Sarah Brady | April 5, 2019
World View’s NC Global Distinction Program works with community colleges to offer globally intensive courses and activities through which students can earn a global distinction credential. Surry Community College is one of World View’s newest Global Distinction campuses and Surry’s program leader, Sarah Wright, has recruited and enrolled about 60 participants.
One of those participants is Teresa R. Vazquez, currently a student at Surry Community College through the Surry Early College High School Program. She will graduate in May 2019 with her associate in arts degree and will transfer at UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall.
The Global Distinction program requires of students to (among other things) participate in global activities and dialogues and gain “global experience” in a study abroad or domestic intercultural experience. For Teresa’s global immersion project, she chose to interview immigrants who settled in Surry County to “raise awareness of the intentions of people who seek the American dream.” The project is called “Building Homes: El Sueño Americano” and the interviews, available on her website, focus on citizenship, family, discrimination, belonging and more. Teresa says she took on the responsibility of sharing personal stories of immigrants to “highlight strength and determination” and “combat disrespectful ignorance.”
Teresa says the Global Distinction program’s focus on intercultural experience helps promote a greater understanding of cultures different from one’s own. “As someone raised in a Latino culture, this program is important to me as I can embrace my cultural identity and help others understand its unique features in a manner that increases understanding.”