Lara Murray-Sterzel, Staff Writer |
On Thursday, March 30, in the Butternut room at Hunt Union, two Dragon Guides hosted a small get-together for students. With the support from the Office of Student Success, this event was able to come together and show how we perceive other people.
Shea Schleicher, one of the Dragon Guides who put together the event, had three activities planned for the event. The first activity was an icebreaker. Students were instructed to draw an iceberg and write how people see you on the outside and what they don’t see about you on the inside. One participant shared their outside part, having wrote their smile, their eye color, and their clothes. Another participant wrote for the outside of the iceberg their personality traits, while for the inside of the iceberg they wrote about their struggles and dreams.
The next activity was when students were instructed to draw a tree. But not just any tree, this tree was meant to represent their identity. The roots were your experiences and strengths, the stem were dreams, and the leaves were the things you want to be. One participant shared what they drew, and explained that their roots represent the strength they get from their family. They went into more detail, sharing that their stem represented their future goals, and their leaves represented personality traits they want to gain.
For the last activity, students were instructed to draw a Multicultural Self Chart. This is when you write your name in a center bubble and in its outreach bubbles you write down your passions and background. For mine, I wrote my occupation, personality traits, age, and hobby.
I got to interview Shea Schleicher when the event concluded about her job in the Office of Student Success. She shared, “I truly do believe that people forget who they are. A lot over the past year I’ve reflected on who I am as a person because I’ve been so busy with school and friends. I didn’t really take the time to figure out who I was as a person. Now I’m starting to realize who I am through these different education classes that have to do with diversity. I think people need to sit down and reflect on who they are.”. Shea believes that if you don’t slow yourself down and take time for yourself, you get too overwhelmed and ignore completing the task at hand.
Shea sees herself continuing this event again, but in a different location in case more people show up. Shea also shared ways she copes while managing work and school. She said she relaxes and takes that time to herself. Whether that be in her room or outside on campus. Since then, she’s been happier and under less stress. “Depending on what it is that you’re doing and what you’re thinking, emotions are like an effect into that aspect of it.”
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