New Collaboration on Conversations on Global Perspectives Says “Yes, Your Story Matters!”

James Daly, of Educational Studies, and Jessica Wilson, of the Global Learning Center, invite members of the Seton Hall community to consider sharing their stories through their joint project: “Telling Our Stories: Perspectives on Topics of Global Interest.” Conceived of the idea that everyone has a story to tell, the project aims to engage students—through people’s conversational sharing of their experiences—and enable them to understand how others’ lives can differ from ours as they discover what commonalities we share.

Daly and Wilson are recruiting volunteers, both international and domestic, who are interested in talking about the life experiences that have shaped who they are and the lives they lead. They encourage everyone to think outside the box of what they consider interesting. “People don’t believe that their stories could be interesting to others,” says Wilson. “This project doesn’t aim to highlight how a speaker’s life is more exciting than their audience’s, but to illustrate that we don’t always know what’s going on behind the scenes. What has shaped who someone has become? What have they gone through that can provide us with some perspective about the people whose lives intersect with ours? This is important not only for teachers-to-be who will be working with students with all sorts of backstories, but for anyone who desires more connection to and awareness of the people we meet along the way, especially from a global standpoint.”

The goal of the project is to have once-a-month sharing sessions with volunteer speakers who would tell their story for about 20–30 minutes and then engage in a Q&A session with the audience. Professor Daly states that topics could include sharing what someone would like others to know of their country or culture, how disability is defined and addressed in different parts of the world, the roles of women in other countries or cultures, education and schooling around the world, perspectives on war and peace and anything else. “One story a student told me was about being the domestically-born child of undocumented parents. He talked about the stress of never knowing if his parents would be there when he got home from school each day,” Wilson recounts. “He was excited to inform me, when he was 18, that they had finally gotten their US citizenship. It was such a relief to hear. I couldn’t imagine living with the fear and pressure he must have felt growing up. These are the stories people don’t always tell us, but which bear enormous significance in their lives and their interactions with others who might not know what a person has been through as they navigate from day to day.”

Anyone with interest in telling their story should consider what story they would like to tell others about themselves. Are you an international student, or the first in your family to attend college? Are you a nontraditional student, returning from the work force to earn a degree? What experiences have had a strong influence on the course of your life so far—where would you be if things had been different? What would you change if you could, or not? These are just a few of the many possible experiences someone might share; there are no limits to what can engage an audience.

For more information about the project and how to get involved, click here.  Your story matters, so let’s have a conversation!

Categories: Nation and World