=^..^= An FIU Golden Panther for Global Learning =^..^=
Ms. A. Neilson: Global Citizen
Global Learning Courses, Activities, Explorations, Creations
GL designated: Course work: List the number and name of 3 GL/Sector courses, taken as of Spring 2019
Note: All FIU courses completed with high marks
1.Course: CCJ/4694 Human Trafficking /Semester and year: Spring Term 2017. with Professor Suman Kakar Sirpal Ph.D., who literally wrote the official book on human trafficking. It examines issues related to human trafficking and immigration from an international and global perspective and also covered the related laws and legislation.
This was a hard and intense, but fascinating course, and it really covered so much about human trafficking in all its forms and instances. An important global and humanitarian perspective that I gained from this course was that human trafficking can happen to anyone from any walk of life.
2.Course: COM/3404 Nonverbal Communication / Semester and year: Summer Term 2016, This was also a UCC/GRW course on the study of nonlinguistic and paralinguistic aspects of communication, including personal space, body language, eye contact, touch, and paralanguage. From a global perspective, I found this very interesting because it covered universal similarities, yet also how nonverbal cues can sometimes have very different meanings in different cultures and we learned these differences to better understand others and avoid offending them accidentally. Well taught knowledge on nonverbal communication such as this, is great to have in your skills tool-box when traveling globally as well as for online communications on the world-wide-web.
3.Course: SYA/3300 Research Methods (Quantitative & Qualitative)/Semester and year: Summer 2016. Taken with Professor Sarah J. Mahler Ph.D. ("Dr. M"), a super-sharp and meticulous professor. At first, I thought this course would be over-challenging, but I ended up loving it and making an A. Topics included the formulation of research problems; research design; data collection methods; hypothesis testing; and analysis, interpretation, and reporting results. It was a serious course, but I still had fun and I loved doing the graphs and images for illustrating data. From a global perspective, I found it interesting how the same data could be illustrated in such a way as to influence and persuade others depending on how it was presented, especially when shown on the world-wide-web.
Additional related Global Learning designated courses:
SYA/3400 Quant. Social Research Methods / Semester and year: Fall Term 2017
SYO/3400 Medical Sociology / Semester and year: Spring Term 2016
SYD/3804 Sociology of Gender / Semester and year: Fall Term 2016
DEP/4014 Psychology of Parenting / Semester and year: Spring Term 2017
SYG/2000 Sociology / Semester and year: Spring Term 2017
BSC/UCC1 Biology of Natural Sciences Semester and year: Fall Term 2015
Hands-on experience. Total Hours (must be at least 50): over 80 hours done
Description of experience:
PCP: VOLUNTEER WORK & GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT PROJECT
Sector: Environment &/or Education & Youth Development
Organization: Mermaidseas Dolphin Defense League International
Summary of Activities:
Volunteer Artist and Dolphin Advocate, Artistic, and Media Director.
Proposed Timeline for PCP Capstone Completion: Spring Semester End 2019
(More on my capstones further below.)
Foreign language skills
Requirements depend upon the desired Peace Corps volunteer placement site.
Additional Language taken at FIU: Spanish
Intercultural competence
List 3 approved courses/experiences that bolstered your intercultural competence:
[All listed Global Learning courses completed with high marks too].
1.) SYP/3456 Societies in the World: Semester and year: Spring Term 2016
with Professor Katherine Lineberger Ph.D. ("Dr. L."), one of my favorite professors!
This class was a real eye-opener, like all classes, I took from the brilliant professor, Dr. Lineberger,
who is also Director of Undergraduate Studies whilst doing all this amazing teaching too!
It included the study of local societies from a worldwide perspective.
She addressed local-global issues such as gender, social class,
economy, politics, migration, and environmental destruction.
2.) GEO/3421 Cultural Geography
Semester and year: Fall Term 2016
with Professor Ricardo M.Gonzalez Ph.D.,
one of my favorite professors, who is also
very caring to all his students and does such a great job of
teaching and advising us as head of GSS.
