Q. Share an experience through which you have gained respect for cultural difference. Comment how your personal experience would contribute to the diversity of Umich.
The Encarta dictionary defines diversity as 'a variety of something such as opinion, color, or style.' To be born and brought up in a country like India teaches you to deeply respect diversity. Here diversity resides not only in respect of religion or race but also in language, culture, practices and lifestyles. This is a country where a Muslim became the head of state where more than 50% population is constituted by Hindus and where a Christian woman gave way to a Sikh to become the Prime Minister. So to share just a single experience through which I gained respect for intellectual, social, or cultural differences is a tad difficult.
However I would like to narrate my experiences at CDLS 2007 and 2008 where I was overawed by how similar yet different, people from all the over the world are.
CDLS stands for Community Development Leadership Summit. It is an annual event hosted by my school where countries from round the globe are represented by school students. It is a week long affair where students indulge in team building activities and to set the ball rolling the students have interactive sessions with eminent political leaders, social workers, industrialists, entrepreneurs, journalists, artists and celebrities. The essence of the event is such that complete strangers from round the globe become lifelong friends. But what really made this experience creditable is the incredible range of students and teachers gathered under the same very roof, all with different backgrounds interests and ideas. From a late night astronomy session to a close seminar setting with the Minister of Science and Technology of India, I reminisce every moment. I believe that education is timeless, values are ageless and all cultures should be mutually respected.
The Encarta dictionary defines diversity as 'a variety of something such as opinion, color, or style.' To be born and brought up in a country like India teaches you to deeply respect diversity. Here diversity resides not only in respect of religion or race but also in language, culture, practices and lifestyles. This is a country where a Muslim became the head of state where more than 50% population is constituted by Hindus and where a Christian woman gave way to a Sikh to become the Prime Minister. So to share just a single experience through which I gained respect for intellectual, social, or cultural differences is a tad difficult.
However I would like to narrate my experiences at CDLS 2007 and 2008 where I was overawed by how similar yet different, people from all the over the world are.
CDLS stands for Community Development Leadership Summit. It is an annual event hosted by my school where countries from round the globe are represented by school students. It is a week long affair where students indulge in team building activities and to set the ball rolling the students have interactive sessions with eminent political leaders, social workers, industrialists, entrepreneurs, journalists, artists and celebrities. The essence of the event is such that complete strangers from round the globe become lifelong friends. But what really made this experience creditable is the incredible range of students and teachers gathered under the same very roof, all with different backgrounds interests and ideas. From a late night astronomy session to a close seminar setting with the Minister of Science and Technology of India, I reminisce every moment. I believe that education is timeless, values are ageless and all cultures should be mutually respected.
