O-Crew Rocks!

The O-Crew

Pictured here is the Orientation Crew comprised of second year UCA students and the Student Life Staff.  The O-Crew built, planned, designed, and delivered Orientation to our new UCA students.  What an amazing and talented group.  They did a super job and put together eight days of amazing activities and learning experiences for our newcomers. 

Here's what's coolest about this group.  They come from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.  And there's one other American on the crew besides me.  Can you recognize that person in the picture?  If you have never met us, I bet you can't.  That's what I love about this photo:  it was taken at the World Cafe event we conducted that featured discussions of culture and how we build a positive, pluralistic culture on our campus.  Nationality is confused and doesn't matter--we are all wearing each other's clothing and cultural artifacts and we are celebrating everyone's cultures and identities.  I mean, look at me:  I am proudly wearing the traditional hat my Pakistani students gave me. How strange it is that we are celebrating diversity in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, while the President of the United States is supporting neo-fascists who are hoping to destroy the diverse melting pot that is America.  It makes me shake my head as I contemplate what my nation has become.

I think any person who ever had the chance to be part of a talented, diverse, and downright pleasant O-Crew like the one I've been blessed to be a part of, couldn't help but be a little bit more appreciative of other cultures and the idea that we are not necessarily defined by our ethnicity, but by what is inside our hearts and minds.