Jim Bensley, NMC’s Director of International Services and Service Learning, reports that NMC student Conner Rieck was part of a winning international social media campaign. Bensley has been offering the Soliya Connect international virtual exchange opportunity in his World Cultures course every semester for the past four years. This semester, he had two course sections, one with and one without Soliya.
Due to the upheaval caused by the coronavirus, four students in the non-Soliya section had the chance to take part in a unique project-based opportunity to develop a social media campaign. Throughout the five-week program, students met online to speak — face-to-face and live — and collaborate with their global peers on an awareness campaign concerning health or migration. They were exposed to a diversity of views and identities and encouraged to speak openly and honestly, allowing them to practice critical thinking, curiosity, cross-cultural communication, empathy, and teamwork. In completing an infographic on a migration, they also built self-efficacy and a sense of global citizenship and belonging.
Final projects were voted on by Soliya members and the general public in seven countries. NMC student Conner Rieck was a member of the winning team made up of students from Italy, France, Palestine, Turkey, Tunisia, Syria and the U.S.!
Congratulations, Connor!