The Multicultural Leadership Institute offers a workshop program that enlightens students about diversity and culture

Katelyn Hummel
Staff Writer

The Multicultural Leadership Institute at pierce works hard to present information to students that will help them make informed decisions about cultural diversity through its EMBRACE track.

EMBRACE stands for Educating Myself For Better Racial Awareness and Cultural Enrichment.  It is an 18-hour diversity training that is spread out through various workshops and weekend intensive days.

What students can hope to take away from this program is not only a certificate of completion to add to one’s own personal portfolio for job applications and scholarship possibilities, but they will also gain experience of applying the skills they learn through community service activities. MLI members also are able to build up relations with Pierce faculty, staff and student leaders.

Cameron Cox, an overseer of the MLI program, explains that 14 of the 18 hours are carried out through the weekend intensive. The remainder of the time is to be fulfilled by selecting and attending four of the hour-long workshops that MLI has to offer.

MLI is funded through the S&A fee that is paid by students as part of their tuition. Their budget is about $4,000 that is used for supplies and social events.

Due to a limited budget, MLI utilizes what is on campus, including their facilitators who are volunteering faculty members. As Cox put it, these facilitators are speaking at these workshops out of “a labor of love”.

Although the themes of the workshops vary from quarter to quarter due to the availability of workshop facilitators, some of the workshop themes include age discrimination, religious identity, international relationships, reconciliation, racial adversity, facing language barriers, and understanding of multiracial communities.

The people who join MLI are as diverse as the workshops offered. The age range of joining students can typically be anywhere from about 18 to mid-50’s.  Cox explains that this age gap brings varying perspectives to the table that enlightens all. He also portrays how different ethnicities also bring diverse views from many cultures.

Cox portrays that it is important to ask how we can solve problems in the U.S. and apply them internationally. He also explains that the hope is that the program gets the students thinking and gets them challenged about their premonitions and prejudices.

“The bottom line is how do we, one, understand each other better and two, how do we better the world and better society,” said Cox.

This program leads up to the Annual Students of Color Conference (SOCC) in the spring which is a conference held that opens up students to a broader atmosphere of cultural diversity. Many MLI students attend this conference.

To apply to the SOCC students must be enrolled in the Fort Steilacoom campus, be enrolled in during the spring quarter, must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and must submit the application by the deadline on Feb. 24.

Students who wish to join MLI or attend the SOCC can get both applications from the Pierce website or contact MLI at [email protected].