Disney

Question Six: Demonstrated ability to work with diverse communities and experience in collaborating and designing programs for diverse audiences

As a child my family moved to many places. I had the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of people. My experiences include living in Huntington Park, Los Angeles; Sunset District, San Francisco; Tenderloin, San Francisco; Fresno; and Chicago. All of these places had many different types of people from varied backgrounds. Through involvement in community activities, I learned to accept and appreciate differences in lifestyle, opinion, culture, age and class.

I carried my appreciation for difference to my work as a Community Outreach Health Educator. In this position I talked with community members and individuals about the effects of risky behavior patterns. Many of the people I worked with held different opinions about sexual behavior and drug use. My work demanded a sensitivity and awareness to the sexual attitudes of people from other cultures. Over time I realized that not only could I accept the differences, but also I learned to communicate effectively with people of different backgrounds about sensitive issues.

As the Education Director at Save the World through Theater, I designed and implemented an interactive educational program for at-risk youth. The program focused on building skills that youth could use to benefit the community while providing job training. The content of the theatrical presentations focused on personal identity such as ethnic background, sexual orientation, religious background, class background, and immigration status. This required me to develop the ability to mentor young people in exploring their identities and backgrounds, which were different from my own.