Unity Star Summer 2016

UNITY STAR2016 Summer

2016 Leadership Enhancement Program graduates answer the question

What does respect mean to you?

IN THIS ISSUE: Quotes: What does respect mean to you?

UCF Recreation and Wellness Center student honored by Central Florida News 13 as an Everyday Hero

Brian Butkus

Cyndia Muñiz

Chantel Carter

“Respect is understanding someone’s point of view and its importance, regardless of if you agree with or support that same point of view.”

“Respect is exemplified through Resilience, Empathy, Sensitivity, Patience, Effort, Compassion and Teachable moments.”

“Respect means valuing people for who they are, seeing their worth and recognizing their contributions, skills and talents.”

Sheryl Brown

Osepha Felix

Jeanne Battersby

“Respect means being nonjudgmental, open to listening to others’ opinions and treating people how you want to be treated.”

“It means understanding and acknowledging that everyone is different and being okay with it.”

“Respect is honoring a person’s gifts and talents by encouraging them to be their best self.”

UCF recognized as ‘Diversity Champion’ by Insight Into Diversity 2016 Summer Workshop and Training Schedule The “BE YOU” Series: Jessica Momorie Take the UCF “Commit to Respect” pledge

UCF Recreation and Wellness Center student honored by Central Florida News 13 as an Everyday Hero UCF senior Katherine Torres recognized for her continued efforts promoting inclusive services at the RWC

UCF senior Katherine Torres (left) poses for a picture with News 13 anchor and UCF alumna Ybeth Bruzual host of the Everyday Heroes Luncheon.

By Scott Mauro, Marketing and Communications Manager, UCF Recreation and Wellness Center

Heroes make a difference. Heroes stand out. Heroes do whatever it takes.

Those are all qualities that define one of the hardest working student staff members at the Recreation and Wellness Center (RWC), UCF senior Katherine Torres. The Central Florida Community is also recognizing Torres for her contributions in promoting inclusivity at UCF and the RWC. Central Florida News 13 (CFN-13) recently honored Torres with an invitation to its annual Everyday Heroes awards luncheon on March 24, 2016. Each weekend, News 13 honors people in the community who are making a difference “with their actions, their words or their beliefs.”

Torres, her parents and boyfriend, attended the luncheon with 51 other Everyday Heroes and their friends and families. During the luncheon, News

13 handed out several awards. All 52 Heroes were eligible for a nomination.

“Although I didn’t win an award, it was still an honor to be nominated and invited to the luncheon and speak about what I do with every nominee at my table,” Torres said.

She has become a champion for inclusivity on campus, including her tireless work promoting a partnership between the RWC and the UCF Physical Therapy Doctorate program called Student Assisted Workout (S.A.W.). The program is a personal training program for students with disabilities.

Torres was first a client at the RWC through S.A.W. She was born with muscle weakness in her lower extremities and has used a wheelchair most of her life. Now, she has worked in her current role and on the front office staff for two years.

Perhaps, Torres is most widely recognized for promoting a new component of the RWC’s Outdoor Adventure Program, a harness students sit in called a haul system.

The harness is connected to ropes and pulleys and allows students with limited mobility, prosthetics and even partial paralysis to scale the 41-foot climbing tower.

Torres has made several trips up the tower, and stories about her and the system have been featured on News 13, UCF Today and Pegasus Magazine. Last fall, the UCF Office of Diversity and Inclusion also honored her work with the Student Diversity and Inclusion Impact Award.

Currently, Torres is majoring in Health Services Administration.

Upon graduation, Torres wants to work at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Lake Nona.

UCF recognized as ‘Diversity Champion’ by Insight Into Diversity Diversity Champions exemplify an unyielding commitment to diversity and inclusion throughout their campus communities, across academic programs and at the highest administrative levels.

Known for visionary leadership, Diversity Champions are institutions that set the standard for thousands of other campus communities striving for diversity and inclusion. They develop successful strategies and programs, which then serve as models of excellence for other institutions. Diversity Champion schools exceed everyday expectations, often eclipsing their own goals.

2016 Summer Workshop and Training Schedule Course

Number Date

Time

Location

Facilitator

ABCs of Diversity

DIV008

Thursday, May 26

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Classroom Building 1, Barbara Thompson Room 205

Monday, June 20

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Classroom Building 1, Rachel Luce-Hitt Room 205

Diversity Certificate Series (must attend all four modules to receive completion certificate) Modules 1 & 2

DIV210

Wednesday, July 6

1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Career Services, Room 115

Rachel Luce-Hitt

Modules 3 & 4

DIV211

Wednesday, July 13

1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Career Services, Room 115

Rachel Luce-Hitt

Wednesday, June 1

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

RWC, Room 206

Barbara Thompson

Tuesday, July 19

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

RWC, Room 206

Rachel Luce-Hitt

Inclusive Communication DIV053

Latino Americans (must attend all three modules to receive completion certificate) Part 1

