Wildcat Dialogues

An Intercultural Leadership Experience

Join all new and first-year K-State students for a night of meaningful dialogue and building connections. This one-night event happens each fall semester. View photos from the fall 2024 event on Facebook: Event photos and Group selfies.

What participants do

Learn how to create communities of belonging
Build cross-cultural relationships through meaningful dialogue
Engage in active listening, empathy and perspective-taking
Build your skillset to understand cultural differences and similarities

How you’ll use it later

Identify tangible action steps you can take to create a community of belonging for all at K-State.
Recognize the ways in which your cultural and social identities make an impact on how you see and experience the world.
Recognize the ways in which others’ cultural and social identities differ from your own and how they see and experience the world differently, like you.
Demonstrate authentic curiosity and empathy when engaging in meaningful dialogues across difference.

What facilitators do

K-State students, faculty and staff are invited to join us as facilitators. Facilitators help the small groups focus on deliberate conversation to build intentional connections for intercultural learning and leadership development. Training is provided and facilitators will get a free Wildcat Dialogues T-shirt.

Highlight Your Experience

As a participant or facilitator, you might be thinking about how to best share this development opportunity in professional environments like LinkedIn or on a resume. Get inspired with our examples and download a free badge.

Questions?

Read the FAQs or email Mariya Vaughn at mbjv@ksu.edu or Tamara Bauer at tamara@ksu.edu.

Wildcat Dialogues

Participants share what you can expect at this event.

What students had to say

"I learned that it’s okay to be yourself. That we all have different identities, experiences, backgrounds, etc. and that it's important to talk about them.”

“Including people goes beyond inclusion. It is also affirming their identity, and making changes to address those needs.”

“Wildcat Dialogues made me more open to learning about people different from myself.”

“This experience helped me come out of my comfort zone.”

Presented in partnership by

This event is coordinated in partnership between the Staley School of Leadership, K-State First, the K-State Student Union, the Office of Access and Opportunity, and the Department of Student Belonging and Inclusion, Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, and the DOW Center for Multicultural and Community Studies, alongside a large committee representing students, faculty and staff. This collaboration represents the commitment by our campus community to create a culture of belonging for all.

2024 Committee

More opportunities for intercultural learning

Following the main Wildcat Dialogues event, there will be a series of mini-dialogue opportunities throughout the year for students to attend and engage in the practice of dialogue around specific topics and identities. These events will allow us to continue practicing and engaging in the skills of dialogue as we seek to create a community of belonging for all at K-State.

Staley School of Leadership
252 Leadership Studies Building
1300 Mid-Campus Dr. N.
Manhattan, KS 66506

785-532-6085
leadership@ksu.edu