Global Learning Medallion Reflection

Growing up, my world was Miami. I have only traveled to a handful of places and only recently have I traveled to more than one other country. Even so, I always wanted to travel more and experience what the world has to offer. I saw the Global Learning (GL) program as a way for me to do just that while I worked towards finishing my degree at FIU. However, as someone who has always had a passion for history and culture, I wanted to do more than what was required of me for my Global Learning experience. I did not want to only stick to the requirements that FIU has in place, I wanted more. As such, I decided to work towards the Global Learning Medallion as a way to take more globally driven courses and have the opportunity to reflect on the time I spent broadening my worldview. Every experience I had while working towards the medallion has shaped me into the person I am today.

 

From the moment I left my Freshman Orientation in 2019, I knew I wanted to become a Peer Advisor (PA). I wanted to help students who were struggling or lost as they entered the new environment of FIU. At the time, I was nervous to enter into a role that would require me to be outgoing and understanding of different cultures and backgrounds. While public speaking was nothing new to me, I was still fairly new to FIU myself by the time I started my PA journey in January of 2020. I was only in my second semester at FIU, but I knew this opportunity would allow me to break out of my comfort zone and engage with the FIU community on a much larger scale. In the end, I remained in this position for two years. Being a PA allowed me to see how different people are and how different people react to different situations. This experience also allowed me to see problems from different perspectives and resulted in me being able to grow my problem-solving skills.

 

While being a PA provided me with the opportunity to meet people from a variety of different backgrounds, it was hard to understand the connection between global and local issues. I did have some idea of this connection before attending FIU since I study history, but seeing it in the present tense was challenging. However, the GL courses that I took solved that problem. One of my favorite courses throughout my time at FIU is the first honors course I took where the topic was “Diplomacy Lab.” The instructor, Brian Fonseca, provided me the opportunity to work with the U.S. Department of State and conduct research for them. After completing two research projects for the State Department, I realized that global issues and local issues are not isolated matters. Something that happens on a global scale can happen in someone's home state or nation. Alternatively, an issue that takes place on a local level can be a problem on a global level. This idea was further solidified for me when I worked with The Wolfsonian-FIU as a Museum Studies Intern in the Fall of 2021. The museum contains many objects and ephemera from around the world and the United States, especially items related to Miami. There are a variety of items that have the same purpose, but look slightly different if they come from different areas. This is similar to the idea that the same issue can occur on a global or local level, yet look slightly different from one another.

 

Throughout my time at FIU, I realized that there is much to be discovered about the world. Currently, I am a research fellow with the Humanities Edge Program and one of my main goals is to further expand on everything I learned through the Global Learning program. Once my fellowship ends, my next step is graduation. After leaving FIU with my Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and History and a certificate in Pre-Modern Cultures, I plan to spend a year attending Archaeology field schools before applying to graduate schools to earn my Ph.D. in either Anthropology or Archaeology. Considering my future profession is naturally on a global scale, I hope my research will allow others and myself to learn new information about the world.