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K-State Today

June 22, 2018

An update from associate vice president for student life Adrian Rodriguez

Submitted by Adrian Rodriguez

The Division of Student Life — Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs, or DMSA, is thrilled to announce its new Intercultural Immersion Experience program as a part of Wildcat Warm-up this summer. 

New Student Services, K-State First, the Staley School of Leadership Studies, as well as faculty and staff from across K-State have partnered with DMSA to launch the primer event of the Intercultural Immersion Experience to reach nearly 600 of K-State's incoming class. 

Orientation and Enrollment Wildcat Warm-up counselors participated in extensive intercultural competency development training in preparation for the big event. Faculty and staff — mainly those who received intercultural development inventory, or IDI, qualified administrator certification in the spring — have given their time to lead the sessions. DMSA hosted an April IDI Qualifying Seminar, which provided the opportunity for 20 faculty and staff to be become certified, and will be offering two more opportunities this summer to certify 60 faculty, staff and administrators in total. The April cohort have put that intercultural learning to work and have collaborated with our Wildcat Warm-up counselors to lead our incoming students in their introduction to diversity and inclusion at Kansas State University. 

The goal of the Intercultural Immersion Experience primer is to provide an introduction to intercultural learning/development. It's the first step in the process of building an inclusive K-State family. Many elements of the curriculum consist of community-led efforts from different faculty and staff across the academy.

A key message of the experience is that being a family requires a daily commitment on our part. We all have the opportunity to make a decision if we are going to uphold what it means to be a family. The program is packed full of exciting ways to stretch the limits of students' understanding of self and others and the ways in which we can be reflective as we work and live together.

The Intercultural Immersion Experience program consists of a series of signature events held throughout the year that are intended to stretch student's intercultural growth, learning and development. Most of all, it seeks to introduce students to what we value most at K-State — FAMILY!

DMSA is proud to partner with many units, departments and colleges to bring you these signature events throughout the year. So get ready and I look forward to seeing you at an Intercultural Immersion Experience event soon. 

Adrian Rodriguez
Associate Vice President for Student Life — Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs