand, we can shun it, and thereby chose to live in a tiny bubble of existence with the whole world out there waiting for us to enjoy."
Yuki Tsujimoto
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
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"Diversity may be considered the same as difference, but in my life experience diversity means uniqueness. Even within a homoge-neous population exists uniqueness to personality, expression, thought, and belief. I grew up understanding that I was different because I am half-Swedish, left-handed, and struggle with dyslex-ia. My life experiences have taught me to notice the differences making up my uniqueness which I otherwise ignored, that I am a cis, white male from a working class family who celebrated a prot-estant version of Christianity. My pride in being a Swedish-Ameri-can, gay, a two-time Hokie grad, these become part of the multi-faceted uniqueness of my own being. But diversity also means accepting that some people will only see one or two of my facets and so each day teaches me the ways each part of my whole impacts intersections with others along their own differenc-es and similarities. It is these interactions between us which enrich our lives and create the diversity we need as members of the human family."
Vern Ferguson
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall. COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION
T H E Q U I L T O F A S O C I E T Y
Based on your lived experiences, what does diversity mean in your life?
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall.
CO
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: C
AU
S D
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RSIT
Y IN
ITIA
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“It can neither be measured nor quantified, yet its effect can be recognized in the awe, inspiration, or fulfillment experienced when an interaction with an Other expands our horizon, moves us to revisit our convictions, changes us.”
Paola Zellner Bassett
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
CO
MM
UN
ITY
NA
RR
ATIV
ES :
: C
AU
S D
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Y IN
ITIA
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"We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull. Some have weird names and are all different colors, but at the end of the day, they all exist very nicely in the same box. I believe diversity is a unique factor in our society. Not everyone in this world thinks the same or looks the same. We need different minds to solve issues. We need different opinions. We need differ-ent values and cultures. Diversity is what makes this world work. We need diversity."
Marshall Jones
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall.
CO
MM
UN
ITY
NA
RR
ATIV
ES :: C
AU
S D
IVE
RSIT
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ITIA
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“My parents are Spanish and Korean and I straddle these two cultures while still trying to figure out who am I. Bailemos juntos. 같이 노래해. Let us celebrate together. Let us find strength in one another. Let us find beauty in our similarities and differences. I am proud of both my heritage and my culture. I am /an/ embodi-ment of diversity.”
Starla Couso
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall.
CO
MM
UN
ITY
NA
RR
ATIV
ES :: C
AU
S D
IVE
RSIT
Y IN
ITIA
TIV
E E
XH
IBIT
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“Its seeing that even though we all come from different back-grounds, we are all inherently the same.”
Rachel Leonardo
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall.
CO
MM
UN
ITY
NA
RR
ATIV
ES :
: C
AU
S D
IVE
RSIT
Y IN
ITIA
TIV
E E
XH
IBIT
ION
“When I moved from my hometown of Kerman, Iran to Tehran for college, it opened my eyes to many different languages, traditions and cultures, even in my own country. From there I moved to Japan for my Ph.D. studies, and truly discovered how diverse cultures can share common interests and con-cerns through the common language of humanity. In summer 2014, I received the most culturally impactful gift ever: I met my husband, an American educator at Virginia Tech. Being an immigrant is not easy, but I had faith in what I knew to be the most diverse, multicultural country in the world.”
Elham Morshedsadeh
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH
