Building Connections: Fostering Community Through Awareness

Multicultural. Multinational. Multilingual. Our world is an exciting blend of ethnicities, races and cultures.

Your BW student is immersed in a campus setting that is diverse. Through academic initiatives, co-curricular activities and campus programs, your student can gain valuable insights and experiences.

Encountering Differences, Embracing Respect

For some students, college may be the first time they have encountered individuals whose experiences, cultures, values and social norms differ from their own. These situations may challenge your student's comfort zone. But studies show these experiences can have positive effects socially, cognitively and academically.

Whether it is inside or outside the classroom, on campus or across the world through study abroad trips, students who have encountered diversity through interpersonal interactions, group dynamics, and participation in multicultural and intercultural activities are better able to respect differences in others. In addition, they benefit from enhanced skills in critical thinking, articulation, interpersonal communication and mediation.

Through the richness of these opportunities, students gain self-confidence as well as an awareness of and appreciation for diversity and its role in society, in the workplace and in the community.

Diversity Opportunities at BW

At BW, diversity relates to the importance of acknowledging and respecting persons whose beliefs, practices and norms differ from one's own. Students are encouraged to explore, engage in and embrace the uniqueness of self and others. Opportunities include:

• Taking courses that explore diversity and multicultural issues, such as religion, international studies, foreign language, sociology, history, education, business, political science and others
• Volunteering or interning with organizations that serve marginalized individuals and/or are focused on international initiatives, advocacy or policies and programs that are diversity associated
• Participating in study abroad opportunities
• Joining campus organizations that are comprised of individuals whose race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation or opinions differ from their own or whose focus is on diversity issues
• Attending BW campus programming that is sponsored by multicultural and diversity organizations