The Office of the First Year Experience in conjunction with Institute Diversity developed this initiative in an effort “to increase cultural and community awareness among the members of the Rensselaer community and to prepare our students to be facilitators of inclusivity in diverse environments,” said Lisa Trahan, dean of the Office of First Year Experience.

Trahan, who led the proposal process for the grant, which will be distributed over three years, said the Office of First Year Experience will fund the various activities supported by the Preparing the Global Citizen program.

Some of the activities included in the proposal involve establishing a student leadership program for community advocates, creating a mini-grant program for faculty and staff to seek support for cultural awareness programs, and developing advanced experiential learning activities focused on diversity.

In addition, plans for enhancing the first-year studies’ curriculum and a goal-oriented Global Citizenship Program for students are currently being developed.

Currently, work in the Office of the First Year Experience is focused on the Community Advocate Program. This program shares many of the goals of the First Year Experience Initiative. The program looks to meet the needs of Rensselaer’s unique environment by fostering a tolerance for the individual, cultural, and racial differences and developing a strong sense of community among the student body.

The Community Advocates Program hopes to enhance student leadership by helping students cultivate a deeper appreciation for diversity, unity, and pluralism.

Through an application and interviewing process, community advocates will be chosen among students, staff, and faculty to serve as mentors and advisors to lead diversity activities on and off campus.

After advocates are chosen, they will undergo intensive diversity and leadership training in preparation for facilitating activities funded by the grant.

The program will also fund mini-grants for out-of-classroom experiences for students.

Staff and faculty will be able to apply for these grants which support guest speakers, special diversity programs, and off-campus trips to presentations that would enhance the students’ cultural experience.

After its completion and implementation, “the program has the propensity to be extremely successful on campus as new freshmen are exposed and as the program grows and evolves,” explains Trahan.