As a youth who is eager to promote intercultural learning and exchange, I have
always been looking for an opportunity to apply my leadership skills in an educational
society. My leadership experiences within my school and community have given me the
transformative power of embracing diverse backgrounds and engaging in cross-cultural
interactions. Now, as I embark on my journey at Ball State, I am willing to continue
applying those skills to create a lively environment with students from different parts of
the world. I firmly believe that the reputation of Ball State is closely tied to the diversity
of its student body.
I have been making efforts to elevate diversity since Grade 9 as the school council
secretary. In Myanmar, where Buddhism holds a prominent position, students belonging
to minority religions often face unequal treatment. For instance, it was disheartening to
witness Christian students being made to wait while their Buddhist peers performed
religious rituals during morning homage. Despite the existence of numerous events for
Buddhists in school, the absence of popular celebrations for other religions such as
Christmas, Eid Mubarak, and Diwali was disappointing. Therefore, I reported those kinds
of problems to the school administration and worked closely with the officials to solve
them. First, my request to use three available spaces every morning so that other religions
can perform their religious duties, was approved by the school board. Second, I organized
mandatory workshops for all students and staff every Friday. There, they gained insights
into the diverse aspects of religious faith and engaged in discussions led by religious
leaders, influencers, and professors. In this way, I raised awareness of inclusivity within
our educational institution.
Moreover, with the assistance of my school, I invited the Japanese people to my
city every year for discussions with locals. The most popular topics during this period were
discipline and education. It was such an interesting event as people from two countries with
a significant difference in development exchanged perspectives and explored ways to
address challenges. I was very pleased that the locals had a chance to learn good moral
values to build a developed nation and effective techniques to improve the quality of
education from them. Additionally, we organized joint clean-up events to tackle the issue
of littering and share insights on waste management. Our efforts were worth it as we gained
unique cleanliness practices from people of the cleanest country in the world. These
experiences in my community have shaped my character for future responsibilities at Ball
State.
As I transition to Ball State University, I plan to launch a big mission, which will
include events, discussions, games, and publishing books. During this, I would like to share
interesting facts about my country, while exploring different cultural experiences of other
people.
Cultural events are one of the best ways to draw people's attention. So, I would like
to set up the international club, named "Covalent Bond", and collaborate with the
Multicultural Center on events. For instance, we will host popular festivals like Carnival,
Holi, Thingyan, Lantern, and Durbar monthly. Then, we will hold a competition which will
assess what students learned from those festivals. Candidates who can answer most
assessment questions correctly will be awarded books on culture. Respective students will
also give a comprehensive presentation for those who are unclear about the purpose of
festivals. In my opinion, this is indeed a powerful strategy, as they can delve into others'
traditions.
Another one in my plan is "Culture O’ Clock", a time to embrace different cultures.
During this, we will invite community leaders who can provide insights on solving
problems like education, healthcare, and technology in developing countries. International
students from those backgrounds can share the specific issues they encounter and learn
from the ideas of the American participants. We can create an active environment with
effective planning, and thus it is certain that they will make the most of the discussion.
Furthermore, we will team up with the Rinker Center to arrange dance shows, film events,
music performances, and food exhibitions, which highlight international communities at
Ball State. Additionally, it is a good idea to include fun activities like cooking games. We
will divide students into groups, and assign each group a different traditional cuisine to
research ingredients and cooking techniques before the game. After collecting ingredients
with a specific budget we gave them, they have to prepare their dishes in a given time
frame. Next, students with expertise in their represented cultures will evaluate the dishes
based on cultural authenticity and taste, and give a review. This cooking game can
definitely provide an immersive experience that fosters appreciation of different culinary
traditions around the world. Plus, we will hold various types of cultural games, as requested
by students.
One more thing is to release a book. At first, I will work together with the Office
of Digital Research and Publishing to publish the book named "Flowers of BSU", which is
a collection of real-life stories from people of different ethnicities, religions, sexual
orientations, and socioeconomic backgrounds at Ball State. We will conduct surveys to
gather crucial information, and seek feedback from diversity advocates and well-known
writers for editing so that our publication gets nationwide attention. Besides, we will
discuss with professors to add it to the core curriculum. I hope this is a creative approach
that inspires people to explore cultures on their own.
In conclusion, the You Are Welcome Here scholarship will give me an opportunity
to pursue my educational aspirations while also dedicating myself to appreciating cultural
differences. As I have a good record of active engagement in my school and community, I
would like to continue making a lasting impact and leveraging my experiences at Ball State.
Therefore, let this scholarship be a catalyst for a brighter world where every individual
feels valued and welcomed.