The Student Center of Inclusion and Culture (SCIC), Office of International Programs (OIP), and the Drexel Students Global Advisory Board hosted the Diversity and Inclusion End of the Year Celebration to celebrate the end of the year with its members June 1. The celebration consisted of a buffet style dinner and a collaborative activity between members.
The event started off with a presentation by SCIC Transition Team Managers Noor Jemy, a senior health services administration major, and Christina Bowles, a first year Masters of Public Health student. The purpose of the event was to inform audience members the goals of the SCIC.
The SCIC works with partners and staff within Drexel to bridge the gap between Drexel’s administration and its students. The organization has a prominent role in conducting national and international celebrations throughout the campus. This includes heritage and history months and other events that draw light on different cultural perspectives and lesser known cultural histories. These can be film screenings, cultural celebrations or engaging speakers.
During the month of October, which doubles as LGBT history month, the SCIC works to provide events where the Drexel community can celebrate and recognize the LGBT history and achievements.
The SCIC hosts 120 programs, events, heritage months and student led events each year. The SCIC also worked on many popular events such as the 7th Annual UPenn Powwow and the MLK Day of Dialogue.
The SCIC caters to student groups including interfaith and cultural organizations on campus by advertising, providing space, networking and collaborating with students. One of the most popular events the SCIC was involved in was bringing in Leymah Gbowee, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to Drexel.
“In terms of coming here, I loved the fact that we were able to hash out what the office does and highlight the fact that we have 120 events coming out of our office specifically. Seeing these faces in collaboration for future ideas with everyone else was the whole point of the event,” Jemy said after Gbowee’s presentation.
The event proceeded with a collaboration icebreaker activity to help the audience get to know each other. Audience members were encouraged to choose one table at the event and get to know everyone at the table in seven minutes and then proceed to the next table. The purpose of this activity was to establish relationships that would allow the conversation to continue past that evening.
Feyone La, a biomedical engineering major, is a campus-based leader for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program. The Gates Millennium Scholars Program is a scholarship program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for minority first-generation youth of low income in the US and territories. La told audience members that she often feels separated from the rest of the Drexel community because she is from a different background. To minimize this for herself and other scholars, La formed a campus-based organization in which the SCIC helped students in the Gates Millennium Scholars get together and create a community they could go to for support and help.
“If a student has an idea, they come to us and we will make it reality,” Jemy told audience members to conclude the event.
The SCIC encourages students to contact them for the implementation of any ideas.