"I do not predict that having discussions around controversial topics will become easier."
As I am planning my interfaith dialogue event, I am thinking about this more than before. I am calling this event my capstone project as the full arsenal of what I have learned in my four years is culminating in the execution of the event. From attending my Emerging Leaders Retreat freshman year to leading Tour Guides as a Student Director junior year, I have practiced leadership by following an example. However, this event is uncharted territory as my friend and I have created it out of nothing. Leading from an event that we envisioned one day in our Western Religion class and materializing it has been daunting. Religion has such a taboo around it. Sitting in SeaTac airport during the Thanksgiving rush, I struck up a conversation with a random stranger who wished me a Happy Thanksgiving and warned me to not bring up religion or politics. Maybe the reason why they are taboo dinner topics is that how they have been framed in discussion offends people more than enlightens them. Living in this world, I do not predict that having discussions around controversial topics will become easier. But one can make an event, dream, and hope it impacts my community.
How do I connect to others?
It’s one thing to go through the college search process and it’s another thing to be on the other side of it. As a high school senior, I, like many others around the country, applied to colleges in hopes to find the perfect fit. Part of this journey was visiting colleges, trying to picture myself a student and determining whether I would be happy living there. I had some good tour guides where I got engulfed into their stories about the college and I had some bad tour guides who I honestly can not recall a single story they had said. Now that I am a tour guide, learning how to perfect my capability to tell a story that will connect with the visitors is more important than ever especially as a new hire who has yet to establish a rhythm. Here are some of the tricks of the trade that I have learned so far through shadowing legacy tour guides and through trainings.
1. Be Personable Don’t be a robot spitting out a script. Smile, laugh, make jokes (even if you are the only one laughing). I found that out when I was walking among visitors while shadowing, striking up a conversation made it easier for them to approach me later in the tour if they had questions. 2. Be Informative Statistics are appetizers that set you up for the main dish. Giving the total number of undergraduates on campus and then telling visitors about your personal experience with navigating a large campus leaves them on a positive note instead of worrying about a number. 3. Be Flexible Sometimes there will be a wood chipper near Drumheller Fountain when you are giving your very first tour or the call of the sea gulls will be ear piercing as you are making your next stop at Red Square. Going with the flow and making a joke out of it is essential in making sure the guests feel that you still have control. 4. Be Honest PR (public relations since now I am trained to explain acronyms on the tour) spins can come off artificial. If someone asks a question, be honest and don’t sugar coat it. No one likes having their question dogged, ESPECIALLY if it’s a parent who is looking to spend tons of money on tuition. 5. Be YOURSELF Ultimately the people who are coming on a campus tour are looking to see a real student who went through this process and has come out happy on the choice they made. They want to here what is was like for you and why you choose to stay. Your best self is your true self.
How do others connect to me?
I had many moment where I thought this event would not be possible. With my partner-in-crime Taylor Halverson, we created an interfaith dialogue event. Rather than tokenizing a single identity, our event was called One of Manyto celebrate our many identities. Our event focused on religion. We secured funding through the Husky Seed Fund which contributes to making campus more inclusive. The event taught me a lot about how to create an environment to have these courageous conversations across differences. https://depts.washington.edu/oofm/