My Reflection | nytoussaint

righteousness endures forever

dispersed abroad

exalted with honor

righteousness endures forever

dispersed abroad

given to the poor

dispersed abroad

exalted with honor

given to the poor

righteousness endures forever

dispersed abroad

Ref

lect

ion

The Best Is yet to come:

During my first-grade year, a grave attack on the USA occurred just sixty miles from my classroom on September 11, 2001. In the sixth-grade, I was selected as a People to People Student Ambassador and traveled throughout Europe. The founding of People to People on September 11, 1956 by President Eisenhower, initiated a mission of conflict resolution through personal diplomacy, and a mission to create a collaborative international community. These events, 45 years apart, embody two different perspectives: 9/11 being a fearful, reactionary, small-world perspective, and People to People a hopeful, resolute transnational perspective. My reasoning to attend Florida International University and work towards the Excellence in Global Learning Medallion has evolved from these experiences and is a conscious choice support peaceful resolutions. President Barack Obama recently stated “there is a clear correlation between a lack of human dignity and violence”. I desire to work towards solutions for individuals facing global issues, and cherish the spirit of peaceful resolution over fearful reaction.

My motivation to pursue a life of global service not only evolves from these two events but also my experiences as a Black and Haitian American raised by a single-mother in a Christian home that values acts of service and education. As a toddler my mother, whom was in her twenties, would regularly take me to class with her as she attained a Bachelors and two Master’s degrees. Additionally, my mother and extended family embody the mindset of personal faith influencing a vocation of social justice. This supported my narrative of academic excellence and faith-filled action in order to respond to injustices with diverse scholarly and practical experience. Hence, my career goal is to lead in a faith-based humanitarian organization offering protection, restoration, and equity to vulnerable populations domestically and abroad. This will allow me to implement strategies to alleviate issues threatening the sustainability of human rights institutions and organizations.

My experience at such a globally oriented university has been a crucial step in developing my skills and future career. Over the last four years I have majored in International Relations, Sociology, and Latin American & Caribbean Studies, minored in Political Science and Religious Studies, and gained certificates in Latin American & Caribbean Studies and in Haitian Studies. I understand the impact FIU has played in this season of my life in becoming a servant leader to my community, nation, and world. Because of that impact I have been accepted to graduate programs at Harvard, American, Columbia, Rutgers, Union, and Princeton. No matter which institution I decide to attend, as an FIU alum I have been trained and will excel as a leader; the Program and faculty have been exceptional in providing me a practical and professional foundation to build a solid career in restoring human dignity.

Within the Department of Political Science and International Relations I am eternally grateful for the close to four-year long mentorship of Dr. Washington, whose INR 2001 and INR 3045 courses were my most strenuous yet most developmental academic courses of my undergraduate career. Further, my experience with Dr. Scott (Department of Global Sociocultural Studies) and Dr. Washington has shown me the importance of being a practitioner and a researcher in order to create systemic change. In addition, the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center has granted me transformative experiences in contributing Haitian Creole to the language learning app Duolingo and studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am most especially grateful to Liesl Piccard and Professor Nicholas Andre for allowing me to learn about Latin America and the Caribbean in creative ways. Finally, thanks to Kim Torres for the her inspirational commitment to faith and social justice throughout my field education as an AmeriCorps Volunteer. It is because of this support and guidance from the FIU community and my family that I know I will achieve my goal in earning graduate degrees and professional goals of promoting sustainable peace within the international community.

