Intercultural Engagement Essay

Intercultural engagement and interaction are very essential when living in a big community. It helps us to understand the true value of diversity and culture. This diversity and culture can be defined as customs and norms particular groups of people share. Being able to interact with groups that are different from the norm that one used to follow helps in recognizing other’s culture as well as one’s own.

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During the time of senior high school I decided to apply to the U.S. and earn my bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. Coming to the U.S. has helped me to grow as a person as well as professionally. At first it was difficult for me to adapt to a new environment and get acquainted with the culture, as it was different from how I grew up. Being here at MSU I was able to learn and become involved in several community occasions which helped me  understand diversity. In addition to that, during the freshman year I took a  KSP Course. This course focused on teaching international students  the rules and regulations of U.S. universities and how to get along in the culture. One of the things I learned while being in the U.S. is the value of time. Back in my country I didn’t know and understand how valuable time was and being in college as well as having multiple jobs and responsibility helped me to realize  how to manage my time. Having the experience of studying abroad and adapting to the culture and new environment helped me also understand the value of being involved in a diverse community. During my senior year I joined the Diversity and Inclusion Board. The vision and purpose of this program is to help the diverse community to become involved in different events and activities. This included preparing events, bringing forward issues that students might have and looking for ways to solve those issues.. Being involved in such community has helped me to see the beautiful diversity that MNSU has and represent my culture as well learn about other cultures. 

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In brief, studying abroad has helped me understand about diversity in a bigger world. In addition, as a diversity inclusion member I was able to help several new international students to engage into the community. This plays a very crucial role for me to grow and adapt new environment and develop my interpersonal communications skill. Thus being able to involve in a community full of diversity helps me to define my own culture and also have the capacity to be an open-minded person to accept others. This will guide me in the future involving in a team work environment with diverse community. In fact, the Honors Program has  helped me to reflect upon what intercultural  engagement and involvement is about