RIT community members connect across cultural lines through ‘What’s Your Diversity?’ program

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, RIT’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion wanted to create a way for faculty and staff to connect with people from different backgrounds despite the limitations that come with physical distancing. In April, they launched the “What’s Your Diversity” program, a weekly storytelling and dialogue hour held via Zoom that allowed RIT faculty and staff to share how diversity impacts their lives.

Each week a different employee received a turn in the spotlight and 13 faculty and staff presented from April to June. The intimate sessions, averaging about 15 attendees, were facilitated by Taj Smith, director of diversity education, and Nicole Scott, director of the Native American Future Stewards Program. The program’s organizers selected speakers to provide perspective from a wide range of different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual identities, physical abilities, and other attributes.

“I hope that by listening to people’s stories, every participant was able to learn and grow from it,” said Scott. “We each have our own silos and sometimes it’s tough to break out of them. There’s some vulnerability that comes with sharing your story, and I had many people tell me they did not think their story was ‘interesting.’ So, I’m very thankful to our guests. I hope Taj and I were able to show that each story is important and needed. I hope it allowed them to reflect on their journey and be proud of it.”

Participants recommended art, music, books, and other resources that resonated with them personally and that they feel could help attendees better understand their perspectives. Each week the organizers created Instagram posts to highlight the resources shared by the presenters. Harshita Sood, assistant director of campus sustainability, attended five sessions as a listener and presented on May 27 and said the program offered an important opportunity to reflect on her own similarities and differences with other participants.

“I learned how to put into practice the concept of humble inquiry as a way to respectfully ask presenters about their experiences, some of which could be difficult for storytellers to share,” said Sood. “I particularly enjoyed hearing about my colleagues’ favorite podcasts, books and artists. I added some of these to my collections and it’s helped expand my horizons of understanding. As a presenter, I was grateful to share my experiences as an immigrant woman of color, and how my identity carved my career path and led me to study environmental science at RIT, and then work in the field of sustainability.”

The first iteration of the program wrapped up on June 10, and Scott and Smith are now in the midst of hosting a special three-part summer series for global students. The program will resume in the fall semester twice per month during the eastern time lunch hour over Zoom with Smith and a new co-host. The program will also include students from the U.S. and RIT’s global campuses.

Visit the Division of Diversity and Inclusion website for information about future editions of the “What’s Your Diversity?” program and other diversity education and training programs.