Photo Courtesy of Brooke Cutler
The first-ever Global Learning Week will continue to grow and expand in future years after a successful launch last week, Senior Associate Director of the Office of International Students Services Brooke Cutler said.
The Global Learning Week offered students the opportunity to gain different cultural perspectives and become global citizens, Cutler said. The Office of International Students and Services and the Office of International Programs co-hosted the events throughout the week.
“I think it was a good start,” Cutler said. “We did something that didn’t exist, so it added value to the university, and it connected American students and international students together.”
The idea of having the Global Learning Week came from a series of conversations between Cutler and Director of the Office of International Programs Greg Muger. The main goal of the week was to “enable Seaver students to further develop global citizenry skills through spiritual, academic and community events,” Cutler wrote in an e-mail.
Junior Christan Cossa said she felt the whole concept of the week was very welcoming for all Pepperdine students with different backgrounds.
“I think that it is important for us to be aware of other cultures,” Cossa said. “I think that one of the purposes was to let us know that we are all connected, God loves us all and we are all equal.”
Freshman Lexi Wyshak said she thought the week was good, but since Pepperdine is so diverse, the week could be improved in the future.
“They definitely could have made it more about the students,” Wyshak said. “Maybe if they had one of the students speak about their experience coming to a new country, learning a new language and adjusting; it is something that other students can relate to.”
The Global Learning Week also partnered with the Office of the Chaplain, the Pepperdine Volunteer Center and many other Pepperdine organizations “to enable Seaver students to further develop global citizenry skills through spiritual, academic and community events,” Cutler wrote in an e-mail.
Some of the events included Wednesday Chapel, the topic of which was “GO: Crossing Borders from Fear to Faith,” Thursday’s Convocation and panel discussion “What Would Jesus Say About ISIS?” and Friday’s Global Fest.
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