Three students from Eastern New Mexico University's Office of Multicultural Affairs attended the National Student Leadership Diversity Convention (NSLDC) in New Orleans on Feb. 9-10. NSLDC is the largest national gathering of student leaders and campus-based advisors to address the topics of diversity and social justice.

Diana Cordova, director of Multicultural Affairs, helped ENMU students Annabel Jauregui, Kaitlyn Bigham and Anna George prepare for the convention. She assisted them with writing a bill to present to the Associated Students of Eastern New Mexico University (ASENMU). ASENMU approved most of the amount and helped fund their trip to NSLDC.

Diana saw that there were many workshops at the convention that would be beneficial for her students to attend, including "The Role of Identity in Social Justice," "Facilitation Skills for Group Dialogue," "Gender Identity and Expression," "Black Lives Matter? Perceptions vs. Reality," "The Immigration Experience" and "No More Drama: Managing Conflict Effectively on Campus".

She thought NSLDC "fit perfectly" with Multicultural Affairs' mission: "At ENMU, we are committed to the belief that a rich multicultural environment enhances University academic and social life."

The three students will be giving a workshop on campus on April 2 at 7 p.m. in the Sandia Room in the Campus Union related to the "Role of Identity" session they attended at NSLDC. Diana says that attendees of the ENMU students' workshop will "experience an illuminating approach to communicating with each other about the multiple aspects of identity while being listened to with compassion and respect."

Annabel Jauregui and Kaitlyn Bigham shared details about their experiences at NSLDC:

Annabel Jauregui, Multicultural Coordinator, Graduate Student Pursuing a Master of Science in Communicative Disorders

When did you get involved in the Multicultural Affairs? What is your favorite part of being in Multicultural Affairs?

I have been a part of Multicultural Affairs since I was a freshman. I started by being an office assistant for the Hispanic Affairs Office, and eventually, I became the director of the office. Currently, as a graduate student, I serve as the Multicultural Affairs coordinator and now get the opportunity to work more closely with all four offices: African-American, Hispanic, International, and Native Affairs.

My favorite part is seeing how great everyone works together to put on various events and learning about different cultures and traditions. It has really taught me to appreciate the diversity that exists in the world.

What did you do at the conference (attend workshops, listen to presenters, etc.)? Which workshops/presenters stood out to you and why?

I attended a variety of workshops including, "The Role of identity in Social Justice," "Black Lives Matter? Perception vs. Reality" and "The Immigration Experience." Meanwhile, interacting with the presenters, and other student leaders from New York, Rhode Island, Arkansas, Florida and the Coast Guard Academy. It was great getting to know people from different states, and realizing that at the end of the day, we are not so different after all. I also ate some delicious and famous gumbo and jambalaya, since we were in New Orleans. I could not miss the opportunity!

The workshop which stood out to me the most was "The Immigration Experience." Despite the fact that the United States is a nation of immigrants, it is currently a hot topic. The myths about immigrants and the immigration experience were examined, students got to experience for themselves some of the challenges faced by immigrants in this country today and factual information was provided. I also really appreciated the open conversations we were having as a group, because it allowed me to understand different viewpoints.

What was your favorite part of the conference? Why?

The best part was seeing the transition from being complete strangers to opening up and talking about topics that are important, yet uncomfortable at the same time. One of the very first things we were told once we arrived was, "You have to be uncomfortable in order to grow. It feels like growing pains; you have to endure it." To this day, that quote has stayed with me because it reminded me of the importance and necessity to have certain conversations regarding identity, gender and stereotypes in order to avoid misconceptions and become more empathetic in today's society.

What did you learn from the conference? How will you use what you learned from the conference at ENMU?

I learned the importance of being empathetic and educating people on sensitive topics, like the ones covered at this conference. One of the presenters mentioned this in the conference, and I thought that it was a perfect explanation for having uncomfortable conversations: "It is not about changing minds, it is about changing hearts."

Additional information:

Kaitlyn, Anna and I will be providing a workshop that is open to all ENMU students, faculty and staff on April 2 at 7 p.m. in the Sandia Room in the Campus Union which will be portraying what we learned. It will be very interactive for the attendees and will cover identity. Refreshments will be served afterward!

Kaitlyn Bigham, Multicultural Affairs Graduate Assistant, Graduate Student Pursuing a Master of Special Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood

When did you get involved in the Multicultural Affairs? What is your favorite part of being in Multicultural Affairs?

I first got involved with Multicultural Affairs in fall 2013, helping with the Chinese New Year Banquet and any events I could. I officially began working with Multicultural Affairs as a graduate assistant in fall 2017. My favorite part of being here is getting to make friends that come from all over the world. I get to learn a lot about different cultures, customs, traditions and languages. I think it is beautiful to work at a place where everyone is welcome and accepted regardless of where you come from.

What did you do at the conference (attend workshops, listen to presenters, etc.)? Which workshops/presenters stood out to you and why?

At the conference, I attended multiple workshops: "The Role of Identity in Social Justice," "Facilitation Skills for Group Dialogue," "Black Lives Matter: Perception vs. Reality" and "The Immigration Experience."

The workshop that stood out to me the most was "Black Lives Matter: Perception vs. Reality," because the presenter showed us scenes from the movie "The Birth of a Nation" from 1915, and made connections between the stereotypes African-Americans endure today to the image of African-Americans that this movie portrayed. It made us wonder if the stereotypes African-Americans have today would even exist if not for that movie. Also, in 1915, for anyone who did not interact with African-Americans, that movie was the only thing they had to create a perception from, so naturally it was a very negative perception. Jumping to today, if someone does not have any interaction with people from Black Lives Matter, the only thing they have to make a perception from is the media representation, so if the perception is good or bad is dictated to people.

We also spent time discussing the difference between the Black Lives Matter organization, and the protests. Finally, we ended the workshop with a quote: "If we all lived in a neighborhood, and one house is on fire, does the fire department spray water on all of the houses? No. The water is sprayed on the house that is on fire because that is the house that needs immediate help. We are not saying the other houses don't matter or are not important; it's just that the house on fire is having an emergency and needs help."

What was your favorite part of the conference? Why?

My favorite part of the conference was that the workshops were very interactive instead of lecture style. This allowed all of the attendees to have very in-depth and meaningful conversations with each other, both about our personal backgrounds and the schools we represented.

What did you learn from the conference? How will you use what you learned from the conference at ENMU?

This conference enlightened me in so many ways. I learned about group communications, and how our preconceived assumptions of people and situations impact our judgment and more often than not lead us to the wrong conclusions. I learned about historical references from Black Lives Matter while discussing current research that explains there is no such thing as a person being "color blind," but, in fact, race is the first thing our brains categorize a person by.

I learned how stressful and confusing the process to citizenship is for people trying to come to America and what some of the common misconceptions about immigrants are versus the factual truth. I even learned about how isolated and scared people who are learning English can feel when they first arrive to the country. Those of us that attended this conference will be hosting presentations on campus to share with anyone interested in all of the information we learned. We want to start facilitating these difficult conversations between students, faculty, staff and administration to help all students feel included and safe on campus.

Additional information:

While at this conference we had the opportunity to meet students from Arkansas, Florida, New York, Rhode Island and even the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.