Connections with others are what establish and maintain communities, and the Multicultural Center at Georgia State is working to do their part by creating the Community Connections program.
“[The initiative will] facilitate diversity and cultural competency education on Georgia State’s campus,” LaToya Harden, the student affairs advisor at the Multicultural Center, said.
“[The program will provide] an opportunity for students to connect with each other, meet university faculty and staff and community partners,” the Multicultural Center website states. “Through this, individuals across Georgia State will discuss topics focused on growth and community and share ideas to ‘build a culture of care at Georgia State.’”
The 8-month program will bring participants back for workshops on a monthly basis.
“The workshops will range from using the resources on campus to understanding specific identities within Georgia State University’s population,” Harden said. “Participants will be paired with a mentor, usually a professional, to dialogue with during the duration of the program.”
This program serves as a way for many students to transition into Georgia State, to become better prepared for the workplace or even to enter the mentorship program themselves.
The mentoring initiative is provided by two different tracks: a program for transition students and another for women of color. The transition track will allow students coming from the Perimeter campus to ease into the transition onto the Downtown campus.
“The Women of Color, Advocacy and Service track seeks to provide personal, academic, cultural, social, professional and leadership development to self-identified women of color at Georgia State,” Harden said.
There is also a program for members of the LGBTQIQA community and another called the African American Male Initiative (AAMI).
Through the LGBTQIQA program, students will learn to align their personal, academic and career goals together and “foster identity awareness, identity acceptance and support of all students from LGBTQIQA and varying gender identities while providing mentors who identify with the LGBTQIQA and varying gender community.”
The AAMI will connect African American men at Georgia State to support educational and professional aspirations.
“[The AAMI] is committed to significantly increasing the graduation rates and the number of degrees conferred upon African American men in the University System of Georgia,” Harden said.
Upcoming activities hosted by the Multicultural Center in the month of October include a “queer de-stress fest,” to discuss and learn coping mechanisms for any dilemmas queer individuals may face. In addition to this, an event called “Pop Talks,” where students are invited to have Pop-Tarts and talk about any hot topics at the moment.