Highlight: This course gave me a greater appreciation
for the interconnections between my life and those of
people in different parts of the world. I was a group leader
and I absolutely loved how much we learned by doing the Wiki project
that Dr.Gonzalez had us do on various tribes of Indigenous people!
3.) SOP/4731 Global Psychology
Semester and year: Fall Term 2016
Additionally:
WST/3641: LGBT and Beyond
Semester and year: Fall 2015
ANT/3241: Myth, Ritual, and Mysticism
Semester and year: Spring Term 2016
SYA/3400 Quant. Social Research Methods /
Semester and year: Fall Term 2017
SYO/3400 Medical Sociology /
Semester and year: Spring Term 2016
SYD/3804 Sociology of Gender /
Semester and year: Fall Term 2016
DEP/4014 Psychology of Parenting /
Semester and year: Spring Term 2017
Professional and leadership development
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Professional resume feedback: Date: Feb. 2019 Where: Career Source
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Professional interview prep: Date: Feb 2019 Where: Career Source Florida
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Demonstrated leadership experiences (i.e., student orgs, work, volunteer, etc.) Describe:
Academy of Leaders (Graduated AOL at FIU, in my Junior year, with Dr.O'Keefe}
Professor O'Keefe Ph.D., who is a gifted expert still doing important research on diversity and leadership, most importantly taught me that to be a great leader is to bring out the leader in others. The global leadership skills (with attention to trust & respect, equity, diversity, and fairness, that I learned and practiced with her), broadened my horizons and helped me open up and serve for the many leadership roles that were to lay ahead of me at FIU. Students each created an Intro-Movie to share with each other in her class, (video available to educational faculty and classmates only).
Slow Food FIU: Social Media Manager & “Marketing and Communications Director”: 2017-2019 (ongoing) under Professor Kincaid Ph.D. Dr.Kincaid first noticed my work when I was a group leader in one of his fascinating advanced sociology classes on social theories and later he invited me to be President of Slow Food FIU. Although it turned out there were rules that off-campus distance students could not be President at that time-period of FIU History, I was still able to be Social Media Manager & “Marketing and Communications Director” which was a tech-savvy socially aware online role that I was well suited for. Globally, 'Slow Food' is about food that is 'good, clean, and fair'. Dr. Kincaid also taught me (and other students) in class about global food systems and food chains and he was and is an excellent mentor for Slow Food FIU.
I really enjoyed doing this work and President Emma Tablada also knew she could count on me anytime
to help her by getting Slow Food FIU events advertised, encouraging participation, and to smoothly
run our global social media. Emma has graduated before me, and I have continued on as our Media and Marketing Director keeping things up to date. https://www.facebook.com/slowfoodfiu/.
To learn more about Slow Food, please feel free to read: "Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair", by Carlo Petrini (2007) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202661.Slow_Food_Nation
Peace Corps Prep Committee: Global Engagement Coordinator: 2017-2019 (ongoing)under Director Connie Penczak M.S. As a Peace Corps Prep (PCP) committee member I gained valuable teamwork and project management experience while leaving a positive mark on the Peace Corps Prep program. As the Global Engagement Project Coordinator, I kept students engaged with PC Prep for creating excitement for available service project opportunities and for feeling out the needs and interests of the Peace Corps Prep community as a whole regarding project ideas and global issues to focus on.
I also sought out projects and volunteer opportunities that various online students
could do in their own localities too,(e.g. Gainesville Green, Give Back Thursdays, etc.).
I also helped create and update Student Orientation PowerPoints, Excel file reports, and records for students and partnered organizations.
Mentor: Peace Corps Prep: Team Guide: Guardians of Peace: 2017-2019, under Connie Penczak, M.S. Through a formal partnership with the Peace Corps national office, Peace Corps Prep at FIU is a program where students gain skills and experiences that make them competitive applicants for the Peace Corps and other international development positions.
