Carine Verlin 1

My experience with diversity in Higher Education

Carine Verlin
Wright State University
SAA7630
Dr. Carol Patitu

Table of Contents

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My most memorable experience dealing with diversity in higher educationPage 3

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

Do not judge a book by its cover

Do not generalize
Do not assume
Do not be afraid to ask questions
Listen
Do not judge

My proudest moment regarding diversityPage 4

My experiences that have shaped my personality, and a my culture......................Page 5
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

I stopped lying to myself

I stopped being my own enemy
Learning happens outside of our comfort zone
An open mind is essential to learn
Having a guest attitude instead of a host attitude
Be grateful

My growth and development in regards to diversity in the future......page 7

My most memorable experience dealing with diversity in higher education

I have several memorable experiences dealing with diversity but I think the one that had the
most impact on me is when I interviewed a female Muslim student from Saudi Arabic last fall for
a class project. I was so touched by this exchange that I remember leaving the interview with
tears in my eyes.

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I came to this interview with some preconceived ideas about how Muslim women were
treated by their husband or by their community, and after listening to my interviewee, I realized
that those ideas were false beliefs mostly generated by some events from my past experience,
and also based on what I heard through the media.
This experience taught me several things I would like to share with you:
1. Do not generalize
In my past experience, women who covered their head were very submissive to their
husband, they were not allowed to think for themselves or have personal opinions; their husband
was the head and they were the body. But, it is not because my interviewee was wearing the
Hijab that she fit the same description.
It is not because one person from one different religious or ethnic group than mine act a
certain way that I should automatically think that if this person does that, the whole population
does it too.
2. Do not assume
In any situations, we come with our personality, experience, genetics, upbringing, beliefs,
and so on We see the world through those lenses; we see the world the way we are and not the
way the world really is which is why we need to be careful and not assume that each individual
sees the world from the same lenses than ours.
3. Do not be afraid to ask questions
Because of number 3, it is easy to draw our own conclusions without thinking more
critically about a situation which is why it is really important to ask questions. It is ok to fail, its
ok to make mistakes or be ignorant about a subject, but it is not ok to not willing to learn, grow,
and change.

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4. Listen carefully
I realized that most of the times, the reasons why we do not understand people that are
different than us is simply because we do not take the time to listen to them. In a discussion,
instead of really listening, we already are thinking of what we can reply next.
5. Do not judge
Last, I would finish with a quote from Mother Teresa that talked to me
deeply. There is nothing more to say, this quote says it all: If you judge
people, you have no time to love them.
My proudest moment regarding diversity in higher education, in society, in
my community.
I had 2 proudest moment regarding diversity. The first one is when I moved from France to
Ohio. After spending 28 years in France, I came to the US with my husband and five children.
Not only did I have to learn a different language, but I had to adapt to a different culture and
ethnicity. At first, it was really hard to adjust because -as a minority- if you want to fit in, you are
the one who needs to accustom yourself to your new place and change your way of talking or
thinking. It is when I recognize my new country -at least as much as valuable than the one I left
-that I started to respect and like the richness of the difference. And the only way to achieve this
adjustment was through humility and open-mind.
My second proudest moment was when I decided to go back to college. It was not only an
adjustment because of my age and family situation (I was going through a divorce), but mainly
because of the language and culture difference. That is also why I hesitated so long before going
back to school but today, after having taken the plunge, I feel very fortunate to educate myself in

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another country than mine. When it feels safe, when we are in our comfort zone, it is not where
we learn and grow in life the most. My experience showed me that we have more capabilities to
adjust that we know and it is never too late to start something new or different.

My experiences that have shaped my personality, and develop a sense of culture

Again, what shaped my personality and culture the most was my expatriation. It completely
changed my belief system, who I thought I was, and what I thought about other population.
Below are some points in which my experience shaped me.
1. I stopped lying to myself
Sometimes in life, we believe that some things are too hard to attain or are unreachable. We
have the tendency to use everything as an excuse to avoid change and learning; I am too old to
learn, I am not fit enough to run a marathon, I am too old to change careeretc. Those are just
lies we tell ourselves and it works! By listening to them, we do not take the steps needed to
change, to learn, and become a better version of ourselves.
2. I stopped being my own enemy
In the same state of mind than number 1, because we are lying to ourselves we become our
own enemies; we are sabotaging our own lives, our own possibilities. We create situations to fail.
Yes, thats exactly what I said; we are very good at self-sabotage our own lives. We are expert at
creating obstacles that prevent learning, grow, and success. How do we do that? By feeding the
lies we tell ourselves such as I am not smart enough, it is too late to pursue the career I want, I do
not have time to study, I would love to study abroad, but I do not have money or I do not speak
the language...etc. Every negative thoughts we tell ourselves prevents us of growing, changing,
and learning.

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3. Learning happens outside of our comfort zone

We do not learn much when we are surrounded by people or environment just like us. In
order to learn, we need to be challenged and in a way be placed in uncomfortable situations.
Sometimes, we need a little push in life in order to do that because naturally, we like to be and
stay in comfortable environments with people from the same culture or background than us.
4. An open mind is essential to learn
When I moved to the U.S, I came with my French culture and everything I found different
from what I was used too, I called it wrong, or upside down. I was so frustrated at first because
in my mind, I could not understand why Americans were so complicated and made things so
difficult. Until, I realized I was the one who was complicated, I was the one who refused to learn
and accept that it is not because other population do things differently that it is wrong or upside
down, it is just different. When I started to approach things with an open mind, I started to not
only accept diversity, but to love and embrace differences.
5. Having a guest attitude instead of a host attitude
When you come in a foreign country, if you want to learn the custom, do not come thinking
you know better than your host country. Act as a guest, do not impose your own culture to others,
be open, and humble. Do not come with a state of mind of wanting to teach others something
because you think you know better, but instead come with a humble heart, and a will to listen,
observe and learn.
6. Be grateful
Taking the habit to say how grateful you are to be able to meet with so many different people,
from different culture, religion, background, or sexual orientation will help develop a sense of
respect, tolerance, and love. And on top of that, you will feel better about yourself.

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My growth and development in regards to diversity in the future

In the future, I want to continue to apply what my past experiences taught me and I would
also like to learn more about the populations or groups of people I am not very familiar with.
Understanding diversity is essential not only for our own personal development but for the wellbeing of societies as a whole. For us and for the future generations, it is imperative to learn how
to live peacefully together.
I would also like to live few months in other part of the world to learn diversity from the
inside. I believe that there is no better way to understand others than to spend a considerable
amount of time with people different than us in their own environment. When we learn to not
close doors, we start to open our heart to differences, we open our mind for learning; and there is
so much to absorb and learn, it will be a waste to not take advantage of those great opportunities.