This project, with some of the stories of three international students at Cal Poly, holds a lot of weight. There are intentions for how to engage with the content of this project, and implications for how to respond. Please consider some of them with me.
International students are humans first. I interview the three students featured on this website as humans, as personal friends. I do not claim them to be representative of all international students, nor of their native countries. The digital nature of this project, with images and videos, suggests a consumptive relationship with the stories presented. The stories of these, and all, international students are not to be commodified as ways to benefit Cal Poly’s diversity and inclusion efforts or to prove cultural competency.
Rather, I intend for this project to be a starting point for something bigger and more in depth in which learning and action take place. This project is created with the following goals in mind:
May domestic students, faculty, and staff at Cal Poly choose to be vigilant in becoming aware of international students whose stories are waiting to be told. May we be hospitable enough to open up our hearts and form relationships with international students who need to know they have a home among us.
May our efforts for cultural awareness and empathy be genuine. May we be assertive and graceful in addressing racial and ethnic tensions. May we reflect honestly and critically in our intercultural relationships.
May international students know they are not alone in their struggles. May they have a family in others like them who come from afar. May they know their voices are valued and their stories matter. May they know they belong.
(Informed by Andenoro et al., 2012; Facer, 2019; Kruse et al., 2018; Lewis & Shah, 2019).
International students are humans first. I interview the three students featured on this website as humans, as personal friends. I do not claim them to be representative of all international students, nor of their native countries. The digital nature of this project, with images and videos, suggests a consumptive relationship with the stories presented. The stories of these, and all, international students are not to be commodified as ways to benefit Cal Poly’s diversity and inclusion efforts or to prove cultural competency.
Rather, I intend for this project to be a starting point for something bigger and more in depth in which learning and action take place. This project is created with the following goals in mind:
May domestic students, faculty, and staff at Cal Poly choose to be vigilant in becoming aware of international students whose stories are waiting to be told. May we be hospitable enough to open up our hearts and form relationships with international students who need to know they have a home among us.
May our efforts for cultural awareness and empathy be genuine. May we be assertive and graceful in addressing racial and ethnic tensions. May we reflect honestly and critically in our intercultural relationships.
May international students know they are not alone in their struggles. May they have a family in others like them who come from afar. May they know their voices are valued and their stories matter. May they know they belong.
(Informed by Andenoro et al., 2012; Facer, 2019; Kruse et al., 2018; Lewis & Shah, 2019).