INTERCULTURAL STUDIES

Healthy Assimilation Strategies for the Potential Trauma Associated with Immigration (O)

Presenter: Laila Sue Al-Hagal

Faculty Project Advisor: Jean Marie Walls

Immigrants are faced with many challenges when adjusting to a new country. Perceptions of identity, purpose, and home may change during the cultural transition of people who have been separated from the place of their childhood. When these internal perceptions are challenged, the result can lead to trauma, isolation, and an unhealthy cultural adaptation to the host society. The research conducted in this project specifically examines the types of trauma that can occur with immigration and the attempt to assimilate into a new culture. Further, the research also explores the work of the International Leadership Coalition, an organization that attempts to aid internationals with strategies for healthy cultural adaptation.

Cultivating Effective Community Development Through International Nonprofits and Local Partner Collaboration (O)

Presenter: Kirbi Cochran

Faculty Project Advisor: Jean Marie Walls

International aid to a community requires a holistic understanding of the community and its needs. Every international nonprofit has unique ways of approaching the needs of the communities they serve. However, all methods are not equally effective. Through my personal experience working alongside Education Equals Hope, an international non-profit working in Quito, Ecuador, I observed the benefits of an international nonprofit organization partnering with local leaders to determine and implement effective community development. In light of this experience, my research examines different methods of international aid and narrows the focus to the effects of both the international organization and the local community working in partnership to assess needs, plan aid strategies, and implement community development. These strategies lead to long-term solutions that take into account the culture and history of the community partner.

The Importance of Building Multicultural Teams in Short-Term Missions to Cultivate Mutually Beneficial Community Outreach (O)

Presenter: Hadie Sowell

Faculty Project Advisor: Jean Marie Walls

In the last few decades in the United States, it has become increasingly popular for high school and college aged students from middle class families to travel internationally to participate in short-term missions or aid. Oftentimes, these trips take place in impoverished communities of post-colonial nations. Because visiting teams often do not include local community members, other than in the role of translators, the projects or service the teams provide can often lead to unintended negative consequences. This research project is an examination of how healthy multicultural teams can provide an environment for mutually beneficial short-term missions and identify ways in which students can be better equipped for cultural sensitivity and awareness. This study specifically draws from student experiences with short-term missions in Brazil who have worked on a multicultural team. n