Appreciating Differences

In graduate school I worked for the Diversity and Inclusion office at the University of Maryland. I had the opportunity to be trained to lead intergroup dialogues and later led trainings. Intergroup dialogue helps people to describe their personal and identity-based experiences and world views. As I have led dialogues where we have examined gender, religion, and controversial topics, students have learned to understand people who have different beliefs or experiences. While we may have very different experiences – through the environments we were brought up in, our socioeconomic class, age, and ethnicity – we are able to appreciate these differences in a way we would not have been able to outside of these groups. Intergroup dialogues provide a safe space where “students share perspectives, ask questions, respond to issues and concerns often ignored or denied and explore ways of thinking about themselves, others and their role in the larger society” (Zuniga, Nagda, Chesler, and Cytron-Walker, 2007). It is a process that would benefit our society to break down barriers and bring about change and transform our beliefs.