GlobeMed FIU
When I joined the GlobeMed Chapter at FIU in 2017 I thought it would be an interesting way to meet and help people who were different from myself and join in on fun, respectful conversations about matters that were important to me. While GlobeMed delivered on both of those, I had no idea how in just a few short years it would grow to be so much more.
After serving as the Director of Communications for one year, I was selected to serve as the Co-President of the Chapter. As Co-President I was responsible for overseeing all chapter programs - from the ghUs to the GROW trip. I also worked to inspire a vision for our chapter and to establish a productive culture where all members and initiatives were positioned to succeed.
We can realize health for all if we work together.
Throughout this experience, I have been privileged to get to know and grow alongside the next generation of change makers. I have been honored to learn more about the social ramifications of health inequity in our local community. I have been lucky enough to make friends who have helped me through difficult personal challenges. I have been challenged to adapt and to hone my personal leadership style and skills. Most importantly, however, I have been able be a part of an amazing partnership aimed at ensuring that the most vulnerable members of our global population are able to sustainably access adequate health care.
Tuesday Times Roundtable
Every Tuesday at FIU, the Global Learning Office hosts the Tuesday Times Roundtable (TTR). This is series of collaborative moderated conversations between faculty, students and staff based on articles published in the New York Times.
Although I attended multiple TTRs two really made an impression on me. The first was titled "Prosecutorial Discretion and Racial & Ethnic Justice". This discussion struck me at the time, but it has proven to be even more relevant and meaningful today. Much of the conversation was on the power and role of prosecutors in our criminal justice system, and how that interacts with our perceptions of race and ethnicity in our country today.
However, the most powerful moment of the discussion for me was when Mr. Kutateladze revealed that the best predictor of whether or not someone who was arrested would be sentenced with incarceration was their ability to make their bail. The U.S. outlawed debtors prisons in 1833, nearly 200 years ago. Yet, we still have a system that sets those of lower socioeconomic backgrounds at an automatic disadvantage.
Another very powerful part of this conversation was the idea of "perceived race" vs. "actual race". The idea, that how others perceive your racial or ethnic identity is more important to how they will treat you than your actual race or ethnicity. This talk reinforced the ideas that nearly everything we conceive of in this world is a social construct. While that may seem scary when thinking about something that is supposed to be fair and objective - such as the criminal justice system - it gave me a lot of hope to realize that if we created something, then we also have the power to change that thing
Another TTR that made an impression on me was titled "Creating Local Leaders to Achieve Global Goals by the United Nations Association, Miami Chapter". One reason this TTR stands out to me is because I was able to speak at the beginning about GlobeMed and its relationship with the Global Learning Office. In addition to that, this TTR was my first exposure to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals to transform our world. Since this exposure, I have really seen this as a great framework to help build out and develop future endeavors of my own.
Virtual GLM Experiences
In the last 7 months, every facet of our lives has had to change drastically due to the ongoing pandemic that has gripped the globe. This includes the Global Learning Medallion experience. Many of my more recent GLM experiences have been virtual - from FIU LGBTQA Instagram Livestreams to Global Learning Zoom Hangouts. This was a very interesting way to end my global learning experience at FIU. It truly tested and expanded our idea of what it means to be connected as a global community.
