Jared Psychology · Omaha, Nebraska
As a student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Jared is taking every opportunity he can to study the Korean language. Though it isn't an official program at UNL, he's been able to take courses on campus via the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Jared and his classmates study with a class from the University of Minnesota, video chatting in to each lecture. His passion for learning Korean translated into Jared being one of five Huskers to receive a Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This June he will return to South Korea for his second summer in the country to partake in an intensive and immersive language program. As an honors student studying psychology, he's using his time in South Korea to do more than just perfect his command of the language. He plans on making connections with professors and other psychology professionals so he can conduct research on cross-cultural psychology between the United States and South Korea. Jared plans to start distributing surveys, gathering responses and completing his thesis research during fall 2019, and then he intends to apply for a Fulbright award. One day, he would like to get his doctoral degree in psychology and use his knowledge to work with children.
Read all student storiesAbla Assistant Professor of Practice of Arabic Language and Culture · Syria
As a hijabi Muslim woman in the middle of the United States, Abla really hasn't felt much different. She and her family have been graciously welcomed into the hearts, homes, churches and temples of the Lincoln community. Being away from Syria for 10 years, she's still surprised when people go out of their way to greet her with "salam alycom," which means "hi" in Arabic, or more specifically, "peace be with you." Efforts as small as these speak volumes to her. Half of her 10 years in Nebraska have been spent teaching at the university. She absolutely loves it, and she created a minor in Arabic studies that offers students three years of language and a new cultural experience. A couple of her courses are Love and Sexuality in the History of Arabic Culture and Women in the Qur'an, bringing Arabic culture to the classroom through media, authentic videos, poetry, music, dancing and food.
Karen Kassebaum Assistant Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Leadership & Learning ·
Karen cares about inclusive excellence — so much so that she is spearheading #NCLUDE, a University of Nebraska–Lincoln program that brings together Huskers from across the world to share their inclusivity practices.
NCLUDE stands for "Nebraska Community of Learners — Understanding Diversity through Education." Any Husker — from on-campus students, to out-of-country alumni, to Nebraska community members — can be a part of NCLUDE. By bringing together a variety of voices to discuss diversity, Karen hopes to be able to inspire conversations that break barriers. NCLUDE participants can network with new faces from places, industry spaces and lifestyles unlike their own as they work toward finding new ways to promote inclusivity.
At NCLUDE events, everyone is invited to share their thoughts. While Karen says many come to the online Zoom sessions to listen, she wants participants to know that all voices are important in these conversations.
"When you think about moving forward in relation to injustice and racism and hate and all those things…we can't depend on other people to do the work,” Karen said. “You have to do the work...as individuals."
Karen describes "the work" as a lifestyle change. It's not just one book or one workshop — it's a complete review of one's value system and an authentic conversation over areas of that system that incorporate bias and discrimination. From there, people can take action.
"And if we share those things then it gives us things to do and we can do it better, because people have been lately — especially with the unrest and the discrimination and racism and hate and murders — people are ready to do some stuff," Karen said. "And I think the thing that we can do right away is practice inclusive excellence."