By Tessa Hunt (Inter-Cultural Center Peer Facilitator 2020-2021)
The CONNECT Program is made for students who want to go above and beyond just academics and form a commitment to community engagement and developing other valuable skills such as confidence, social justice awareness, and overall professional development through attending community events. The program allows for a great way to engage with your peers, even while we are still unable to be together on campus.
Through the CONNECT Program, I have made lasting friendships and learned valuable perspectives that I have taken with me throughout my journey at Highline College. I find it difficult to describe just one program I attended, because so many of them were so great!
If I had to describe just one theme of programs that I enjoyed the most, it would have to be the events that are about racial justice issues and recognizing privilege. I attended the “Whites on Whites – White Fragility and the Brain,” and it provided me with a solid background of terms and things to keep in mind when considering the experience of white fragility and what I further understood to be implicit bias. The movies shown that I also greatly appreciated included BlacKKKlansman, a movie about an undercover Black cop who joins the KKK, and Moonlight, which highlights the intersectionality of being a gay African American man. All of these events provided huge learning points, and I was able to submit my reflections through the CONNECT Program.
There are also programs that have a cultural theme focus, which I enjoy a lot as well. For example, there was an AANAPISI (Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions) event, which provided Samoan Koko, which is a delicious coconut milk, rice, and chocolate dessert. We wrote an “I Am From” poem to highlight different aspects of our identities. After this, the event became more relaxed and everyone was socializing while listening to someone playing the ukulele and singing. This was one of my hands-down favorite events.
When I was first acknowledged for my participation in the CONNECT Program at the Fall 2019 award ceremony, I felt that I was recognized as a valuable member of the Highline community. That day, the photo taken of me with my peers (above) showed me that I truly do have potential to become a leader. It was soon after this that I was offered a job at the Inter-Cultural Center as a peer facilitator, where I began to develop myself into a stronger leader and further committed myself to the Highline Community. Many opportunities await you through your engagement with student programs! And there are many ways that you will become recognized for your engagement here at Highline, including completing the CONNECT Program.
The process is easy. For a certificate, you’ll need to participate in at least five workshops or programs over the course of an academic year. All you need to do is track your experience virtually by filling out a little bit about your experience in an online form after attending a program or other event (even virtual programs!) hosted by various student programs. Add your information and information about the event, then add your self-reflection of how this event impacted your journey at Highline and submit the form. Visit the CONNECT Program webpage to learn more about the program and submit the form.