Ohio University opens up the conversation of diversity with its first class of Multicultural Leadership Ambassadors.
As an incoming freshman at Ohio University, Alexis Apparicio spent the beginning of her college career battling feelings of isolation and frustration. She says being a minority at a predominantly white university often singles her out in classrooms, forcing her to sometimes be the “black voice” during discussions.
“I think on paper the university is very diverse, but I think when it comes to interacting, I don’t think that we are very diverse at all,” said Apparicio, who identifies as black. “I think that we are a very divided campus.”
In 2013, OU’s Athens campus was about 80 percent white, 5 percent black, 3 percent Hispanic and a little more than 1 percent Asian, according to university documents.
Now a sophomore studying political science and African American studies, Apparicio is one of ten students chosen to be a part of OU’s first Multicultural Leadership Ambassador program. Students in the program give presentations to residence halls and students with the goal of initiating cultural discussions on campus.
“Their purpose is to go out and to provide education that breaks down stereotypes with a goal of helping to create climates of inclusion and respect,” said Shari Clarke, vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion.
The ambassadors, who present themselves as a panel when speaking to students, encourage students to be comfortable with their own identity. The ambassadors begin the presentations with icebreakers and move into sharing their own stories and experiences.
Although panel members talk about their differences, students relate well with the “shared basicness of being diverse,” Clarke said.
The 10 ambassadors are: Claire Seid, Oliver Stone, Alaina Morman, Theresa Wilson, Sasha Estrella-Jones, Gabriela Clarke, Adrianna Mauzy, Karissa Jones, Nile Harris and Apparicio. Clarke was looking for students who had a story to share and were comfortable enough to share it.
Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, associate director of OU’s Multicultural Center, and Shante Polk — who under Clarke had participated in and coordinated a similar ambassador program at Marshall University — conducted the training.
The ambassadors were taught how to present themselves and their stories. They discussed how to be empathetic while being confident and “believing that what you’re saying is going to eventually educate someone,” said Harris, an ambassador and a sophomore studying chemistry and pre-med.
“I see myself as being the one to say, ‘Hey, you’re validated. I appreciate you,’” Harris said. “Hopefully by me doing that other people — black, white, whatever — will start to do the same thing.”
@Lalalacyy
lp511312@ohio.edu