DIV236

Thursday, June 16

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Career Services, Room 115

Rachel Luce-Hitt

Part 2

DIV237

Thursday, June 23

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Career Services, Room 121

Rachel Luce-Hitt

Part 3

DIV238

Thursday, June 30

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Career Services, Room 121

Rachel Luce-Hitt

Secular and Religious Minority Awareness

DIV224

Friday, June 3

2:30 – 4:30 p.m. TA 130

Tee Rogers

Saturday, June 11

10 a.m. – Noon

Cypress Room at Knights Plaza

Tee Rogers

Friday, July 8

2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Garden Room at Ferrell Commons

Tee Rogers

Other Workshops Understanding Power and Privilege

DIV016

Tuesday, July 26

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

RWC, Room 206

Rachel Luce-Hitt

Bias-Free Selection

DIV258

Wednesday, July 27

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Career Services, Room 121

Bill Hertan, TRI Partners, Inc.

Tuesday, August 2

2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Career Services, Room 121

Barbara Thompson

LGBTQ+ 101

Thursday, June 9

10 a.m. – Noon

RWC, Room 206

Safe Zone Staff

Advocates

Wednesday, June 22 10 a.m. – Noon

RWC, Room 206

Safe Zone Staff

Coming Out

Wednesday, July 6

10 a.m. – Noon

RWC, Room 206

Safe Zone Staff

G.O.L.D.

Wednesday, July 20

10 a.m. – Noon

RWC, Room 206

Safe Zone Staff

Peace Film Series: Miss Representation Safe Zone

Registration Instructions Faculty, A&P and USPS

Register online at my.UCF.edu.

Students and OPS

Email your name, phone number and PID/employee I.D. number to diverse@ucf.edu.

For detailed descriptions of the diversity workshops offered, visit http://diversity.ucf.edu. All workshops are free unless otherwise noted. Please note that locations vary. Other opportunities for diversity workshops may be scheduled by calling the UCF Office of Diversity and Inclusion at (407) 823-6479 or by emailing diverse@ucf.edu.

The UCF “BE YOU” Series: Jessica Momorie Every member of the UCF community brings their own life story and combination of identities and experiences to our campus. Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today. Sharing our stories brings humanity to our understanding of difference and the similarities we all share. To be featured in the next issue, visit http://diversity.ucf.edu for story guidelines and submission instructions. For questions, email andrea.aribe@ucf.edu.

By Jessica Momorie, Diversity Initiatives Specialist, UCF Student Government Association

My name is Jessica Nyaneh Momorie, and a large part of who I am is related to my name. Both my middle and last names originate from Sierra Leone. Besides a fraction that is from Switzerland, my entire family is from the small West African nation.

However, even though less of my family is Swiss, I feel closer to that country than Sierra Leone because I have Swiss citizenship and have visited my family there several times. My parents decided to name me “Jessica” for many reasons.

Their official reason is because it means “riches” and “God beholds,” and they believed I would be their good luck charm.

I was never told, but I assume they chose a

common Western name for another reason.

They understood the perceptions I would receive throughout my life had I lived here without having one. However, they kept me close to my roots with my middle name.

My feelings tend to contradict on how I respond to my names. I often wish it was easier to immediately know people are referring to me when my name is called. However, when I reveal my middle name, I become self-conscious about something I should be proud of because it is so uncommon and people look at me with confusion.

Growing up multi-national is a very unique experience, especially since I do not have siblings, and no one else in my family has all three nationalities. I feel disconnected from my

family because they do not identify with my country, and I feel disconnected from my country because it does not identify with all of my cultures.

I have never felt extreme patriotism — an attribute that without, the United States would cease to exist. I have come to realize my identity is all three of my cultures. While it may be hard to balance which one takes precedence, I realized I do not have to figure that out right now nor ever.

I am all three of my cultures even though they are all different. My diversity has made me more aware and appreciative of all cultures, not just my own. I live for learning new things and meeting new people with different stories to share.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jessica Momorie

“Respect is being aware that you do not have the right to invalidate anyone else’s existence or experience.” - Jessica Momorie

Take the UCF “Commit to Respect” pledge By taking the UCF ‘Commit to Respect’ pledge, you recognize that your words and actions impact the learning experience and professional and social culture at UCF. You will pledge to: • Engage others with respectful language and in a spirit of appreciation for diverse experience and opinion, • Explore broad dimensions of diversity without negative assumptions and stereotypes as part of my personal and professional growth and • Advance the UCF goal of becoming more inclusive and diverse by actively contributing to social justice causes.

To take the pledge, visit http://respectucf.com.

VISIT UCF Office of Diversity and Inclusion Research Pavilion 12424 Research Parkway Suite 169 Orlando, FL 32826

FOLLOW UCF.ODI @UCFODI @RespectUCF UCF_ODI

CONTACT

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS

http://diversity.ucf.edu Please send contributions to diversity@ucf.edu andrea.aribe@ucf.edu.

(407) 823-6479