Supported with a grant from the Sprout Fund, the session “Global Cultures in Pittsburgh” was designed and co-coordinated by Dr. Susan Corbesero and Anupama Jain from Inclusant Diversity and Inclusion Consulting.

In a series of interactive experiences, students met with representatives of many of Pittsburgh’s international communities – Cameroon, Nicaragua, Bahrain, Chile, Somalia, Serbia, Bhutan, and Bolivia—and also a representative from the Office of the Mayor’s Welcoming Pittsburgh initiative. Following student led interviews, Ellis juniors joined the representatives in a design thinking challenge to brainstorm about ways to help define the region’s international identity and to develop a more globally fluent region.  In addition to exposing students to the diversity of the region, the day also sparked deeper reflection about their own family histories. For Erika Ameniya, the event helped her to empathize with the challenges faced by her Japanese family when they arrived here in 2001. “Because I was so young, I was completely unaware of how much my parents must have suffered. I never get the opportunity to think about this, and I am really glad that I was able to. I know my parents still struggle with the language, and it was eye-opening to realize that this is a very common struggle that immigrants and refugees go through.”