As a Team Guide, I have the delight of mentoring groups of five or more students and helping and supporting them in any way I can with whatever they need so that they can earn their FIU: Peace Corps Prep certificate and make their dreams of serving in the Peace Corps become a reality. My dual role as Team Guardian and Global Engagement Coordinator on the Peace Corps Prep Committee worked really well together to help me serve the students on our Team Guardians of Peace too, because I was always promptly in the know about events and opportunities, like their chance to meet a returning Peace Corps Prep volunteer. I also enjoyed making sure online students were not left out of the availability of alternate online viewing or activities when events were taking place on campus that they could not reach in person. Our Director, Connie Penczak was always receptive and amazing about this and it was a joy to work with her and the other students on the committee too.
In addition to finding events, PCP students can engage in state-wide and globally as Global Engagement coordinator, I created a new additional organized event opportunity for them. Organized Event: Mermaidseas Dolphin Defense League International, an NPO (non-profit conservation org.): Designed & Created Volunteer Opportunity for the NPO online for FIU: PCP students, including designing and creating a Research Survey for the org. that students can engage with, taking survey & sharing the survey, & then I will analyze survey results for the org. via research methods, I have learned through my completed FIU Research Methods courses. PCP students will also be able to interact with the org’s websites by finding, sharing, &/or discussing any wild dolphin research articles at the Mermaidseas Dolphin Defense League International website. This opportunity allows both on-campus and online students to participate online. Students can take a screenshot of their online participation to submit for credit for the event. Per FIU: PCP Committee, Director Connie Penczak has noted to us per email that PCP students can also tag themselves during their engagement with this event by tagging it into FIU: PCP
on Instagram, if they so choose.
Volunteering my services for setting-up or participating in creating or promoting online events &/or activities is an ongoing open offer.
Additional Hands-on experience. Descriptions:
PCP: VOLUNTEER WORK & GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT PROJECT
Sector: Environment &/or Education & Youth Development
Organization: Mermaidseas Dolphin Defense League International
Summary of Activities:
Volunteer Artist and Dolphin Advocate, Artistic, and Media Director.
Proposed Timeline for Capstone Completion: Spring Semester End 2019
I chose to create this original capstone & volunteer experience to tie to Peace Corps, Global Learning, and Public Service
in general because like sharing ideas and designs to help teach children, youths, and societies worldwide about ocean conservation with a focus on protecting cetaceans, such as wild dolphins. This capstone research and art project design can create awareness of the importance of protecting dolphins and the waters they live in globally. The Dolphin Defense awareness art-project is something that can help inspire children, youths, and even adults to learn that we can enjoy nature and wildlife without having to hurt them, so youths can enhance their prosocial behavior and help spread the word for conservation too. Water is something we need to drink, yet we also cannot survive without our saltwater oceans and marine life. Although this is a university capstone project, what I'm creating is a living breathing project that can continue giving after my own graduation!
In addition to my Global Dolphin Defense report, under my recommendations section within it, I proposed some solutions, including a Global Dolphin-art project which I designed to get people of various ages and cultures involved in taking action
for awareness for international dolphin defense which relates to ocean conservation. I created and launched a live website for this Global Dolphin-art project, which includes a discussion forum and the ability to book me for interactive youth or adult presentations that include the Dolphin-art activity for those that wish to participate actively together and make a dolphin-art piece to submit for the global project! That website can be found here:
Global Dolphin-art Project: Global Dolphin Defense:
https://globaldolphindefen.wixsite.com/mermaidseas
Besides presenting this Dolphin Defense Global Engagement project, I have also done an FIU Global Learning (GLM) Capstone Research Report for creating awareness on addressing barriers to higher education for impoverished homeless university students, which you can hear more about on this FIU-portfolio website too. Thank you so much. I have been enjoying my involvement with Global Learning in FIU: PCP & GLM! 😊