Global Perspective:

In becoming a global citizen I have had to advance my knowledge and understanding beyond my American assumptions. My Global Learning courses, research, and opportunities abroad were the source of my research interest in U.S. - Latin American relations and the global challenge of refugees and migrants. Under the mentorship of Dr. Washington and Dr. Derrick Scott, I have developed analytical skills through focusing on the existential insecurities Puerto Ricans face from their ambiguous status as citizens of a U.S. Commonwealth. My case study, “The Global Challenges of Refugees and Migrants: Puerto Ricans as an Internally Displaced Persons” was presented at the 2016 McNair Research Conference and this experience of gaining proficiency in social science research led me to a new interest in Western faith-based humanitarian organizations. In particular, how such organizations can assist in micro-scale relief and macro-scale development abroad without practicing dominance and perpetuating Western hegemony. This new interest is in response to my understanding of American leadership in our international system. It is my belief that this leadership causes American values and opinions to be prompted worldwide without the consideration of differing perspectives. My research on Puerto Ricans showed me the determent of such practices and I hope with my future research to help American faith-based organizations realize this determent and find new humanitarian practices that are inclusive of others' points of view and assumptions.

Global Awareness:

I will never forget my first day of class in the Fall of 2013. I sat in the SIPA auditorium with hundreds of other Freshmen interested in international relations and Dr. Marcie Washington stated that "the international system is like a spider web". With globalization everything in our world is connected. My academic and vocational commitment to communities within the United States and abroad is in response to a better understanding of civic responsibility. I am influenced by world events such as the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti which caused migration issues between the nations of Hispaniola and resulted in 150,000 Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent being arbitrarily deported by the Dominican government back to Haiti. These individuals now beg to cross the Mexican border into the United States. I am influenced by the human rights violations suffered by migrant workers in Florida City, Fl because their children bring vital perspectives to discussions in my classes. I am influenced by U.S. dominance in Puerto Rico as it perpetuates colonial era practices. Being a Global Citizen means not being sympathetic to the suffering of our world but being empathetic because it is my problem, my responsibility.

Global Engagement:

One of the greatest skills I have gained from my experience attaining the Excellence in Global Learning Medallion has been finding the courage to engage in intercultural problem solving. This skill was a challenge for me when it came to solving the issues involving my own culture and identity.

In September 2016, my international relations professor, Dr. Iqbal Akhtar, held a “Black Politics” session and started by giving the class time to read Derrick Bell’s "The Space Traders". The Sci-Fi short story covers the aftermath of the arrival of aliens offering the USA an abundance of gifts in exchange for all of the nation's Black-Americans. The discussion that followed was liberating as three other Black students and myself were able to voice our experience within American politics and society. This was the first time I was able to voice my narrative as a Black and Haitian-American studying at a Hispanic majority institution. While I have enjoyed Miami's unique culture, I have learned about minority-on-minority discrimination through White-Hispanic and African diaspora relations. While at FIU, I have felt the lack of affiliation between Hispanics and the Black community as my classmates have made insensitive comments about President Obama, the killing of innocent black and brown bodies, and Black culture. Even though I was able to engage in conversations with some of my Hispanic friends about this prejudice towards Black minority groups, I never found the safety nor inclusion to do so in a classroom setting. I struggled with voicing myself to my peers as I felt silenced by the majority group's outward agreed upon prejudice. During the Black politics session, my professor’s inclusion of my identity and political experience allowed me to speak to my Hispanic peers about the existential insecurity I face daily and how their prejudice furthers that insecurity.

Voicing my existence to my peers personally helped me to understand the importance of including the narratives of silenced minorities. Through the mentorship of Black professors at FIU I have been able to practice expressing myself in academic settings. This was challenging, yet rewarding as I have learned how to speak up for the vulnerable in a scholarly and effective manner. Additionally, I have become aware and open to the narratives of other minority groups in Miami and the United States. Through my coursework I have visited a Theravada Buddhist temple various times, attended a service at an Ahmadiyya mosque and I have been invited to diversity conferences at Harvard Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary, and Vanderbilt Divinity School. My experience of inclusion during the Black Politics session in September 2016 has motivated me to ensure I am actively listening to my peers, effectively sharing my narrative, and critically analyzing diversity. I will work towards mitigating the tensions that rise due to diversity and unifying humanity.

To My Experience