Understanding of Diversity & Equity Issues
As part of my graduate studies, I took the class COUN 581: Multicultural Counseling. The course asked for a great deal of personal reflection and discussion with our peers regarding our perceptions and personal biases. To see one such reflective paper, "A Personal Response to an Article and Theories Regarding Racial/ Cultural Identity Development," go to the appropriate Reflective Practice page. Another more academic essay, "Culturally Competent Counseling for Differing Generations of Hispanic Americans" is included in full below. At the end of the paper, I included an interview with a friend who spoke frankly about her own experiences and perspective; it was perhaps the most powerful learning experience of that class! Also during my time at PSU, I attended an Intercultural Sensitivity Training at PSU with Janelle Voegele which I find relevant to many aspects of counseling with high school students.
Another unique experience which opened my eyes to diversity and equity issues was my undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona in Deaf Culture and American Sign Language. I volunteered for two years at the Arizona School for the Deaf & the Blind (ASDB) in Tucson, Arizona working with a kindergarten and autistic preschool P.E. classes. I also interpreted for two deaf children at KidZone summer camps in Tempe, AZ. To read more about my experiences, scroll down and read the reflection "Changing Hands."
I have been so blessed to have richly diverse experiences as a Licensed Teacher and while working as a School Based Coordinator! While working in the schools, I have had the opportunity to work directly with students who are racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse. For example, when I worked at Balsz K-8 School in Phoenix, AZ, our staff worked hard to reach out to students and their families who came from Mexico, Somalia, the Sudan, and many other countries around the world. At Big Brothers Big Sisters, I had the opportunity to work alongside the African American Advisory Council to match mentors to students in the North Portland schools, and to work with Latino mentors to reach out to Spanish-speaking families in the Reynolds School District. Students of widely varying socioeconomic levels, family backgrounds, and religious beliefs have been welcomed and included in my classrooms and in mentoring matches. Two examples include the year I spent teaching at Pappas School for the Homeless and the advocacy I did to allow several Muslim students to be excused from class to pray. I have come to value the necessity in fostering acceptance and tolerance for students who have experienced harassment for their gender or sexual orientation. Finally, I have participated as a team in many 504 and IEP meetings for students, both as a teacher and as a school counseling intern. I have partnered with teachers to provide interventions to support students who require accomodations in order to be fully included at school. I would not trade any of these experiences, as these diverse students have opened my eyes to many new perspectives!