Author: arega.1

2017 GLI Retreat

We kicked off the start of the year with our annual retreat! We had a great time learning about our plans for the year outlining expectations for each other and the executive board, playing fun icebreakers, and bonding over food and a scavenger hunt. We revealed the teams for the project groups and began brainstorming possible projects.

The majority of our day was spent getting to know each other through several interactive games such as speed dating and human knot.

After a delicious lunch, the project teams went on a scavenger hunt. The teams had a lot of fun bonding and exploring the Short North.

 

 

September 2017 in GLI

We kicked off the year with our retreat and we officially began our weekly meetings in September.

Our very first guest of the semester was Stephen Deaderick, Program Specialist at the Multicultural Center at The Ohio State University and dear friend of GLI. Stephen spoke about identity and its many forms. It is always fun to have him and watch his TedTalk!

        

Our guest the following week was Professor Jasmine Roberts from the Communications Department, who taught us about email etiquette. She shared some funny emails she has received over the years. We discussed the unintended message an email can send to the reader. We now know the kinds of emails we should not send!

 

The following week was our first monthly dinner!  A detailed blog is posted.

 

 

Introducing the 2017-18 GLI Cohort

New school year, new cohort.

Our GLI family is continuing to expand as we add a new group of cohort members.

This year’s cohort members are intelligent, vibrant, and conversationalists. Bonding with each other came naturally to them; there was no need to give them talking points. Their enthusiasm and willingness to learn definitely shows. We are confident that the bonds we will create this year will be lasting, just as they have been for previous cohorts.

We are excited to see how this year will unfold for us as we begin our weekly meetings, monthly dinners, projects, and social outings. Our plans for this school year are to continue to expose our cohort members to different experiences, give them an open and safe space for discussions, and create a platform for networking opportunities. We will also continue with our yearly project focused around a social issue. The cohort will be divided into six groups to create a project on the chosen topics:  Mental Health, Feminism, Social Justice, Education, Immigration/Refugee, and Culture.

We cannot wait to see the fruition of these projects.

Here are some pictures from our very first meeting.

 

 

Spring Semester Monthly Dinners

Oh, how we enjoy our monthly dinners. From dressing up, and being served delicious meals, we get to interact with leaders from OSU and the Columbus community. It is a great to socialize with both our cohort members and inspiring leaders in our community.Our monthly dinner guests included Dr. Drobny, Kenny, Vern Granger, Jeremy Hollon, Dean Williams, Micky Sharma, and Carina Hansen.

We also had an etiquette dinner with Sharon Schweitzer, author of Access to Asia, who taught us fun and important lessons about dinner etiquette. Who knew there was so much to  learn about eating.

Remember to always follow the host’s lead. 

GLI Projects

The Spring semester was comprised of our weekly meetings, monthly dinners and the completion of the group projects. The cohort members were divided into five groups of four based on social issues of their interest. The themes for the project were Technology, Immigration, Education, Social Equality, Environment, and Human Trafficking. The idea was for the teams to carry out a project that incorporated the global aspect of GLI with the local OSU community.

The planning and execution of the projects was challenging at times as these had to balance the projects on top of all their commitments. Nevertheless, the results of everyone’s projects were nothing short of success. Here are some examples of what our teams accomplished.

The Education team partnered with a local elementary school to share global themed books and have a story time with a group of elementary school students. This was perfect timing as it was “Celebrate Multiculturalism” week at Daniel Wright Elementary School.

Immigration team held a fundraiser at two locations on the OSU campus. The goal was to collect everyday household items specifically hygienic items and donate them to CRIS, a local organization that helps refugees and immigrants in Columbus resettle. The team was happy in the number of items collected.

The Social Equality team presented a documentary on The Freedom to Marry. They invited two guest speakers to have a discussion at the end of the documentary. A lot of students and staff also showed up to the event.

The Technology group presented on the importance of cyber security to a local high school students. This was an important lesson for the students  because information shared online negligently could be used negatively.

And the Environment team held a presentation on Free Trade in collaboration with representatives from a non profit called “Global Gifts.” 

Reminiscing on the Spring Semester

 

 

 

The family bond between the cohort members continued to grow. Everyone felt comfortable and enjoyed spending Monday evenings together. We continued to have great guest speakers and also discussions led by the executive board and Megan. Some of our guest speakers for the Spring were Patrick Terrien from Columbus Council of World Affairs, Tom Katzenmeyer, CEO of the Greater Columbus Arts Council, Adan Hussain, and Eric McGraw. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and speak with leaders from different backgrounds who pushed us to think about a variety of topics. It is fair to say that our Monday meetings were a success. We gained invaluable knowledge and networks we would not have otherwise gained in a classroom.