ISCORE

          Last Friday, I was able to attend two sessions at the Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity. They were Student Leadership and the College Experience: Creating Opportunities for Growth and Success and -ISM's Explored Through the Eyes of George Washington Carver Students. Although both of these presentations were vastly different, the one thing that stuck out to me was how these students were both in programs, similar to the Hixson Opportunity Awards program, that I have never heard of. The first presentation was led by three women from the Student Support Services program, which is strictly for first generation students, and then the second, of course, was facilitated by the George Washington Carver students, who are selected out of high school if they are of a minority ethnicity.
           The first session was a lot different than what I expected. It turned out to be three women telling us about their lives, what motivated them to come to college, and what organizations they are apart as well as what they have learned from their leadership roles. Some of the main lessons that they have learned include communication, organization, delegation, teamwork and responsibility. Some of my favorites included prioritizing, building relationships, learning about themselves, and having fun! From this presentation I was also able to see where all of our student leaders on campus come from besides the obvious things like clubs, peer mentors in learning communities, and tutors. Leadership roles can also be obtained through Greek life, religious groups, volunteer positions like Food at First and Habitat for Humanity, and through jobs on campus.
        Most of all, I think what I learned from these women was that uncertainty is okay. They admitted that there were many times that they really didn't know what to do so they just had to wing it. This was beneficial, even if it was a disaster at the time, because now they know what works and what doesn't work and how they will change things in the future. Additionally, I could also see how much they loved talking about their roles and organizations and I hope that that is what my students see next fall when I am their leader.
         My second session was much different as it wasn't a sit and listen type of thing. Many students had posters hanging up around the Gallery Room that you could look at and discuss with them. All of these posters were about certain "-isms"; I really enjoyed how they were just the common ones like racism or sexism, but ones that I hadn't really thought of like ageism and classism. I liked hearing each person's perspective on the topic and how they thought change could be made. This will be beneficial in dealing with the diversity of my students next fall because sometimes we fall into the habit of thinking that looks are what make people diverse when in reality it's their entire background that makes one person diverse from another.
        Overall, ISCORE was another great learning experience that I have gained resources and ideas on how to acknowledge diversity amongst a group of people.