FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
GLOBAL LEARNING

My Reflection

Now that I have achieved one of my academic goals of graduating Summa Cum Laude from Florida International University, and that I can proudly say that I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, is when I realize how fast my undergraduate years have passed, and how much I still want to accomplish.

These past years have given me enormous satisfactions and recognitions. As I anxiously await entering Graduate School, I also reflect on how fortunate I have been to be a student at one of the most prestigious universities in the nation.

 At FIU I have been able to grow as a student and as a person. As an Anthropologist I am about to enter a new chapter in my career, and as a student of Women's & Gender issues I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge. But, as a Global Learning student I have achieved a higher level of global awareness.

Global Learning provides students with the tools for their global growth. There are plenty of global learning courses to choose from; there is an amazing number of events to participate in; and there are incredible roundtables that provide the exceptional opportunity to learn, participate and interact with fabulous speakers; as well as fellow members of the Global Learning Medallion.

There is no doubt in my mind, that all of the above have come together to give me a new understanding of the world around me; a better way of analyzing issues that could affect anyone of us; a better attitude to confront the issues at hand with a global awareness and perspective that makes me a better citizen.

Joining the Global Learning Medallion was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions of my undergraduate years. I have always felt a great need to seek more knowledge about what connects people, places and circumstances around the world. As I immersed myself in global learning courses, events and roundtables, I realized how deep the connection was between global learning, as a concept, and my own interests in my studies and my personal life, as well.

Global Learning has been, in fact, a catalyst force that has brought together so many of my own ideas, my own desire to seek those things that are similar in all of while learning from the things that are different. My journey through Global Learning, officially, began at FIU; but, in fact it was a continuation of what I have learned growing up. I have always being encouraged to keep an open-mind about the world around me; not to be afraid to explore out of my  comfort zone; to seek new information and knowledge; and to always understand others as I want to be understood.

I always remember the words of my mother as I was growing up: "I am raising you to be a citizen of the world.” I have many reasons to be thankful; so, today I thank FIU and the Global Learning Medallion for the opportunity I had to prepare myself and to be ready  to assume the role that all those of my generation must play in the creation of a fair, just and more inclusive world.