LBCC’s “Stay Ready” workshop educated students on cultural empowerment, individual strengths and how their diversity is a tool for gauging strong, professional and academic roles in society on Oct. 9.
The workshop served as a tool, a reminder of cultural wealth, values and the personal strengths of being a first generation college student.
“You don’t really get to hear about how your culture can integrate with your career. You kind of just have to navigate how you can get there yourself with your culture or without your culture. That’s what I like about workshops like this, because you can visualize yourself and how you can include your culture,” said Stephanie Zagal, a student at LBCC.
The U.S. has a divisive history with cultural diversity, has the disempowerment of minorities and people of color in society to become a learned behaviour.
The event discussed that it is more likely for people of color to feel out of place in terms of learning their true roles and attributes in the world.
By valuing your roots, language, traditions and ways of knowing, you expand the idea of what success looks like not just for yourself, but for others who share similar experiences.
“I think that the student body in general is a very diverse body, you know? There’s a lot of space for inclusivity and diversity. So having a workshop that centers around being a professional within that identity is super important for our students,” Pride Scholar Student Success Coach Jon Jon Cossio said.
Basic needs specialist Joseph Pacheco, gives tips about professionalism for jobs and emails in the SJIC room B206 at LBCC on Oct. 9. (Hailey Hildreth)
Making those things matter means refusing to believe that only one type of background or experience defines intelligence, professionalism, or success.
“I don’t want to sacrifice a big part of me for a job that is supposed to, I guess, serve me and the goals I have. I don’t think my purpose should exclude a big part of who I am. The workshop was a really good way of looking at what I come with in more pride and to not leave those important things out,” said LBCC student Robert Guerrero.
People learned that when they embrace their cultural wealth, they contribute to a more balanced and human version of progress, which values collaboration, respect and understanding between communities.
Students engage during the “Stay Ready” workshop hosted by SJIC in room B206 at LBCC on Oct. 9. (Hailey Hildreth)
The culture challenges stereotypes, breaks down boundaries and creates systems where everyone’s knowledge and experience are seen as essential to collective growth.
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