Communicating around the globe

Learning how to effectively communicate with others in cross-cultural settings is a vital skill for any individual to have because every career requires clear communication and cultural engagement. Over the course of three Cross-Cultural Conversations workshops, students will have the opportunity to learn how to broaden their perspectives and improve their overall cultural intelligence through a series of speeches and demonstrations. The Global Studies Department, alongside the International Student Center (ISC), hosted its first workshop Feb. 6 from 4-6 p.m. in DeMoss 1166. 

Kenny Warren, the director of the ISC, opened the evening by discussing the importance of listening to others, adapting and being flexible, as different cultures share different expectations. 

Next, Ireremena Felix-Otuorimuo, the student engagement coordinator for the ISC, encouraged students to make others feel at home by developing empathy and allowing others to share their perspectives. She also highlighted the idea that “different is not wrong.” 

Then, David Shin, the lead international student advisor, gave a presentation titled “Let’s Go to Vietnam,” where he illustrated the educational and cultural challenges one might face when entering a new country. Afterward, he participated in a skit with Felix-Otuorimuo to demonstrate these challenges in a classroom setting.

Finally, students watched a TED Talk focusing on extending one’s global mindset, and  Senior Resident Director Jonathan Herrera, who is from El Salvador, taught students how to differentiate stereotypes between informed responses, build cross-cultural awareness and improve cultural intelligence.

Senior Morgan Koellmer, a business administration major, found out about the Cross-Cultural Conversations workshop by being a member of the RA Hospitality team through Residence Life. She plans to apply the skills she learned from the workshop in her position with Residence Life.

“I think it is important to engage in cross-cultural conversations to learn to engage with people from other cultures in ways that are effective to make people feel comfortable, loved and supported in places they may not be used to,” Koellmer said. “I learned more ways to grow in my CQ (cultural quotient) drive, knowledge, action and strategy. I also learned more effective ways to show empathy toward people of other cultures.”

The next workshop is planned for March 1 from 4-6 p.m. in DeMoss 1166, and it will be taught by Melody Harper, Global Studies Department chair and associate professor, who will focus on the biblical foundation for interacting across cultures effectively. The workshop series will conclude April 11 from 4-6 p.m. in DeMoss 1166, and this final workshop will focus on student testimonials and case studies of interacting cross-culturally. Students who attend all three workshops will receive a digital badge to put on their resumes and job profiles.

“These workshops are ideal for students who are not global studies majors or minors to get a foundation in thinking about communicating across cultures and better communicating in those cross-cultural conversations because that’s important for journalists who are doing interviews, teachers who are teaching in classrooms where their students are from diverse backgrounds, medical professionals who are treating patients or giving instructions, or government officials who are interacting with people,” Harper said. “There’s not really a profession in our context in the 21st century right now where you are not interacting with someone from a different cultural background, even if that’s regional differences within the same country or urban and rural contexts or economic differences.” 

The Global Studies Department and the ISC have also joined together to provide a Global Partner Student (GPS) Program. There are nearly 700 residential international students at Liberty University representing 83 countries, and the GPS Program serves as an ideal way for students to learn about one another’s cultures and build new friendships. 

“The intention of the Global Partner Student Program is to provide a cultural exchange of information between a domestic student and an international student in an informal setting,” Felix-Otuorimuo said. “This would consist of about four meetings every other week throughout the semester.”

“We all, regardless of where we’re from, are more comfortable getting in our rhythm and hanging out with the people who are more like us and familiar to us, but we miss out on so many opportunities to see the beauty and the body of Christ in the diversity of the people God has created and to have opportunities to be salt and light among different peoples,” Harper said. “That’s the mandate we’ve been given as followers of Christ — to be witnesses and ambassadors of the kingdom of God among all peoples.”

One student who took this opportunity to see the beauty and diversity in the body of Christ is Deja Scripa-Jones. She graduated in December 2023 with her bachelor’s degree in global studies and is currently in the clinical mental health counseling masters program. 

“One benefit of the Global Partner Student Program was that I was able to hear more about a culture completely different than mine,” Scripa-Jones said. “It also gave me the chance to share and reflect on my own culture.”

Jewell is a feature reporter for the Liberty Champion