Running head:
AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHY
Omotola,
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Thank you again for your great reflection on how your culture influences your life viewpoints. Please note the following comments in regards to your paper:
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I continue to notice grammatical areas within the document. These errors include the mis-spelling of words, use of quotations and sentence structure as well.
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Throughout the document, I have made a few remarks regarding the paper.
However, I suggest that you apply these remarks to the entire paper as you review it.
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Please look to support your arguments with documented sources of reference as well.
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For the final assignment, please be sure to review all of the individual essays that are part of this project. While checking, please remember to review all of the appropriate guidelines as specified in the syllabus.
Final Grade: A-

AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHY
Auto-Ethnography Assignment Part B
Tola Petgrave
The University of Memphis
My Cultural Identity
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My cultural identity as a Yoruba ethnic woman from the south west region of Nigeria
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Using this definition, I have been able to identify some of my cultural identities such as being a female, and also being a Nigerian. This semester I have also been enlightened to see another aspect of my cultural identity as an international student studying in the United States.
Gudykunst mentions “the strength of our cultural identities involves the degree to which we see our cultures as important in the way we define ourselves” (2004, p. 68). In this paper, I am going to illustrate the influences of my cultural identity in various spheres of my life.
Educational Interactions
The Yoruba ethnic group as opposed to other ethnic groups in Nigeria has often been identified as one which strongly believes in the outward display of respect. Even observing children, you would see the cultural difference between a Yoruba child and an Igbo child (Igbo is another major ethnic group in Nigeria). When a teacher walks into a classroom, my culture demands that the child stops whatever they are doing to greet the adult and assist them with anything they are carrying in their hand. It is not uncommon for kids to even stop playing in the playground to come to the aid of a teacher who happens to walk by with a bag in their hand.
Even though I am receiving a foreign education, this impression of respect for elders and those in authority carried over to my interaction with professors especially as an undergraduate student. I hardly ever questioned my professors till further into my college years and in my first graduate program where I was tested to challenge my professors’ opinions and not take it as the rule of law or to critic articles published by accomplished authors or in reputable journals.

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An aspect of my culture that remains substantial till this day is the need to excel
4 academically. Most Nigerian students are raised with the pressure of being the best in their class.
Even as a child, I remember walking home trying to come up with a good explanation of why I had failed to receive the top ten spots in a classroom of over a hundred students. We do not attribute academic success to one’s level of intelligence as much as we believe in hard work and perseverance as the major ingredients of academic excellence. This aspect of my culture coupled with my upbringing could be the reason I have continued to yearn to learn and explore graduate work even to the level of a doctoral degree. The dean of my former graduate program made a statement as to why he had pursed his doctorate, he said “I was too stupid to quit.” My personal belief is that I do not have to be the smartest in the class but I will continue to strive to work hard and persevere to attain the same level of competence as one who may be able to acquire the knowledge with less effort. This has helped me to relate with students from other cultures that have the same educational pressures placed on them from childhood.
Social Integration
My cultural identity definitely influences my interaction and relationship with others. It is such a huge aspect of my life that I cannot ignore it except by deliberate effort. Nigerians have a collective culture where we value groups, collaboration, and what I would call the “village mentality. “The village mentality is the idea that we are all each other’s keeper. In a neighborhood, it is common to see children eat and play from house to house in the community.
An adult in the neighborhood could easily take responsibility to look after a group of children or watch a neighbor’s house while the original owners are away. When one person has a problem, it could easily become a neighborhood concern. In my daily interactions with people I tend to think with this same collective mentality.

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Furthermore, as a Yoruba woman we have the responsibility of being heavily matriarchal in my culture. I am able to relate to the classification of the traditional “southern belle” in terms of homely responsibilities. While on the other hand, I could also relate to the contemporary modernized woman; as the women in my culture have been able to balance these two worlds. We have female heroes such as the wives of Sango and Queen Amina who were strong women that stood and made decisions that were able to affect kingdoms even in those ancient times while maintaining their maternal roles in their households.
Studying and living in America, I have come to realize that for many who may see me down the street, I am just a regular black girl. I remember sitting in a classroom a few times and one day my professor called on me to answer a question. I noticed the confusion on the faces of my classmates. I soon came to realize the reason they were perplexed, as very few of them had identified me as a foreigner. They simply thought I was a black girl. I have mixed feelings with being identified with this group. Even though I can personally relate with this group, my definition of myself goes beyond the identity of just a black girl in America. By constraining myself to that definition I am deprived of all the other aspects of my identity. As a member of an
African American sorority I have been able to relate to the history of my founders. It was easy to combine my cultural identity as a Yoruba woman with the rich cultural heritage of my sorority.
In my undergraduate chapter, my sorority sisters were very open to seeing me as their sister and also learning from my cultural heritage. In this one aspect, I was truly able to experience a meshing of my two cultures, one which I was birth into, and one that I have acquired.

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My World of Work
Being here in America I have acquired a sort of subculture within the American culture of individualism. However, at the core I still make decisions believing that the best interest of the group comes above mine. This cultural belief also influences my leadership style as even reflecting on my personal leadership approach I am geared towards the team leadership style and sometimes struggle to make decisions that may conflict with the majority of the group under my leadership. I enjoy collaboration over competition and I am generally more energized by consensus over disagreement in team projects. This approach could easily become a disadvantage for me when navigating through cut-throat business environments where concern for the next individual may be minimal. However, my formal education in my graduate program has helped equip me to put my personal beliefs or philosophies aside to take care of the business.
I experience a deliberate shift in my approach when I realize that my leadership approach or social style is in contrast with the situation at hand.
I do not generally believe I enjoy any particular advantages from my cultural identity.
Even while we watched the video on the differences in the way males and females communicate it was easy to see that the traditional way women communicate in being more relational than men could easily undermine my authority, or the perception of confidence in the workplace.
During a presentation with a graduate advisor, I learned the importance of self-motoring as a woman in the workplace both as it relates to our professional attire, and in our interpersonal communication.
The culture of our professional life in Nigeria is our interdependent belief that no man is an island. We tend to be open and welcoming to strangers and value our relationships. Being from a country where we are majority black, we focus less on racial differences in the workplace

AUTO-ETHNOGRAPHY as we do on competency level. From childhood up till our college years, children primarily wear
7 uniforms to school; thereby we learn to get to know people first before we put people into categories. It teaches us acceptance, and leads to less separation and dichotomy in the workplace due to racial differences. This has been positive for me to be able to evaluate colleagues based on personality more so than race. There are certain stereotypes that I try to avoid such as being late for meetings. In Nigeria, that may not have raised too many eyes brows because of our casual belief in the “African time.” However in the professional world in America I have learned through interaction that this is a negative stereotype of a black person. The fact that race is related to issues with punctuality here in the United States is a major deterrent for me to not show up late.
Learning Diversity
Prior to this class I had very little formal knowledge of diversity. Being a foreign student,
I have questioned a lot of my experiences in the United States based on things that were not common to me such as why we had only whites or black sororities/fraternities in an era where we were supposed to be making deliberate efforts for diversity. I have also questioned why interracial couples are still the minority in a country that is increasingly becoming diverse with presently over six recognized races. I am hoping to continue to expand my knowledge of issues on diversity to become not just more informed, but also become more intentional in becoming a student affairs professional who encourages and welcomes diversity on the college campus.

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References
Gudykunst, W. (2004). Bridging differences: Effective intergroup communication . (4th ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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