On Thursday, April 25, students from the Common Ground Connections Project (CGC) of St. Lawrence University went to visit the elementary students of Madrid-Waddington Central School for a cultural exchange experience. Their mission is to create public speaking opportunities in intercultural learning environments. This is the second activity day of the project and they first visited the middle and high school on March 29.
According to Joe Binion, the principal of the Madrid-Waddington High School, the response to the project was positive. “The students really enjoyed the opportunities to learn, to ask questions and to meet people from around the world,” he said. Similarly, the elementary school principal Matt Daley also praise the group for sharing their stories and their enthusiasm with the students.
Common Ground Connections Project was founded by the International Student Advisor Megan Putney and SLU International student Aseman Bagheri Sheshdeh 22’. Putney wanted to create a project that connects people from different cultures since she had lived abroad for many years. “Going out into the community is what this project all about,” Putney said. “To create those spaces is very vital to this to [the North Country] area because the influence of students going out into the communities is huge.”
Aseman Bagheri Sheshdeh 22′, an international student from Iran, thinks that the CGC project helps create an inclusive environment between SLU students and the community surrounding them. “I think everyone deserves an opportunity to share their story and experiences, so that’s why Megan and I created the project,” Bagheri said. “CGC has allowed me to explore and reflect on what connects everyone beyond their background and the culture they come from.”
According to Putney, CGC is a collaborative effort where the school, the participants and the organizers work together to follow through with an idea. “It wasn’t just us that came in and brought the project. Mr. Binion and Mr. Daley, the school principals, were giving us feedback all the time on how to make the project work,” she said.
Putney also notes the contribution of the SLU students. They were the ones who “included the content and activities that they thought would best be received by students.”
The organizers were only anticipating 10 applications but ended up with 23 interested students. “We decided that because so many people were interested in the project that we would take on the other 13,” Putney said. “It also enables the capacity to allow us to go to grades K-12 of one school rather than having to choose a couple of grades.”
This project showcased different activities like dancing, cooking, story-telling along with perspective, panel and money sessions. “It was great being a mediator of my group,” said Maurice Berk-Wakeman who participated in a discussion panel. “I think I learned more about my own culture seeing it through the lens of my international friends and more about their cultures seeing that through the lens of my fellow Americans.”
This is the first year of the CGC project made by SLU faculty and students, with the mission to create intercultural learning environments. Putney said that other local schools are now interested in joining the project. “They’ve actually started reaching out to me. That’s pretty fantastic,” she said. The project is possible thanks to the Hearst Foundation.