a diversity awareness project. community narratives ... narratives...improving, surely albeit...

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"Diversity is how differences can create strength and community. When a diverse group of people collaborates together, experienc-es and knowledge can be shared among individuals promoting a stronger sense of community and solving the problems or chal-lenges they face together. Diversity in life is key to promoting new ideas and art because if everyone thought alike, then nothing new would be created or discovered. Ut Prosim"

Eli Carwile

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUREAND URBAN STUDIESVIRGINIA TECH

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"Diversity means to me multiple perspectives of knowing. Not just the white privileged patriarchal system of knowledge but the lived experienced of the “other”. Such a perspective leads to empathy and with empathy the effects of implicit bias are reduced. With an awareness of implicit bias that disadvantages women and minority groups we may arrive at true equity where all people can thrive with respect, support and a sense of belonging."

Simone Paterson


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"Raised in Southwest Virginia, in the 60’s and 70’s, diversity was something we saw on TV: social riots/demonstrations, or issues surrounding the war in Vietnam. It was never close-to-home. As a young teenager, coming to terms with being a gay man in rural Virginia, that took some getting used to – in my personally living di-versity, I quickly realized that people’s opinions of our differences, rather than our similarities, was a real part of my life. My diversity spectrum was established. For me, in more recent years, diversity has come to mean more – a truly deeper definition of that spectrum - defined by one’s back-ground, emotional development, life in faith, maturity, devotion, in-terests, patriotism, creative spirit, character, morality, commitment, and the list goes on and on -- We each, in our own personal story, are diverse, if compared to one another- we are individuals, de-pending on the spectrum definition we use."

Gary Kinder


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"In my life, diversity has meant coming to terms with and embrac-ing my own identity. When I learned to look up and out at the world, instead of hiding from it, I found another family of friends waiting to welcome me with open arms. In the days, weeks, and years that followed I began to understand what diversity was and why it’s to be celebrated. I found comfort in knowing and meeting people who were just like me, but felt an even greater appreciation for friends whose identity, backgrounds, and experiences were far different from mine."

Rob Jacks


A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall.

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"The beautiful thing about growing up in a Panamanian family is that I have created an appreciation for cultures but mostly that I have learned to value things that are not of social norms. There came a point when it started to become hard to have conversations with others about my own experiences because they wouldn't understand and it was very different to them because I knew two cultures while others did not. I came to a realization that people are accidentally ignorant. Whether this be due to lack of travel, not knowing culturally different people, or whatever the reason may be; it made me sad. So, being diverse and having these experiences makes it so that I have certain knowledge that others do not. This allows me the opportunity to share my knowledge so that people are aware and so that they might learn from us just as much as I can from them. I think now is the time we should all start sharing our experiences."

Airiel Barrientos



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“Until as recently as 2012, the North-East region of India, my home, which was afflicted by civil conflicts between the 220 different ethnic groups, was overlooked by the rest of India, often as outsiders and through derogatory terms. The Central Government reserved aid for us and the situation seems to be improving, surely albeit slowly. Until 2009, Khasi, my native language, had been categorized under UNESCO’s list of en-dangered languages. Today, I long to take what I’ve learned in my travels and at Virginia Tech to help my community in any way I can. I hope to maintain and enrich our tribal culture.”

Daniella Sohkhlet



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“I grew up in the suburbs of white middle class corporate Amer-ica in the 1960s and 1970s. The only diversity I knew was differ-ing religions. I learned what diversity is when I moved to San Francisco after college in 1982. KAPOW! Since then, I have embraced difference as it has expanded my worldview and en-riched my life.”

Kathryn Clarke Albright



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“I came to Virginia Tech two and half years ago as an interna-tional student. It was my first time in the United States. I was panicked because everything was so different from my coun-try. I did not speak much. But as time passed by, I realized that no matter where you are from, you are yourself, and ac-cepted that this was the only way to face the unknowns in the future. I am the minority, and I should not try to deny that. I am different, but so is everyone else. After I acknowledged this, I made more friends and became happier. So for me, diversity is really about opening your mind and embracing change in your life.”

Siyuan Cheng


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"My experience with diversity has been a constant struggle to challenge ideas in a delicate dance of discussion and debate in the hopes of giving a new perspective to a situation. This dance can only be done perfectly lest it should end friendships and create ri-valry. This creates a diversity that hurts, a diversity that rips apart and destroys, that makes enemies of those we hold close. But an-other diversity binds, forces us together, creates discussion. This diversity forbids ignorance, requires constant attention, and appre-ciates understanding over assumption. My experience with diversi-ty is that it remains the most influential quality of humanity, whether for better or worse."

Zai Cook


A diversity awareness project.Office for Inclusion and Diversity at Virginia Tech and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies will convene for a Panel Discussion on Tuesday, March 14, at 4:00 PM in the Architecture Library at Cowgill Hall. COMMUNITY NARRATIVES :: CAUS DIVERSITY INITIATIVE EXHIBITION

T H E Q U I L T O F A S O C I E T Y

Based on your lived experiences, what does diversity mean in your life?


a diversity awareness project. community narratives ... narratives...improving, surely albeit...

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