Reflection on Global Scholars Program

During this past year, the Global Scholars Program has been a huge part of my education at Poly. Not only has the program been a foundational part of my general education, adding context and background to most of my other classes, but my work in the program has also taught me skills and values that I will keep with me throughout the rest of my education as well as in the workforce. Having the chance to work with and learn from people who were able to expand my horizons in so many ways with their global experiences and knowledge has been amazing, and the Global Scholars program was able to foster an environment where such exchanges are encouraged. The weekly seminars and monthly blog posts definitely helped to keep me globally engaged and involved with current events, but I’d have to say that my main takeaway from the program was my capstone project, which took place back in February. The capstone project was a panel discussion between people of different religious backgrounds on the topic of the land of Israel and their religious/cultural connections to it. The project was a stepping-off point from my semester abroad in Israel during my Junior year, and although I was very excited for and passionate about my project, it was a challenge. Securing three speakers of different religious backgrounds proved to be difficult; I, as a Jewish American, was in the position of choosing who would represent other religions, which was a new and difficult position for me. Luckily, I reached out to the Guibord Center, and they helped me with many parts of the planning process. Ultimately, the experience of planning my own event, securing speakers, promoting the event around campus, and leading it by myself was one that taught me so much. Each of these steps in creating such an event challenged me, but the challenge taught me so much about not only the logistical side of event planning, but also about the content that the three speakers talked about during their time at Poly. Now, at the end of the year, I can confidently say that the global scholars program has taught me so much and has ended my time at Poly in such a positive way. The program expanded my horizons and has taught me to challenge myself and my views. I'm so grateful for my time in this program!